Sharing the RIF: online advice to the Chair of the Parent Council
As the Chair of the Parent Council you will receive in confidence a copy of the
Record of Inspection Findings (RIF). We will send it to you five days after the letter is
published on the Education Scotland website. The RIF is also provided for use by
the education authority and headteacher/centre manager of your school/ centre. It is
a technical document designed to support improvement. The RIF is not intended as
a document for general distribution to the Parent Council or other parents. We ask
that you will use its content carefully with a focus on supporting parents to become
more involved in helping the school to improve. You should always consult closely
with your headteacher on how best to use it.
The information in the RIF is checked and edited to ensure that individual members
of staff below appropriate levels of seniority and individual children, or small groups
of children, cannot be identified and that it conforms to Scottish Government
guidelines on the disclosure of data. You should decide on a strategy, in discussion
with the headteacher, for sharing relevant information with members of the Parent
Council.
It is important to remember that the RIF is not an exclusive record of all of the
evidence which underpins the inspection evaluations as expressed in the published
letter, and should not be regarded as such. The team will have used notes,
observations, other evidence and their professional judgement to come to their
evaluations of the school.
Some ideas for using sections of the RIF include:
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discussion of priorities within the school improvement plan;
discussion of budget priorities and resource issues;
planning of workshops for parents about how best they can support the learning
of their children;
planning of workshops about Curriculum for Excellence;
planning of workshops about the promotion of health and well being and sensitive
health education issues; and
in some cases, discussion of an action plan in relation to points the main points
for action contained in the report.
The RIF is open to freedom of information requests. If you are approached with
regard to such a request you should take advice from your headteacher/head of
centre and contact Education Scotland at enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk.
You will receive further information about using the RIF in a letter that will
accompany your school’s RIF and in the RIF itself.