Area Inspections
Area inspections are carried out under section 83 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000 (the Act) as amended by Section 178, Education Act 2002 and the National Council for Education and Training Wales (Transfer of Functions to the National Assembly for Wales and Abolition) Order 2005.
This states that if asked to do so by the National Assembly, the Chief Inspector for Wales must inspect:
(a) the quality and availability of a specified description of education or training, in a specified area in Wales, for persons who are aged 15* or over;
(b) the standards achieved by those receiving that education or training; and
(c) whether the financial resources made available to those providing that education and training are managed efficiently and used in a way which provides value for money.
The Chief Inspector for Wales may, without being asked to, conduct such an inspection. The education or training that may be made the subject of an area inspection is any education or training within the remit of the Chief Inspector for Wales.
Inspectors will use Estyn's Common Inspection Framework for Education and Training in Wales supplemented by the relevant guidance relating to the sectors being inspected and any additional specific guidance as appropriate. This will be supplemented where necessary to take account of the particular issues related to the inspection, including the strategy for education and training in the area. Inspectors will evaluate how effective the local strategy for education and training is in raising achievement levels, securing learner success and increasing learner participation.
*Subsequently changed to 14 plus in Section 178, Education Act 2002.
