This study clarifies the significance of Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills（ Ofsted） inspection in initial teacher training（ ITT） in England with a focus on the quality assurance of ‘School Direct’. It is mandatory for every ITT provider to be inspected by Ofsted; the influence of these inspections became emphasised. However, previous studies have not paid adequate attention to Ofsted inspection in ITT. ‘School Direct’ is the latest‘ school-led’ ITT programme provided by an accredited‘ lead school’ in partnership with an accredited ITT provider, i.e. higher education institutions（ HEIs） or school-centred initial teacher training（ SCITT）‘. School Direct’ is the name of an ITT programme, whereas the word‘ SCITT’ simultaneously includes both the name of an accredited ITT provider and the name of the ITT programme. The British government regards this newtype of programme as a key element of teacher education reform. In addition, the introduction of ‘School Direct’ brought a new dimension to quality assurance for ITT. Since accredited lead schools can provide a School Direct Programme at a small scale and can choose different ITT providers as they prefer, the ITT system became very complicated after the introduction of ‘School Direct’. The two main findings of this study are discussed below. First, it can be pointed out that the Department for Education and National College for Teaching and Leadership seems to consider that an‘ outstanding’ school can offer an‘ outstanding’ ITT programme, despite a lack of evidence. The grade of school inspection by Ofsted is diverted to the accreditation of the lead schools and the allocation of a number of places for trainees. Nevertheless, Ofsted inspection for schools focuses on the effectiveness of a school, not the quality of the ITT course. Second, there is no opportunity for the‘ School Direct’ programme itself to be directly inspected. In other words, the programme is inspected by Ofsted indirectly as a part of a larger, more general inspection of ITT providers. This means that the current implementation of Ofsted inspection for ITT providers does not match the reality. Under these circumstances, some research-oriented universities decided to withdraw ITT provider accreditation because of the difficulty of quality assurance. Currently, being an ITT provider can pose a risk for higher education institutions. In conclusion, the rapid expansion of School Direct without effective quality assurance, and the emphasis on Ofsted inspection, results in a change in the role of university in teacher education.

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In Japan, the number of“ community schools” are increasing. A community school is a school which has a school management committee organized by representatives drawn from the local community and parents. Community schools are expected to play a key role in establishing an organized system of continuous coordination and cooperation between the school and the community. As the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is determined to promote the expansion and enhancement of this system, the number of such schools will increase in Japan. However, it will be necessary to continue providing support for school management councils in order to prevent a loss of substance and promote effective functioning. This article aims to address some implications concerning how community schools in Japan can be supported by examining the characteristics of and actual support for Parent Councils in Scotland. In Scotland, Parent Councils were established in 2006. They were created for each school, and it is an organization through which parents express their opinions on the education of their children, and provide education in collaboration with the school and the local authority. The Parent Council is required to support the school in its education of children. In order to support these kinds of organizations and to enhance the quality of parents’ participation, there is a Scottish Parent Teacher Council（SPTC）. The SPTC provides information and training to Parent Councils. There are two important characteristics of SPTC support to the Parent Councils. First, the SPTC helps to facilitate effective communication between the government, the local authority, the school and the parents.　 Second, continuous support concerning concrete methods of how to manage their organization is provided. These efforts in Scotland provide a model to consider for implementing support strategies for community schools in Japan. First, we should recognize that parents and people in the local community are partners with schools and provide the support for them to contribute to the education process. Subsequent training programs that allow parents and people from the local community to participate proactively in education will need to be created. Second, to develop and expand a system of networks between parents and people in the local community is necessary. It may be meaningful to make opportunities to share their good practices and address worries they may have.

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