This paper explores recent developments in school inspection and evaluation from a broadly European perspective. It begins by examing the modes of school evaluation and quality assurance that have emerged over the past two decades and situtates them in broader national and transnational educational policy. It then follows this with an indepth exploration of origins and practical implications of the drive to include multiple stakeholding voices in the process of developing coherent quality narratives in schools. The paper concludes by proposing a tentative theoretical model – entitled Distributed Evaluation and Planning in Schools - which seeks to address the practical challenges of including parent and student voice in particular in the implementation of models of school evaluation and inspection.