ABSTRACT
Introduction The new 2005-6 school year in England saw the introduction of what is promised to be a ‘New Relationship with Schools’ (Miliband, 2005). It is a policy initiative so well publicised as to be now referred to simply as NRwS. It is a ‘new’ relationship because it is designed to address the dissatisfaction with an inspection regime that had often been counter productive in its impact on school and classroom life (see for example, Rosenthal, 2001) as well as acknowledging the growing importance of school self-evaluation. The New Relationship shares much in common with the new rapport between government and schools in Hong Kong. There it is a relationship that has been developing less hurriedly than in England, implemented and monitored over the last three years (Education and Manpower Bureau, 2003). It too was impelled by a recognition that self-evaluation is a significant and growing trend and that inspection of itself does not empower schools to effect improvement. So, in 2003 the six year old Quality Assurance framework was replaced by school self-evaluation and external review, now familiar enough to be known by its acronym SSE and ESR.
