Five common difficult conversations we find in most schools

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 of these conversations in their schools. What are they?

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

'The way I think things are – nothing is significantly wrong but so much more could be right… ' Do you feel this way? What could be ‘more right’? And what are you going to do about it?

Consistency: Do you ever feel like you’re herding cats?

Herding cats? Sticking jelly to the wall? Same stuff, different day? Whatever phrase you like to use, my guess is the idea is a familiar one – the quest for plans and policies to be followed with consistency.

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 other.

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!

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:

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 […]

Christmas is a cultural touchpoint – what are yours? (moments of truth idea)

I call moments where your culture can really be seen ‘cultural touch points’, and many of these happen naturally during the course of the year:

5 easy team culture wins at Christmas

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, it’s a great time to show people you care and reinforce the kind of school you are. In fact, the New Year is also a good time to do any of these too. Here are 5 quick Christmas culture wins – pick the ones that feel true to you […]

How do you raise an issue that you have avoided for too long?

Who likes conflict? Pretty much no-one! (Including me!) So it’s no surprise that a lot of us will avoid having a difficult conversation. However, there might well come a time when we realise we have to have a difficult conversation and, at that point, we often regret not having it sooner; after all, it’s very […]

Author: Sonia Gill

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