The Education (Exemption from School and Further Education Institutions Inspections) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

• Citation: S.I. 2020/1258
• Sections: 4

Section 1 Citation, commencement and application

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Education (Exemption from School and Further Education Institutions Inspections) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 and come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England only.

Section 2 Revocation of the Education (Exemption from School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012

The Education (Exemption from School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012 are revoked.

Section 3 Amendment of the Education (School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2005

(1) The Education (School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2005 are amended as follows.

(2) After regulation 3A insert—

First inspection of a school which has ceased to be an exempt school

(3B)

(1) This regulation applies in the case of a school to which, immediately before this regulation came into force, section 5 of the 2005 Act (duty to inspect certain schools at prescribed intervals) did not apply as a result of the Education (Exemption from School Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012 (a “former exempt school”).

(2) The Chief Inspector must, before 1st August 2026, carry out a section 5 inspection , or an initial section 8 inspection, of the former exempt school.

(3) In this regulation, “initial section 8 inspection” means an inspection carried out under section 8(2) of the 2005 Act (other inspections) for the purposes of determining whether the school would be likely to achieve a grade of “outstanding” for the quality of education it provides if a section 5 inspection were carried out.

(4) Paragraph (5) applies where, having carried out an initial section 8 inspection of a former exempt school for the purposes of paragraph (2), the Chief Inspector is satisfied that the evidence does not suggest that the school would not achieve a grade of “outstanding” for the quality of education it provides if a section 5 inspection were carried out.

(5) For the purposes of regulation 3—

(a) the initial section 8 inspection of the former exempt school is to be treated as the earlier section 5 inspection of that school in determining the first interval between inspections taking place on or after the day on which this regulation came into force; and

(b) the school is to be treated as having been awarded in that earlier section 5 inspection a grade of “outstanding” for the quality of education it provides.

(6) Where paragraph (5) does not apply, the Chief Inspector must carry out a section 5 inspection of the school before 1st August 2027.

(7) Any inspection of a former exempt school that was carried out before the day on which this regulation came into force is to be ignored in determining under regulation 3 the intervals between inspections taking place on or after that day.

(8) For the purposes of this regulation an inspection is treated as being carried out at the time at which it is begun.

Section 4 Revocation of the Further Education Institutions (Exemption from Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012

The Further Education Institutions (Exemption from Inspection) (England) Regulations 2012 are revoked.