The impact of Ofsted on schools; Ofsted inspection and primary schools - the effect on teachers; the effects of Ofsted on secondary school standards; improvements or control - an American view of English inspection; is Ofsted helpful?; inspection and education - the indivisibility of standards; standards and school inspection - the rhetoric and the reality; Ofsted inspections and socially deprived schools; the Ofsted lay inspector - a neglected species; primary school development and Ofsted inspections; Ofsted and the inspection of teacher training; conclusion - a proposal for the improvement of the inspection system in England and Wales.