The national programme of four-yearly school inspections was introduced in 1993, based on common criteria set out in OFSTED's Handbook for the Inspection of Schools. Revised guidelines were introduced in February 1996, reflecting the lessons learned, and this book, originally published in 1996 articulates ideas that would have informed these revisions, including short essays by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and the Education spokesmen of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. Registered inspectors, teachers, researchers, parents, school governors, policy analysts and policy makers all offer their experience of the strengths, weaknesses and outcomes of the OFSTED inspection process. The book is a companion to Improvement through Inspection? - Complementary Approaches to School Development by the same Editors, published and now reissued simultaneously.

Originally published in 1996, the title of this book poses the question whether the motto of the Office for Standards in Education was an apt statement of its effects in practice. Beginning with the state of knowledge about OFSTED's early impact, the Editors review the range of complementary approaches to school improvement - most of them driven by the schools themselves - that were in operation, alongside the OFSTED system of inspection at the time. The major part of the book is taken up with the main 'quality initiatives' that were at work in primary and secondary schools - including Investors in People, Deming, TQM, partnerships, professional competence, strategic planning and effective governorship. Each chapter examines critically - sometimes with the aid of case studies of good practice - the benefits such approaches might bring to schools in their attempts to raise standards. The book is a companion to OFSTED Inspections: The Early Experience by the same Editors, published and reissued simultaneously.

The national programme of four-yearly school inspections was introduced in 1993, based on common criteria set out in OFSTED's Handbook for the Inspection of Schools. Revised guidelines were introduced in February 1996, reflecting the lessons learned, and this book, originally published in 1996 articulates ideas that would have informed these revisions, including short essays by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and the Education spokesmen of the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. Registered inspectors, teachers, researchers, parents, school governors, policy analysts and policy makers all offer their experience of the strengths, weaknesses and outcomes of the OFSTED inspection process. The book is a companion to Improvement through Inspection? - Complementary Approaches to School Development by the same Editors, published and now reissued simultaneously.

Originally published in 1996, the title of this book poses the question whether the motto of the Office for Standards in Education was an apt statement of its effects in practice. Beginning with the state of knowledge about OFSTED's early impact, the Editors review the range of complementary approaches to school improvement - most of them driven by the schools themselves - that were in operation, alongside the OFSTED system of inspection at the time. The major part of the book is taken up with the main 'quality initiatives' that were at work in primary and secondary schools - including Investors in People, Deming, TQM, partnerships, professional competence, strategic planning and effective governorship. Each chapter examines critically - sometimes with the aid of case studies of good practice - the benefits such approaches might bring to schools in their attempts to raise standards. The book is a companion to OFSTED Inspections: The Early Experience by the same Editors, published and reissued simultaneously.

`For those who want to wallow in the past - this is a comfortable book that sets one's own experiences in context. For those who will still be working into the next century, here are the issues we must face as leaders. For those PhD and EdD students seeking topics to research, there are all the controversial issues here that still need investigation and it has a stunning list of references - a roll call of all the great and the good in the last 25 years of educational administration' - International Studies in Educational Administration The book is a challenge to everyone concerned with the present and future state of public education in the UK and the rest of the developed world.The issues are of special concern to those who are expected to provide leadership in schools and colleges and for those with public and political responsibilities. How should our conception of learning and its contribution to a Learning Society be defined? How can education and other aspects of social care and nurturing enhance our lives as people, irrespective of our `performance' capabilities? What is the role of teachers who also `manage' learning? This book contributes formatively to current debate. What can educationists do about the `discontinuous changes ` which threaten parents and professionals alike? Must education submit to the `stranglehold of economic rationalism'? It is hoped that this book will assist all those working to promote education's humane and learning aspirations in society.

`For those who want to wallow in the past - this is a comfortable book that sets one's own experiences in context. For those who will still be working into the next century, here are the issues we must face as leaders. For those PhD and EdD students seeking topics to research, there are all the controversial issues here that still need investigation and it has a stunning list of references - a roll call of all the great and the good in the last 25 years of educational administration' - International Studies in Educational Administration The book is a challenge to everyone concerned with the present and future state of public education in the UK and the rest of the developed world.The issues are of special concern to those who are expected to provide leadership in schools and colleges and for those with public and political responsibilities. How should our conception of learning and its contribution to a Learning Society be defined? How can education and other aspects of social care and nurturing enhance our lives as people, irrespective of our `performance' capabilities? What is the role of teachers who also `manage' learning? This book contributes formatively to current debate. What can educationists do about the `discontinuous changes ` which threaten parents and professionals alike? Must education submit to the `stranglehold of economic rationalism'? It is hoped that this book will assist all those working to promote education's humane and learning aspirations in society.

`This is an important book, not least because OfTED may well have changed English schools more substantially than any previous curriculum development or assessment development programme' - Mentoring & Tutoring

This book looks at the relationship between school inspection and school improvement. The authors show how heads have used inspectors' reports to put in place real school improvement. They deal with the contexts of inspection and comparisons are made with the Australian experience of school self-review. The book focuses on how schools have developed a culture of self-inspection.

The authors consider the system of OfSTED inspections and ask how beneficial inspection has been in encouraging schools to develop and improve. They suggest there is need for a change and that there are alternative approaches to school assessment and improvement, which could be more effective. They argue that the school's own evaluation processes should play a greater part in the arrangements for inspection.

Improving Schools and Inspection will be essential reading for headteachers and other professionals engaged in dealing with inspections.