Inspection and change: help or hindrance for the classroom teacher

The main purpose of OFSTED inspection is to bring about improvements in schools. As the quality of teaching and learning is the main focus of Inspection, it is important to know whether inspection actually does bring about improvement in classroom practice. A survey was carried out to investigate teachers' perceptions and responses to inspection. In this paper, we examine whether teachers intend to change their practice as a result of inspection, and look at some of the factors which affect their intentions. We suggest that the way in which teachers are prepared for inspection will affect the quality of changes brought about by the inspection process.