Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish, which can also refer to the collective of Dutch dialects spoken in that area, or more generally the Belgian variant of Standard Dutch.
Belgium is a federal state comprising three communities and three regions that are based on four language areas. For each of these subdivision types, the subdivisions together make up the entire country; in other words, the types overlap.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training and childcare services in England do so to a high standard for children and students. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting a range of educational institutions, including state schools and some independent schools. It also inspects childcare, adoption and fostering agencies and initial teacher training, and regulates early years childcare facilities and children's social care services.
An inspection is, most generally, an organized examination or formal evaluation exercise. In engineering activities inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in regard to an object or activity. The results are usually compared to specified requirements and standards for determining whether the item or activity is in line with these targets, often with a Standard Inspection Procedure in place to ensure consistent checking. Inspections are usually non-destructive.
The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,626 km2 (5,261 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 58% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 500/km2 (1,300/sq mi).
The Flemish Community is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities only within the precise geographical boundaries of the Dutch-language area and of the bilingual area of Brussels-Capital. Unlike in the French Community of Belgium, the competences of the Flemish Community have been unified with those of the Flemish Region and are exercised by one directly elected Flemish Parliament based in Brussels.
The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region of Belgium. It consists of a government cabinet, headed by the Minister-President and accountable to the Flemish Parliament, and the public administration divided into 13 policy areas, each with an executive department and multiple agencies.
The Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) is approved by the Secretary of State for Education – under section 106 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 – to inspect private schools in England. These schools are members of associations, which form the Independent Schools Council.
The Care Inspectorate is a scrutiny body which supports improvement. They look at the quality of care in Scotland to ensure it meets high standards. Where improvement is needed, they support services to make positive changes. The Care Inspectorate was set up in April 2011 by the Scottish Government as a single regulatory body for social work and social care services, including child protection and the integration of children's services. The new organisation took on work in these areas previously carried out by:
An inspectorate or inspectorate-general is a civil or military body charged with inspecting and reporting on some institution or institutions in its field of competence. Inspectorates cover a broad spectrum of organizations which vary in a number of terms, notably whether and to the degree to which they become involved in criminal investigations; the extent to which they achieve independence from the institutions being inspected; as well as the nature of their inspection regimes and reporting processes.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England.
Belgium has a universal healthcare system. Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly, there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few private hospitals. Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage; which covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.
The Health Information and Quality Authority is a statutory, government-funded agency in Ireland which monitors the safety and quality of the healthcare and social care systems. Mooted as early as 2001, HIQA received its powers and mandate in May 2007 under the Health Act 2007. The Authority also exercises functions under the Child Care Act 1991 and the Children Act 2001.
Education Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government, tasked with improving the quality of the country's education system. Education Scotland is responsible for inspecting Scotland's state–funded primary and secondary schools, as well as nursery schools which form part of a primary school. Education Scotland and Scotland's Care Inspectorate may collaborate in joint–inspection processes of nursery schools, with work commencing in 2023 for the establishment of a joint inspection framework by both bodies.
Flemish (Vlaams) is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch, Belgian Dutch, or Southern Dutch. Flemish is native to the region known as Flanders in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Belgium Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders.
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate is a governmental institution that supervises public health in the Netherlands. It is part of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, located in Utrecht. The IGJ supervises the quality, safety and accessibility of health care, and guards the rights of patients.
The Department of Welfare, Public Health and Family is a department of the Flemish Government. The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community of Belgium. The department is a part of the so-called Welfare, Public Health and Family policy area, which consists of the department and a few associated agencies. The minister responsible for the department is the minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family of the Flemish Government. The current minister in the Bourgeois Government, which assumed office in 2014, is Jo Vandeurzen of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party. The department itself is led by a secretary-general. The department consists of nine divisions, of which the services of the secretary-general form one. Two of those divisions also form the Care Inspectorate, which inspects all health and welfare services and establishments that are recognised, licensed or subsidised by the department or any agency associated with it.
The Child and Family Agency is an agency of the Flemish Government. The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community of Belgium. In Belgium, the Communities are responsible for the provision of child and family services. The Child and Family Agency has three main tasks: the regulation and subsidising of child care services, the provision of preventive family support services and guidance to parents and children in cases of adoption. The agency also recognises and subsidises so-called confidential centres on child abuse, which offer voluntary assistance in cases of child abuse or child neglect. For the inspection of child care services, the agency relies on the Flemish Care Inspectorate.
The Agency for Care and Health is an agency of the Flemish Government. The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community of Belgium. In Belgium, the Communities are responsible for certain aspects of social care, health care and public health policy. The Agency for Care and Health is responsible for the recognition, licensing and subsidising of various providers and services for health care, elderly care, home care, residential care, and other forms of care, for facilitating the cooperation and data sharing between these services, for the organisation of preventive health services such as vaccinations and screening programs, for the control of infectious diseases, for environmental health monitoring, and for the organisation of the Flemish social protection programs. The Agency for Care and Health relies on the Flemish Care Inspectorate for the inspection of any of the services it is responsible for.
The Youth Welfare Agency is an agency of the Flemish Government responsible for child welfare.
Flemish Community