Competences - Regional Inspectorate of Education

Mission

The Regional Inspectorate of Education (IRE) has as its mission to ensure the strategic supervision of the educational system of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, including the regulation of legal matters as well as administrative, financial and management auditing. This entity is responsible for the evaluation of activities and programmes, educational establishments, services and entities that make up the regional education system, also providing specialised technical support.

Competences

IRE has the following responsibilities:
- Advocate for the quality of the regional education system, namely through the creation, planning, coordination and conduction of inspections and audits to educational establishments;
- Guarantee equity in the regional education system, safeguarding the legitimate interests of all those who are part of it and its users;
- Monitor, evaluate, audit, supervise and inspect educational establishments integrated into the regional education system in terms of technical and educational resources, administrative and financial aspects, budged and asset and human resources;
- Carry out inspection operations, such as interventions, audits, inspections, enquiries and investigations, without prejudice to other acts established by special legislation;
- Analyse the legal and regulatory conformity of the acts performed by the heads of school establishments, services and entities that make up the regional education system, namely as regards human resources, budget, economic, financial and asset management matters, conducting audits to their internal control systems and procedures;
- Monitor the effective, efficient and economic application of public funds allocated to school establishments, services and entities that make up the regional education system, pursuant to the law and according the goals of the Regional Government, assessing the results achieved in light of the means available;
- Conduct disciplinary and administrative proceedings resulting from inspections or determined by legal impositions or higher decision-making levels;
- Collect information and prepare reports on the situation of educational establishments regarding educational and administrative-financial matters as part of the inspections carried out;
- Verify and ensure, on a systematic basis, compliance with the legal provisions, regulations and guidelines defined by higher decision-making levels;
- Carry out inspections to verify compliance with recommendations and measures proposed in previous inspections;
- Propose and collaborate in the preparation of preventive and corrective measures, namely in legislative matters, aimed at improving the functioning and quality of the regional education system;
- Carry out comprehensive assessments of the regional education system, including interventions in the regulated self-assessment process of educational establishments;
- Carry out comparative analyses of the data collected from inspections so as to contribute to the creation of management indicators for the regional education system;
- Monitor the operation of programmes with specific regulations as well as the development courses and experimental curriculum structures for regular education;
- Analyse the educational process towards the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs or learning difficulties;
- Monitor and participate in the evaluation process of teaching performance;
- Assess the implementation of the legal scheme establishing the creation, autonomy and management of educational establishments within the regional education system;
- Organise and update documents, work programmes and other technical support instruments for inspection activities;
- Update the disciplinary record of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the regional education system, following inspection actions, ensuring their access to all the information concerning them;
- Evaluate the organisation and functioning of private educational establishments, issuing recommendations to them on disciplinary and administrative proceedings as legally required;
- Collaborate with other inspection services or other entities in matters of interest to the regional education system;
- Carry out inspections and prepare reports on the state of conservation as well as on safety and hygiene conditions of educational establishments, focusing on the existence of safety and evacuation plans;
- Participate in the evaluation process of schools and support the development of activities in this regard.

As a specialised technical support service, IRE has the following responsibilities:
- Draft legislative proposals and deliver opinions on those submitted to this entity;
- Promote technical research, carry out studies and deliver opinions;
- Participate in and providing technical support to regional and national juries, committees and working groups;
- Ensure, within the scope of its mission, the coordination and cooperation with similar entities at regional, national and international levels;
- Carry out any other specialised technical support tasks that may be required.

Constitutive Documents:
Regional Implementing Decree no.25/2011/A of November 25