This article covers staff who inspect maintained schools, including maintained nursery schools. It also covers staff who inspect non-maintained early years settings that receive funding from local authorities to provide early years education.

Children’s social care and day care settings not in receipt of government funding to deliver education for three- and four-year olds are regulated and inspected by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW). For further information, see the article ‘Quality Assurance in Early Childhood and School Education’.

Inspectors of maintained schools are employed by Estyn, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales, an independent body responsible for inspecting quality and standards in education and training providers.

There are various types of inspector involved in the inspection of schools, either employed directly by, or working under contract to, Estyn, as follows:

1. Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and Training (HMI) are employed by Estyn as permanent members of staff and are civil servants who lead and carry out inspection work and other tasks within their area of expertise;
2. Registered Inspectors (RgI) and Registered Nursery Inspectors (RgNI) act as Lead Inspectors, effectively carrying out the same role as an HMI, but on a contract basis; 
3. Peer Inspectors (PI) are individuals who have a managerial role in a school or college and teaching experience who are trained and recruited by Estyn and are full members of an inspection team, joining an inspection for a maximum of three times a year for a maximum of five days at a time;
4. Additional Inspectors (AI): Team Inspectors work on inspection teams led by an HMI, RgI or RgNI and are independent, self-employed inspectors, trained by Estyn and contracted to carry out inspection work;
5. Additional Inspectors: Secondees are seconded by an external employer and paid by Estyn to work on inspection teams for a fixed period of time (generally up to two years), carrying out the same work as HMIs;
6. Lay Inspectors are members of the public who are trained and contracted by Estyn to take part in school inspection.

Requirements for appointment

All inspectors who visit schools, further education and early years settings and have contact with children must undergo ‘safer recruitment’ checks before their appointment is confirmed. This includes an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Estyn’s policy on DBS checks is set out in in a 2019 document.

For more information on safer recruitment requirements, see the sub-heading ‘Entry to the profession’ in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’.

Whether deploying its own inspectors or contracting them, Estyn is responsible for setting the standards required. Candidates must have senior leadership experience in the education sector. This may have been as a headteacher or deputy headteacher, senior management team member, subject leader, local authority manager, inspection contractor, or as a manager in an educational organisation supporting schools. (Lay Inspectors should not have been teachers or employed within schools or other education settings.) There may be a Welsh language requirement for some posts. For an example of the requirements for the ‘Peer Inspector’ role, see Estyn’s ‘How do I become a peer inspector’.

Conditions of service

Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education and Training (HMI) are civil servants. A permanent full-time employee is usually required to work a five-day week of 37 hours (Monday to Friday). There is an annual leave allowance of 31 days a year, plus 10 public/privilege holidays. Staff are entitled to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme to which Estyn makes a contribution.

The conditions of service of Additional Inspectors: Secondees are a matter for the original employer.

Article last reviewed April 2021.