Primaries and secondaries are not being inspected nearly enough, Liz Smith says, even allowing for recent reform of the system and the use of inspectors to help implement Curriculum for Excellence (CfE).
Only 148 inspections will be carried out in 2015/16, compared with 491 in 2004/05, according to official statistics requested by Ms Smith. It equates to less than six per cent of Scotland’s total primary, secondary and special schools.
She said: “Inspections are a vital means of providing parents with the necessary information to make decisions about their children’s schooling.
“But last year we have seen a huge reduction on previous years. And even though the Scottish government says schools should be inspected with some regularity, it would take 19 years for them to get round every school once at this rate.
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