His Majesty’s Inspectors of Education will carry out a national thematic inspection of local authority approaches to improving schools. These inspections will take place between September and December 2024. We have worked closely with national stakeholders to shape our approaches.

Purpose and themes

HM Inspectors will explore four questions with a range of stakeholders within local authorities on how schools are supported to improve. These four questions are:

1. How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through implementing improvement planning and standards and quality reporting?

2. How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through self-evaluation and quality assurance?

3. How do local authorities support schools to improve the quality of education through professional learning?

4. How do local authorities deliver universal support and challenge for all schools, and/or targeted support for specific schools to improve the quality of education?

In asking these questions, HM Inspectors will discuss with stakeholders:

• their current priorities for improving schools
• what is working well
• what challenges they face

How we will carry out these thematic inspections

HM Inspectors will visit all local authorities over two days. They will speak to local authority staff involved directly in supporting schools to improve. Additionally, HM Inspectors will hear the views of a sample of headteachers, teachers, chairs of Parent Councils, elected members and professional association representatives.

Before the visit

HM inspectors will work closely with local authority staff to shape the national thematic inspection together. Together, they will draw up a programme of meetings with groups of stakeholders to gather views. To increase engagement, local authority officers and headteachers will be invited to complete a questionnaire in advance of the inspection.

During the visit

During the two-day visit, HM Inspectors will follow the programme that they have created with the local authority staff. This may include:

• an initial meeting with the local authority education senior leadership team
• meetings with local authority staff involved in school improvement
• meetings with headteachers
• meetings with teachers, professional association representatives, chairs of Parent Councils and elected members

After the inspection

Following the inspection, HM Inspectors will provide verbal feedback to the local authority. They will offer guidance on how they can further support school improvement. A national report summarizing the findings will publish on Education Scotland’s website in December 2024. The report will highlight what is working well and the challenges that local authorities are facing.

Get more information

If you have any questions or would like more information please contact us.

Privacy notice

Please read the local authority thematic privacy notice to understand how we will process and use the thematic evidence.