Using an external partner for internal scrutiny can be a worrying task, with your procedures and practices being put under scrutiny and tested for weaknesses. But is internal scrutiny really a scary prospect? Schools and trusts are already carrying out internal scrutiny routinely, often on a day-to-day basis, it just isn't necessarily categorised as such.
Learning walks, teacher observations and progress data reviews are all part of ongoing scrutiny of educational practices, as well as much of your other of your operational activities such as:
- routine management checks/monitoring of statutory testing
- counter-signatories' double checking transactions put in front of them for approval
- school/site level sampling of processes and records by the central team
- staff/student/stakeholder questionnaires
- the work of the DPO to quality assure arrangements for information governance and GDPR
From these examples alone, it is easy to see how day-to-day activities in schools and trusts contribute to your internal scrutiny. A natural progression from this is to bring in an internal scrutiny partner, who can help to carry out more in-depth checks and expand on your existing observations.
Recognising that internal scrutiny is a routine part of a working day can help to change culture and perception around internal scrutiny, helping to minimise unnecessary anxiety and apprehension.
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