ABSTRACT
The Education Act 1992 introduced significant changes to the methods of external inspection of all maintained schools in England and Wales. The Ofsted inspections, however, are meant to have a more direct effect on the policy and practices of schools, and to 'police' the changes that should have been made. Chris's view about the paperwork also changed before and after the inspection, but far more dramatically than Theresa's. A criticism often made of the Ofsted mode of inspection is that it represents only a snapshot of the school, and not necessarily a faithful one. In the week after the inspection, Theresa returned immediately to her usual classroom practice. Chris felt that the inspection enhanced both her own and her teachers' professionalism. In marked contrast to Chris and Theresa, Shula's inspection was devastating, almost totally deconstructing the world on which her teaching was based.
