School inspections are changing: shape what’s next: Privacy notice

This consultation will be planned and launched by the Inspectorate of Education Scotland, using the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space platform.

The analysis and publication of findings will be led by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE). HMIE is being established as an independent inspectorate under the Education (Scotland) Bill 2024 and will become operational from autumn 2025.

HMIE is the ‘data controller’. The data controller decides what data is collected as part of this consultation.

Data analysts within HMIE are the ‘data processors’ and will analyse and report on the responses to this consultation. 

If we receive a very large number of responses, we may appoint an independent social research contractor to help us with the analysis of responses.

To understand what is working well in school inspections, and what could be better, we are asking people to share their views. This consultation asks about these parts of the inspection process:

1. Who is involved in inspections
2. How often inspections happen, and how schools are chosen
3. The use of grades in inspections
4. How schools are told about an inspection
5. What happens before an inspection
6. How the inspection framework is designed and what it includes
7. How inspection results are reported
8. How nursery classes are inspected
9. What happens after an inspection

This consultation does not ask personal information, such as names, addresses or contact details, or ‘special category data’, such as racial or ethnic origin.

Depending on which Citizen Space survey is completed, in the ‘About you’ section we ask:

Children and young people survey

• Your place of learning (e.g. primary, secondary)
• Your local authority (home)

Wider stakeholder survey

• Your role in the education system
• The sector you work in
• Your local authority (home)

These questions help us to group and analyse responses so we can better understand the views we receive. Answering them is voluntary.

Organisational responses

If we receive a response on behalf of an organisation we will capture:

• Full organisation name
• Organisation contact details

You will only be asked for your email address in Citizen Space for two reasons:

1. If you want to return and change your responses before submitting them.
2. If you would like a copy of your responses after you have submitted them.

Your email address is not saved with your answers.

If you cannot respond to this consultation through Citizen Space, you can complete the Respondent Information Form (RIF) instead. The ‘About you’ questions are included in that form, which can be found here.

If you include personal information by accident, it will be checked and, if necessary, removed or securely deleted in-line with our data protection policies.

You will also be asked if you agree to your response being published on the Citizen Space platform as part of HMIE’s reporting on the consultation results. If you agree, your response will remain anonymous. Any personal information shared by accident will be removed and deleted before publication.

Responses will be submitted directly through the Citizen Space platform.

If a respondent is unable to submit a response through Citizen Space, Some may be sent by email and then uploaded securely to Citizen Space by HMIE.

Responses will be analysed to identify themes, insights and evidence to inform the future of school inspections.

Findings may be published in reports – individual respondents will not be identified in these reports.

Direct quotes may be used in reports, but only if they cannot be linked back to you.

Organisational responses may be published in full unless the organisation requests otherwise.

The lawful basis for processing your data is that HMIE is carrying out a public task (Article 6 (1) (e) Public Task, carried out in the public interest).

All data is stored on secure, password-protected servers within Education Scotland.

Access is restricted to a small number of staff working on the consultation.

If an external contractor is appointed, they will only be given secure, time-limited access to Citizen Space for this consultation and must comply with data protection laws.

We will:

• Review data 12 months after the consultation closes
• Delete the data if no longer required or retain it securely for a further 12 months if justified
• Ensure that all datasets transferred back from contractors are clean and anonymised
• Ensure that no data will be transferred outside the UK/EEA

Please note: you are not required to provide your name or any personal information that will identify you. The ‘About You’ section in the online survey includes optional demographic questions to help us understand the range of people and perspectives taking part in this consultation. This consultation is being conducted in accordance with data protection laws and ethical research standards.

If you chose to respond to this consultation in a different way (not through the Citizen Space website), you can also complete the optional ‘About You’ form.

All respondents should be aware that Education Scotland is subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and must consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation.