Headteachers Who also Inspect: Practitioner Inspectors in England

Abstract

The relationship between headteachers and inspection is complex, particularly when in service head teachers are employed as inspectors. This study takes the English case of inspection to examine how headteachers interpret their work and agency as inspectors. Employing ideas on 'boundary crossing' it is informed by, and contributes to, the literatures about the policy and practice of the implementation of school inspection. In particular, the chapter reflects on how headteachers who inspect see their role, examining their work across the boundary of school leadership and inspection. In considering how headteacher inspectors manage these dual identities we also examine the challenges of an inspection workforce comprising headteachers and their particular role in a self-improving school system.