ESF Information Memo 03/22 - Education Training Inspectorate visits

Dear Project Promoter,

You will be aware that formal the Education Training Inspectorate (ETI) Inspections have been paused due to the ongoing pandemic and that, instead, ETI had been carrying out monitoring visits to some ESF projects over the summer. Whilst these monitoring visits proved useful in terms of offering a degree of support to ESF organisations, they were not ideal, from both a Departmental and project perspective, as they did not provide an outcome in terms of the delivery of provision.

Following some discussion with ETI colleagues, I am pleased to report that ETI have agreed to change the format of their visits to include providing an overall quality of provision outcome. This outcome will be informed by your quality improvement plan (QIP) and your self-evaluations. A copy of the revised guidance to ETI visits can be found at: Guidance for European Social Fund projects Call 2 visits from January 2022 (etini.gov.uk)

The visit will enable ETI to identify and affirm good practice in self-evaluation leading to improvement. ETI will also evaluate and report on your project’s safeguarding arrangements.

I expect ETI inspections to begin in the week commencing 10 January 2022 and that projects will be given approximately 2 weeks’ notice of an intended visit.

If you have any queries please feel free to contact me.

Stay safe.

[signed]

Annie McGowan
Head of ESF Project Delivery Branch