IGE has a specific law that details its organisational framework and states its role within the education system. Inspection activities range from the supervision of legal compliance to school external evaluation. There are many other activities the Inspectorate can perform, such as monitoring schools’ performance, administrative and financial audits or even disciplinary proceedings against individual staff. Schools are inspected regularly (very often more than once in a year), although in the scope of different activities. The external evaluation of schools (a kind of full inspection) is among the most visible inspection activities.  

All details are given in the following link and in the sources given there. 

Portugal Profile, published 07 January 2009 (pdf 298kb)