I have written in my previous articles in this series about the fact that school leaders often find themselves “between a rock and a hard place” in their quest to run a successful school. This is particularly true in the case of the vexed question of classroom observation. In this age of increasing accountability, the Department of Education and the Inspectorate are clear in their expectation that schools must show evidence of monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning and ensure consistency of pupil experience in every classroom. The reality in Northern Ireland can be that strict interpretation of current local arrangements with teaching unions makes the kind of monitoring which is routine in England difficult in some schools. Under