ABSTRACT
HMI inspections came round about once every 250 years, in any case at sufficient intervals for most teachers and headteachers to escape inspection throughout their careers. HMI were a cadre of highly experienced and mostly well-respected senior professionals. They were responsible for inspecting and evaluating a few individual schools, but the main part of their work was to provide information on education to the Secretary of State by carrying out and publishing national surveys, thematic studies, and evaluations of the teaching of particular subjects and aspects of school life across the country. In the 2000s, the accountability measures were plain to all and common across schools. Changes to the accountability framework impose pressure on schools to offer a curriculum that will look well in tables, whether or not it motivates and meets the needs of students.
