THE Scottish Tories clearly think they are on to something in launching an attack on the SNP’s handling of school inspections. Highlighting figures that show there are 66 inspectors in Scotland compared to 80 when the SNP came to power, the Conservatives said inspections were vital for parents to make informed decisions but that many children could go through all their years in class without their school ever being assessed.

To add to the Tories’ case, the figures have emerged just weeks after it was revealed the number of inspections has also fallen in the last ten years. In 2004/5, there were 491 inspections, but in 2015/16 there will be only 148 – which represents a drop of 70 per cent.

However you look at them, those figures are proof of a big fall. But the bald numbers do not tell the whole story. For a start, Education Scotland, which is responsible for inspections, has pointed out that some inspectors have been diverted to helping out with Curriculum for Excellence and that, once that is bedded in, inspections will start to increase again.

But Education Scotland is also piloting some promising changes in how inspections are conducted, including the idea of focusing resources on the schools with the greatest need and looking not just at the school but the whole educational experience including nurseries and colleges. There will also be more “surprise” inspections that would give schools just two days’ notice instead of two weeks.

The reforms will obviously have to be tested in schools, but they could deliver a much better and more detailed impression of where schools are doing well and where they are not. But even a reformed regime will need to keep the central focus on individual schools and how they are performing. And, whatever happens, it needs staff. The Government has said the number of inspections will increase again in the near future – it is a promise that must be kept.