ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on research that explored parents' experience of, and involvement in, the Office for Standards in Education's (OFSTED) inspection process. The research was conducted for the Research and Information into State Education Trust (RISE). The Education (Schools) Act 1992 established the new inspection arrangements. Information is sought from parents in two ways: a meeting with the Registered Inspector (RgI) who leads the inspection team, held before the inspection is undertaken. The schools' Action Plans were distributed to parents between June and October 1994. Each of the 18 schools agreed to distribute the questionnaires for this study with the Action Plans. During the inspection week parents were not actively involved unless they were governors. A parent governor described his participation as very structured. The summary and final reports prepared by the Registered Inspector reflect the collective view of the whole inspection team, and are sent to the school. The summary should be distributed to all parents.
