ABSTRACT
West-Burnham stresses that a customer is anyone to whom a product or service is provided and that there are internal and external customers. In the case of a school the customers can include children, parents, governors, inspectors, politicians, the LEA, local employers and members of the local community. In short, the school needs to develop a partnership with its customers and partnership activity should be promoted in pursuit of school improvement policies. There are a number of very good reasons, both within and outside the quality debate, as to why schools should develop a partnership with parents. The concern about parental help being detrimental could also be turned around. Some parents would attempt to help their children, rightly so, whether they were given guidance or not. The school displayed its own resources with which parents were encouraged to familiarize themselves. The quality circle was concerned that, when waiting occurred, the parents should be kept as comfortable as possible.
