Teachers will be able to delay the publication of school inspection reports from next January if they are unhappy with their findings.
Proposed guidelines prepared by the Department of Education say teachers or school boards of management can request a formal review of an inspection, and that the report will not be published until this process is completed.
The guidelines say the inspection reports will be posted on the Department of Education website from January next.
The department says publishing reports will "improve customer service and promote openness within the education system".
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has stressed that the reports will not single out individual teachers for criticism.
But some teachers, especially in smaller schools, are concerned that they could be readily identifiable in the published reports.
Under the proposals, inspection reports on more than 4,000 primary schools and 700 post-primary schools would become available.
The Minister stressed the reports would give a "rounded picture" of the school. They would not, for example, give Leaving Cert results, and cannot be used to help compile school league tables.
The department said the reports would evaluate the work of the school as a whole or the work of the school in delivering an area of the curriculum. It said findings would take account of the social background in which the school was operating.
The guidelines outline new procedures in advance of publication. These include:
On receipt of the pre-publication report, the school has three options. It can:
If no such request if received, the department will press ahead with publication.
Despite some misgivings, the teachers' unions have backed publication.
