@whynow...not sure why you want Raleigh in particular...I know in the days of yore it was synonymous with quality...but lets remember that in these days of offshoring, even Blackberry makes its batteries in China and the handsets in Poland.
Having said that, there are a couple of decent bikes out there - and the main thing to look at are the components - its easy to tell flimsy components from quality ones...brake calipers, dérailleurs (if its an MTB or road bike), shifters, etc...look out for Shimano and get familiar with its logo for its heavily counterfeited even by Indian bike manufacturers. By and large I'd say the components make the bike - Taiwanese, Japanese, European, etc bike makes mainly use Shimano parts (the same way BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot use Bosch parts)....so look for decent, sturdy components.
Your next thing to check is the bike design and weight of the bike - a well engineered bike should have decently thin tubing and not weigh a tonne. Other thing is how much the saddle and handle bar can be adjusted (for growth). If considering an MTB, I;d say avoid any unknown brands that have front or rear shocks and springs...if these go bust, you might as well throw away the bike.
For an 11 year old, a bike with 24" wheels is good (I know because my soon to be 11 year old just moved from his 20" to a 24" while his brother, soon to be 7, has inherited the 20" moving from a 16"). the 24 should see him to abt 16 years old.
(Amateur cyclist from 1991)