108.Subsection (1) requires the Chief Inspector to prepare and publish a report on the findings of each inspection carried out in pursuance of section 38(2). When preparing the report, the Chief Inspector is required by subsection (2) to have regard to any representations made by persons representing the interests of registered teachers or college teaching staff providing teaching or training in the establishment which is the subject of the inspection report.
109.Subsections (3) and (4) make provision about the sharing of advance copies of inspection reports. This rule applies where an inspection is carried out in respect of a single educational establishment or what the Chief Inspector considers to be connected establishments (for example, a boys’ school and a girls’ school which operate as a pair). The rule would therefore not apply to, for example, a thematic inspection report on maths which was produced under section 38(2)(b)(iii) and which sampled 30 different institutions. Where the rule applies, the Chief Inspector must share an advance copy of the inspection report with the institution unless the Chief Inspector considers that there are exceptional circumstances which justify not sharing the advance copy. Section 47(2)(b) makes related provision requiring reporting on the number of times this exception is relied upon.
110.Under subsection (5), where the report is one that relates to an inspection which the Chief Inspector was required to carry out under a Ministerial request, a copy of the report must be passed to the Scottish Ministers. The Chief Inspector is empowered under subsection (6) to lay a copy of any report on an inspection before the Scottish Parliament but is not required to do so (given the expected volume and the fact that they are published anyway).
111.It is for the Chief Inspector to determine the form and content of any report (subsection (7)). Among other things, this flexibility as to content will allow the Chief Inspector to take account of other existing obligations (such as data protection) and good practice when considering the level of detail that it is appropriate to include in each case, balancing the public interest in the outcomes of inspections with privacy considerations.
112.Subsection (8) requires the managers of a relevant educational establishment to have regard to the most recent report published in respect of their establishment. They would be free to have regard also to relevant aspects of older reports, or of reports published in respect of other establishments, but the obligation is only in respect of the current report about their own establishment. The term “managers” is defined in subsection (9).
Overview of the Act Accountability Section 46 – Reports on inspections