FOI Request - MQIF School Inspections
Request 101003923190
1. What is the overall financial cost, of the Moray Council undertaking internal inspections of all schools, entitled MQIF, both in time from HQ staff & others partaking, and also school staff who are being put under additional pressure with additional workload through having to spend large amounts of time preparing?
2. Will schools be recompensed for this hit on their devolved budgets?
Response 25-02-2026
1. The local authority as the education authority with devolved responsibility for Education in the Moray area will endeavour to secure improvement in the quality of school education which is provided by the schools managed by it. Similarly, the education authority must carry out the duty with a view to achieving the strategic priorities set out in the National Improvement Framework published each year by Scottish Government. Likewise, in respect of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act etc (2000), particular regard is focused upon Section 3 (Raising Standards) where the local authority shall endeavour as education authority to secure improvement in the quality of school education which is provided in the schools managed by them and they shall exercise their functions in relation to such provision with a view to raising standards of education and securing children’s progress.
Similarly, with regard to Section 7 (Review of school performance), an education authority shall, as respects to each school managed by them, from time to time review the quality of education which the school provides; and if, having regard to the measures and standards of performance they conclude in any such review that the school is not performing satisfactorily, they shall take steps as appear to them to be requisite to remedy the matter. Further responsibilities are also outlined in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, 2016.
The Moray Quality Improvement Framework (MQIF) extends beyond a school visit programme and encompasses wider school support activities, strategic developments, Head Teacher support and networks, strategic meetings, working groups and governance processes. As a local authority, we do not undertake inspections. However, in line with statutory duties, MQIF School Reviews are undertaken by central reviewing teams as part of their Quality Improvement roles who are also joined by peer senior and middle leaders from schools in order to support looking outwards and sharing good practice as a service-learning activity. MQIF visits other than timetabling and visit planning should not add notable workload to Head Teachers or schools, where planning and delivery of high quality learning, teaching and assessment, ensuring appropriate curriculum delivery, supporting all learners through universal and targeted interventions and working on priorities identified through continuous school self-evaluation should be part of a school's daily work as framed by individual school Working Time Agreements, employee contractual obligations and as set out in the national quality indicator framework for schools, How Good Is Our School 4.
With specific regard to MQIF reviews, where these are undertaken based on school level of need these may differ in team sizes depending on the size/context of individual schools, following our schedule shared with Head Teachers at the start of session. All visits are planned in partnership with Head Teachers and led by the Quality Improvement Officer linked to the respective Family Improvement Group that a school belongs to (in Moray, we organise all 52 schools into 6 Family Improvement Groups, sharing similar demographics/contexts) which also allow for sharing good practice, with peer reviewers (e.g. Head Teachers, Depute Head Teachers) joining from other Family Improvement Group schools. Staff may be asked to join a short Focus Group to provide their views, where visits will focus on review of data, gather views of key stakeholders and also involve learning observations to gauge quality of learning experience for children and young people.
Feedback from Head Teachers and schools post-visits highlight that these are welcomed and useful in supporting schools in highlighting key strengths and areas of improvement to focus upon in continuous School Improvement Planning. This also supports schools in the event of forthcoming inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), where preparing Head Teachers and schools for possible HMIE activity is also part of MQIF activities in addition to school reviews as outlined above. Due to the differing sizes of teams it is not possible to provide financial cost of MQIF reviews, forming part of central Quality Improvement team duties and responsibilities.
Staff may also wish to opt out of focus groups, with most schools seeking volunteers to take part. Planning and delivery of high quality learning, teaching and assessment should be ongoing on a daily basis as outlined within job descriptions and not result in additional workload and MQIF reviews are undertaken as a supportive measure. Where any individual member of staff is concerned by pressure or workload in preparing for any visit, they should speak with their Head Teacher and seek support in advance of any visit.
2. MQIF reviews should not result in any financial impact on school budget as outlined above.