ABSTRACT
In this chapter we look at some of the implications for schools and a Local Education Authority (LEA) who have recently been the subject of an OFSTED Accelerated Inspection Programme (AIP). We explore the background to the schools in this particular part of London, and the processes by which the AIP was initiated and conducted. We look specifically at the way that the schools and the LEA have reacted to the Programme, as identified during an evaluation funded by the London borough of Waltham Forest and undertaken by the Centre for Teacher and School Development at the University of Nottingham. We argue that those working in the fields of school effectiveness and school improvement who are committed to action in such circumstances would be well advised to focus their considerable research, conceptual, strategic and practical experience on issues connected to school development, and offer a range of strategies that we consider appropriate for schools and LEAs in difficult contexts.
