Method and instruments: CIPO and the perspectives

What do we examine?

Using the CIPO-reference frame the inspection team gathers and organizes her findings during an audit.

This organization is based on the four components: Context, Input, Process and Output.

Our examination starts from the output: we examine results the institution attains with her processes with her pupils or students. The processes explain whether or not these effects are reached. Eventually we also examine the context and input, but in itself they do not put into perspective whether or not the school reaches the output.

Only the component Process is subdivided into four domains:

General policy
Staff policy
Resource policy
Educational policy

Each component contains a set of indicators.

Variables are more specific characteristics that form an indicator.

How do we examine?

For each aspect of the institution’s operation which we examine we ask the same basic questions. Each time it is about a balance between two poles (and not two extremes):

1.1 Support What supporting initiatives does the school, centre or academy develop?	1.2 Effects What effects does the school, centre or academy want to achieve by those initiatives?
> equilibrium: effective care <
2.1 Development What developments are running in the school, centre or academy?	2.2 Accountability How does the school, centre or academy account for the chosen initiatives, effects, developments, …?
> equilibrium: reliable development <
3.1 Internal evaluation How does the school, centre, academy itself evaluate the reached learning effects and results?	3.2 External evaluation How does the school, centre, academy use evaluations made by others?
> equilibrium: evaluated self-reflection <