The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) is responsible for carrying out external inspections of all schools in England, in the UK. Compared with early inspections, there is now an increased focus on the contribution that school self-evaluation can make to the inspection process. However, it is clear from studies undertaken in recent years that there is a tension built into the inspection process: it is aimed at assuring accountability but also of ensuring development. The research reported here investigates how teaching staff and school managers in one case study school felt about the self-evaluation procedures that were put in place in preparation for its Ofsted inspection. The purpose is to develop an integrative model that brings together ideas about school self-evaluation, school improvement and the concept of the learning organization.
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