Children and Young People feedback

The introduction to the questionnaire made it clear that the views of children and young people are valued because of their experiences and the insights they have into school life. It stressed that children and young people can make a difference, by helping inspectors see what is working well and what needs to change and shaping school inspections in future.

A total of 482 responses were received to the children and young people online questionnaire. The largest number of these – 314 responses – were from those at primary school with a further 131 coming from those at secondary school. There were smaller numbers from both special education schools, and independent schools.

In addition, 46 children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) took part in meetings held by HM Inspectors in special school settings, with their feedback mapped and analysed alongside the Citizen Space responses to ensure their views were fully reflected in the overall findings.

What do inspectors look at when they inspect schools?

Children and young people were asked about the things they think are the most important for inspectors to look at when visiting their school, with a list of 18 different options given. All the options scored highly in terms of importance, with ‘What it feels like to be in your school’ and ‘How school keeps you safe and protected’ most likely to be important to children and young people. More than 9 out of 10 thought these were important.

Children and young people were asked if there were any important areas they thought were missing from the list of options that inspectors should look at when visiting schools. The answers often talked about the physical school environment, including classrooms, toilets, canteen areas and outside spaces. Children and young people in both primary and secondary schools raised issues connected to overall wellbeing, with the relationship between teachers and children and young people also seen as important.

The children and young people taking part in the ASN meetings also raised the importance of wellbeing in special school settings, including in relation to mealtimes, friendships, and support to meet their sensory needs.

People who are involved in school inspection

Most children and young people thought it was a good idea that they should help inspectors understand how well their school is doing. The quantifier terminology adopted is in line with HMIE’s standard definitions, as outlined on the main report. A majority also thought that senior staff helping was a good idea, although secondary school pupils were less likely to think so than primary school pupils.

Arrangements for school inspections

Children and young people were asked how often schools should be inspected, with ‘at least once every 5 years’ the most popular choice, particularly among secondary school pupils. There was not much support for either the ‘at least every 7 years’ or ‘at least every 10 years’ options.

At present, inspectors usually tell a school that they will be coming to inspect about two and a half weeks beforehand. Children and young people were asked for their views on when schools should be told that inspectors are visiting, but overall, they did not have a clear preference. Primary school children were slightly more likely to think that ‘about 2 and a half weeks’ was the best option while secondary school pupils were slightly more likely to choose ‘about 2 days’.

Information before an inspection takes place

Children and young people were asked for their opinion on inspectors asking for the views of different people before they visit a school. They were also asked the best ways for them to hear the views of children and young people at the school.

A majority of children and young people thought it would be a good idea for their headteacher to tell inspectors what they think is going well and what could be better before an inspection starts. Primary school pupils were more likely to think this than secondary school pupils.

Children and young people were even more likely to think it was a good idea that they are asked what is going well and what needs to improve before the inspection starts. Secondary school pupils were particularly keen to be able to share their views and experiences.

Children and young people were given three options for how inspectors could find out what they think about their school before a visit. A questionnaire and a discussion were more popular methods than an online tool.

How inspectors describe how well a school is doing

Children and young people had quite mixed views on whether it is a good idea for school inspectors to use one-word grades to describe how well their school is doing, with more unsure about this issue than at most other questions.

Primary school pupils were more likely to think using one-word grades is a good idea; around 4 in 10 (43%) chose this option. However, almost half of secondary school pupils (49%) did not think one-word grades are a good idea.

How children and young people find out what inspectors said

A majority of children and young people thought it would be a good idea for inspectors to prepare a report for children and young people after their school has been inspected, with secondary school pupils slightly more likely to think it is a good idea than those at primary school.

Children and young people were most likely to think that a video would be the best way for inspectors to tell them how their school is doing, although there was also support for either a report or a letter. If reports are provided, it was suggested that these should be child friendly and easy to read.

The children and young people taking part in the ASN meetings thought Inspectors should talk to pupils before they leave the school, to give them feedback about the inspection and how it went. They stressed how important it is for Inspectors to use their preferred methods of communication.

Follow-up inspections and support

Most children and young people thought that, if there were lots of areas that needed to get better, it would be a good idea for inspectors to come back to their school to see if things had improved. Most also thought it would be good idea for children and young people to be involved in helping inspectors understand what has improved.