Training course and Job-Shadowing: School Inspectors

The programme aims to share knowledge on the best practices and methodology in School Inspection from Italy in order to apply this in Bulgaria. As part of this initiative, there are four participants in Sicily, Italy, and eight of their colleagues are going to implement a similar programme in Estonia and the Netherlands respectively with similar aims. The idea is that seeing how various countries create a framework for, comply with and carry out school inspection will provide invaluable insight which can later be applied when the participants return to Bulgaria to create training courses for potential external school inspectors. With over 400 schools to inspect in Bulgaria, and only a handful of inspectors, it is imperative that new inspectors are trained, and we are delighted to have a hand in that process.

Surprisingly, the standardisation of school inspection is somewhat of a recent update in many countries. Bulgaria only introduced such measures in 2018 and Italy in 2010 with the SNV (sistema nazionale di valutazione). 

The programme, like all of the training courses at BrainUp Lab, aims to provide a complete learning and cultural experience. The week kicked off with an introduction to the host institutions and an overview of Sicily and the region from the EProjectConsult Director Nino Pietrini. Then, in the afternoon the training course began. With resident trainer Anna De Trovato, the groups were given an overview of NFE (non-formal education) as well as a cultural information exchange on the difference and similarities between Bulgarian and Italian education systems and inspection. The first day of learning ended with a classic Italian aperitivo in the evening after the lesson. 

Sessions were held in the following days to clarify various aspects of the Italian School inspection system, SNV, which is comprised of three bodies: Indire (National Institution of Documentation, Innovation and Research), Invalsi (concerned with the valuation of education) and Inspectorate, which is the independent inspectoral body. They were given the opportunity to talk to Italian professionals with knowledge of and involvement in the process, such as a Secondary School Headmaster at I.T.E.T “E. Fermi”, and the Italian external auditor. Additionally, they shadowed a school inspector on the job to see what criteria is used to assess the schooling quality.

On Thursday, they were brought to I.T.T.S E. Majorana Milazzo, a school which is unique in the area regarding its educational approach, it has over 1500 pupils and follows an international model whereby students move from classroom to classroom depending on their next lesson. The week of training finished with an information session on Covid precautions in schooling and a meeting with the engineer Salvatore Scarpaci who advised on and applied measures to prevent the spread of disease in Italian schools.

Over the duration of the course participants took trips to nearby sights such as Milazzo, Messiina and Parco Museo Jalari. The last day in Sicily marked with a special excursion to Mt. Etna and a wine tasting at the cantine Gambino.