TEACHERS, PARENTS and school management will meet representatives of the Department of Education tomorrow to begin the promised consultative process on the proposed new model of school inspection.

The White Paper indicated that in-depth inspections on a range of schools will be carried out on a regular basis and that "school inspection will take place within an agreed time-frame, with a whole school focus, and in co-operation with the school in the context of its school plan".

The ASTI supports the idea of "whole school inspection" proposed in the White Paper, with the proviso that inspections are carried out according to agreed procedures, according to John White, assistant general secretary of the ASTI. There should be collaboration and visits should not be intrusive, according to the union. There should be a clear statement of the purpose of the visit and due account should be taken of the school environment, facilities, equipment, the pupils attending and the catchment area, says White. He notes that there is some confusion as to what a school plan should include.

Whole school assessment will be phased in to both primary and second level schools, on a gradual basis. The whole school approach will ensure that each school is inspected and reported upon as a unit, according to the Department of Education. The emphasis will be on evaluation of the school as a whole and not on appraisal of individual teachers.

The inspection will focus on the development of staff, the quality of school buildings and on the provision for meeting individual student needs. It will be concerned with the manner in which all the resources of the school - human, physical and financial - are being used.

Rose Malone, education officer with the TUI, points out that this is a major change from the present subject-centred system. "If it is to be supportive of teachers we would need agreed procedures," she adds. The inspectorate can be part of a disciplinary process at present, she points out. There is an agreed process with an appeals procedure and the TUI would like this arrangement to be continued independent of any whole school approach.

The Department has stated that it hopes agreement can be reached on the general principles of whole school inspection at an early stage, and arrangements made for a pilot implementation in a small number of schools as soon as possible. It is proposed that this would take place before the establishment of the Regional Education Boards.