Here’s a number worth knowing — and once you see it, you can’t unsee it:
Everyday conflict in your school might be costing you the equivalent of one full-time teacher.
Here’s the simple maths.
If low-level issues take up just 30 minutes a week of your team’s time —
things like:
- lateness
- poor marking
- mood hoovers
- resistant TAs
- caretakers not getting jobs done
- admin not following through
— then across a whole staff, that half-hour becomes a huge drain.
Add it up over the year and it’s the value of 1 FTE gone.
Lost to time, energy, frustration and distraction.
Outstanding schools don’t have fewer issues.
They just don’t let them drag on.
They fix them — early, clearly, kindly.
So here’s a reflection for this week:
👉 What’s one small issue you’ve been tolerating… that needs a clear and kind conversation?
Want an ‘even better if’?
Write down as many small issues you’ve been tolerating as you can think of.
Don’t linger on them, just get as many out as you can.
Now for the magic: are there any patterns?
If so, fixing that might help stop more of these issues, more quickly and easily.
That said, addressing just one of these protects your culture and your budget.
You might like my ‘Cost of Conflict’ calculator.
Super quick.
Super easy.
Surprisingly illuminating.
👉 Check it out here.
Let’s fix these issues kindly and quickly,
Sonia 💛