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Preparing for school inspections

In a school inspection, teachers, paraprofessionals, and care workers all come under evaluation for several days, and under pressure for even longer.

Data shows of teachers believe a school inspection negatively impacts their mental health. There have even been of how inspections are carried out, in order to better protect staff wellbeing.

While reforms take a long time, there are steps that schools and educators can take to prepare for an inspection, and ensure that staff feel confident and comfortable. In fact, increased staff confidence can lower stress and contribute to better inspection results. It enables staff to perform as their usual selves, and to showcase a more realistic view of how the school runs.

Let’s take a look:

1. Conduct a confidence audit

It’s easy to make assumptions about your staff’s level of confidence before an inspection. People can appear calm and collected, when really they are overwhelmed and nervous. By having an understanding of their real feelings, you can offer more meaningful support that reassures staff.

Months before the inspection, invite staff to complete an anonymous survey where they share what they feel confident about ahead of the inspection, and where they feel less secure. With the first, you can celebrate the things that staff are assured with, and concentrate on building collective morale. With the second, you can run focused sessions to address shared concerns. For example, if staff express that they’re nervous around articulating the curriculum goals, you could host a weekly workshop to review these.

Remember, a confidence audit isn’t about highlighting weaknesses, it’s about reducing anxiety and building staff skills in areas where they need support. And, because staff are given a voice, and see you creating tailored solutions in response, they feel heard and can trust the process more.

2. Share a ‘day in the life’ from past inspections

Having a reference point for what to expect during an inspection is very helpful for staff. It demystifies the process and gives your team an honest view of what’s to come.

Invite a staff member who has previously taken part in an inspection to speak. Ask them to walk through what happened throughout the day, including what time the inspectors arrived and how they interacted with the staff members and students. They could do so via a written timeline, a video or a presentation. If the staff member can include tools and resources that helped them, as well as mention some of the events that surprised them, that’d be great.

The idea isn’t to relive or create pressure, but rather to offer a genuine perspective. Your staff may discover that the inspection is much shorter and straightforward than they envisioned. They are also gently reminded that inspectors are humans – they’re not trying to trip anyone up or paint an unfairly negative picture.

3. Rehearse as well as revise

Staff spend large amounts of time reading documents and policies to prepare for an inspection. Yet, it’s crucial to apply the information and act it out, in order to feel ready.

Rehearsing before an inspection allows staff to articulate what they know in a low-stakes environment. You could organise short role-play sessions, ‘walk and talk’ staff pairings or ‘Talk like an inspector’ meeting where leaders pose typical inspector questions to staff in a supportive setting.

The focus is on clarity, not how well staff act. You could initiate practice with prompts like ‘how do you know your students are learning?’ or ‘how does your curriculum build over time?’ With some practice in articulating their responses, the team will feel more confident responding to inspectors during the actual assessment.

4. Hand out a pre-inspection wellbeing pack

A wellbeing pack is a simple but powerful gesture to recognise the efforts of staff in the build up to an inspection. The contents don’t have to be extravagant, simply things that correlate to what staff need in the moment.

For example, you could add: calming tea, mindfulness prompts, and notes from students encouraging staff. You could distribute the packs with a short but clear message like ‘You’ve done the work. You know your students. You’ve got this.’

Small touches like this can create an atmosphere of feeling valued. The packs aren’t training materials - they’re a token to show that you’re aware of the additional stress that comes with an inspection, and you appreciate their efforts.

5. Reinforce that staff have support

Leadership must be present in the countdown to an inspection. The more that staff see leadership in the school environment, the more they will feel backed up. Inspections can be very lonely for staff, as they are evaluated independently. However, time spent with other teachers and department heads is a powerful reminder that they are part of a larger team.

Senior leaders should walk the corridors regularly and check-in with staff where they can. This can be an informal chat asking about how staff are and what they need. Having easy access to the leadership team emphasises that the inspection isn’t about trying to impress anyone; that authenticity and professionalism matter most.

6. Spotlight staff wins in daily briefings

The lead up to an inspection tends to be dominated by logistics, last-minute reminders, and checklists. Of course, practicalities are necessary, but also use this time to acknowledge what staff are doing well. In particular, highlight the routine behaviours and activities that can go unnoticed.

A creative approach to behaviour management, a pupil who has made progress because of a staff member, an impressive display board, or the integration of new materials. All these things deserve praise, and before an inspection is an effective time to do it. Keep the celebration brief but specific, naming the staff member who facilitated it.

These shout-outs enforce that staff members are already doing a great job, and that the inspection isn’t a performance, it’s an opportunity to showcase the talent embedded in the school’s daily routines.

Confidence is contagious

Confidence comes from staff feeling informed, supported, and seen. Double down on being present with staff, letting them tell you what worries them and what they need, and spotlighting their success. Confidence can be contagious, and you’ll see a domino effect of staff that trust one another, the leadership, and most of all – themselves.

Further reading

Tap into more ways to support school staff. Read 5 ways to work more closely with your school’s paraprofessionals, How to self-assess your teacher performance and practice, and How to reduce your teachers’ workload in the next year.

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