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. This is a hallmark of schools who are stuck in ‘good’.I call them the...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

I know that hearing the ‘O’ word can sometimes send shivers down your spine and send you into a thought process of ‘What will they think of us’, but here at Heads Up we encourage schools and Headteachers to think in another way. A great restaurant who consistently deliver high...

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: New team members joining Existing team members leaving The end of a term The start of a term Exams starting Exam results coming out These...