SCOTTISH schools will be hit by surprise inspections under controversial new plans.
Schools quango Education Scotland said "no-notice" inspections were being considered under a wider review of the way standards are monitored.
Currently, primary schools are given two weeks' warning ahead of a visit from inspectors with secondaries receiving three weeks' notice.
However, there are concerns the notice period gives schools too long to prepare with inspections not providing evidence of how schools are run throughout the rest of the year.
The period of preparation can also be very stressful for school staff and distract them from the core business of teaching pupils.
A spokeswoman for Education Scotland said: "As part of an ongoing review we have been considering no-notice inspections along with many other measures to ensure that inspections and reviews reflect education and the changes that have taken place over the last few years.
"We are in the middle of an extensive consultation process, the findings of which will be published in the summer."
There was a mixed reaction to the move from teaching unions who stressed it would have to be piloted before any national roll-out.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), said: "The last time this was discussed there was no open hostility to the idea and there was a feeling it might be worth doing a pilot, but we should be aware we might lose some advantages in the current system.
"The run-up to inspections can be seen as stressful by school staff because there is a lot of preparation that goes on.
"However, inspectors could turn up on a particular day where there are staff shortages or the headteacher is unavailable and there would be practical issues about whether the inspection could go ahead."
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, said members would be discussing the issue at its annual congress next month.
He said: "Some think it is an advantage not having any notice because it takes the pressure off, but others want to put the school in the best light and that it could be damaging if things are not as good as they could be."
James Thewliss, the headteacher of Harris Academy, in Dundee, who is set to become the new general secretary of the School Leaders' Scotland secondary headteachers union said inspections were better in the context of proper background information being available.
"We are more than happy to discuss a reduction from three weeks, but these instant, walk-through-the-door inspections do not have a good history in schools," he added.
However, Greg Dempster, general secretary of the Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland, which represents primary headteachers, said some members favoured a move to no-notice inspections or shorter lead-in times.
But he added: "There are significant potential pitfalls, such as if inspectors arrive when a large number of pupils are away on a trip or the headteacher was out on a course.
"We would also object if no-notice inspections were run alongside the current inspection regime with some schools being given two or three weeks to prepare and others no preparation time at all."
The ongoing Education Scotland review of school inspections was triggered by significant changes to education delivery in Scotland, including the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence, and societal changes such as demographic shifts and the increasing use of technology.
Changes were last introduced to the inspection process in 2011, when the consultation process revealed that some respondents felt strongly that unannounced inspections should be introduced.
However, this was rejected because no-notice inspections were deemed by Education Scotland to be "problematic from a practical point of view". There were also concerns they would increase anxiety among staff and make it harder to involve parents.
Eileen Prior, executive director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: "The most significant disadvantage from our point of view is that little or no notice would make it very difficult for parents to get involved in the inspection process."
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