Commentary on Sections Local education authority Legal background Sections 108 to 113: Inspections and reports
130.Section 108 requires the Chief Inspector to inspect independent educational institutions at regular intervals, to be prescribed in regulations. The purpose of this section is to ensure that there are regular inspections of independent educational institutions. The Chief Inspector is not required to inspect those institutions where the Secretary of State has notified him or her that they will be inspected by an independent inspectorate. The Chief Inspector must prepare a report on the extent to which any relevant standard is met and is likely to continue to be met. This section does not apply to Academies, city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts, for which provision is already made (section 5 of the 2005 Act).
131.The Secretary of State may direct the Chief Inspector to inspect an independent educational institution at any time (section 109). Where a direction is made, the Chief Inspector must report back to the Secretary of State on the extent to which relevant standards are being met. The Secretary of State may also at any time arrange for an independent inspectorate to inspect an independent educational institution in relation to which it is approved and report to him on the extent to which relevant standards are being met. In both cases, the Secretary of State may specify standards which must be considered, alongside any standards considered by the inspectorate to be relevant, during the inspection.
132.The Chief Inspector is permitted to enter any registered independent educational institution at any reasonable time, and to inspect and copy any relevant records and documents, including computer records, except those which are subject to legal professional privilege or which fall within the categories of “excluded material” and “special procedure material”. These rights of entry and inspection of records can only be exercised for the purposes of an inspection. Section 110creates an offence for obstructing the Chief Inspector and sets out the penalty for doing so.
133.Section 111 allows the Secretary of State, in regulations, to require proprietors to pay fees for inspections carried out by the Chief Inspector under this Chapter and to set the amount payable. The regulations can provide for:
134.The regulations cannot require a fee to be paid to the Chief Inspector for a periodic inspection where an independent inspectorate is approved for the institution. Regulations can include a power to vary or waive a fee and may also provide for a fee not to be paid where an inspection does not take place (which is designed to address a case where an institution has paid a fee in advance of an inspection but closes before the periodic inspection takes place).Section 140(2) extends the power to waive inspection fees so that any fees charged under section 162B of the 2002 Act may be waived. Subsection (5)provides some flexibility so that different fees can be applied in different cases. Academies, city technology colleges and city colleges for the technology of the arts are not required to pay inspection fees.
135.If any proprietor of an independent educational institution does not pay the appropriate fee, the Secretary of State may remove the establishment from the register (section 112). The Secretary of State must inform the proprietor who may appeal against the decision.
136.The Chief Inspector must publish any report of an inspection which he or she has prepared when directed by the Secretary of State (section 113).