Any person who has to carry out a task should strive to do so to the highest possible standards of quality. It makes sense that there should be a constant checking to see that these standards have been achieved, and where necessary improvement should be sought. The same applies to organisations and institutions, such as schools. 

Quality assurance was re-introduced in South African schools in the late 1990s during the process of education system change. It consists of a combination of approaches, processes and instruments that are used to ensure education quality.
 
Quality assurance of schools is common throughout the world and can be defined as:

a process of evaluation that certifies that a school accomplishes its mission, what it individually sets out to do, and meets standards defined by an independent educational entity. A school holds itself publicly accountable to all who seek assurance that it meets generally accepted standards of educational quality, safety and management (National Alliance of Independent Schools, USA).

There is a global trend for schools to embrace self-evaluation quality assurance as part of their ongoing commitment to a culture of quality assurance, or part of a quality management system within the school. The benefit of a self-evaluation quality assurance process, under the guidance of an experienced mentor, is the opportunity for professional development that it provides to teaching and ancillary staff. This is justifiably seen as an important part of the process by the school leadership