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Successful difficult conversations

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Look Outstanding, Become Outstanding

Author: Sonia Gill

Do you know the 3 patterns of a school’s Ofsted history?

I look at school Ofsted history all the time. I know, I know; you don’t do what you do for Ofsted. But I find the majority of Ofsted judgements are accurate. Controversial, I know, and there are exceptions. So if we say 80% of judgements are right then what do we see in a […]

Five common difficult conversations we find in most schools

Since 2011 my team and I have been helping school leaders to resolve their difficult conversations. As you can imagine we’ve seen a lot in that time. There are five common conversations we see pop up all the time. In fact only 4% of schools have told me that they don’t have any […]

Nothing is significantly wrong (but so much more could be right…)

Right, it’s the second half of the school year. What are you going to do with it? Most schools are good. Most schools stay at good. This is…well…good. But as one headteacher of a good school recently wrote to me: The way I think things are – nothing is significantly wrong but […]

Your plans aren’t the problem, your people are. Here’s a tool to help

I see this all the time. Plans are made, results aren’t as good as expected, so plans are changed.Plans keep changing, but people don’t. (Although the great ones move on too quickly!). What I find in schools is that your plans are fine. The problem is everyone isn’t doing them for some reason or […]

Do you know how to legally manage under-performance?

Who told you that as a Headteacher you’d have to fulfil so many roles? Granted, as a teacher, you wore a lot of hats. But as a head you’re a budgetter, HR, health and safety and so much more. And when it comes to people, well, how well do you know the […]

Hello again, did you know priority was a singular word?

How are you? I hope you were able to have a wonderful Christmas break, a great time with loved ones and hopefully some rest and relaxation. I learnt something recently which shocked me. Priority was originally a singular word. Mind. Blown. Because we always talk about priorities. It got me thinking. […]

Who do you want to be when Ofsted arrive? Mr & Mrs Calm or Mr & Mrs Crisis

I’ve heard many an Ofsted inspection story, some heartwarming and just how you would want an inspection to be (regardless of the judgement) because they are developmental and supportive, whilst giving an honest summary of the school. And the horror stories that make you sink! One thing that I do notice is how […]

4 questions every headteacher should be asking themselves

1. Do I want to be ‘Outstanding’? This can get lost in an intelligent conversation about the framework, Ofsted. What does ‘Outstanding’ mean anyway? Forget that. Exchange ‘Outstanding’ for ‘the school you dream of creating’, with or without inspectors. Is that something you really want and are willing to learn and stretch yourself and your […]

7 myths about being an outstanding school

I’ve met a lot of Outstanding Heads and walked into a lot of Outstanding schools. And I hear a lot of ‘myths’ about what it is to be Outstanding. Here are seven I come across regularly: 1. They only teach a narrow curriculum. Even before the new Ofsted framework put a focus on a broad […]

5 simple difficult conversations which ruin every day for the children

There are 5 difficult conversations I come across ALL the time in schools. They are relatively simple to resolve. But most have been going on for a long time: Lateness. Not marking books to the minimum standard. Caretakers not doing everything they need to, as quickly as they need to. Unwelcoming receptionist. The teacher who […]