Quality Assurance in Secondary Education

Discusses the need for secondary schools to own quality assurance and not to see it as an external imposition. Identifies four principles for school quality assurance: a focus on pupils and learning; reflecting stakeholders′ needs; demonstrable quality; and the need for feedback. Discusses the weakness of present performance indicators and how they could be designed and used more effectively. Suggests that a school quality assurance system should be used by stakeholders (governors, parents, pupils, teachers, etc.) to negotiate measures which meet their particular needs. Proposes a method of identifying and negotiating needs and turning them into measures.