It slightly loathes me to say this but there are some give away clues in schools that let you judge how good they are. It loathes me because these clues are pretty superficial, I’d go so far as to call them daft…but they keep coming up. Here are *** daft but true environmental correlations I […]
Love quick, easy and free ways to improve your school? Here are two key areas that will improve your environment and what it says about your school – common issues I see in most schools. Tidy up your reception area The entrance of your school says a lot about you, take a step back and […]
This strategy is about letting everyone be excellent at what they do. Typically, what happens when a school is in ‘RI’ is they do what I call ‘wholesale’ training; training which everyone needs and everyone attends. This is the right thing to do at this stage. But what happens when you get to ‘good’? Usually, […]
It’s probably not a surprise that we’ve seen less outstanding schools since February. I’ve done some initial analysis on what’s changed between 2017 and 2018, and the percentage has definitely dropped. Looking at 2017 (the calendar year), 4% of schools inspected were judged as outstanding. Looking at 2018 (up to May), we see only 1% […]
These tips and mistakes may sound obvious when they’re set out in black and white but, from my experience, these mistakes are frequently made by managers. Tackling someone’s poor performance can be very stressful for managers too and, at times of stress, we often forget to take basic steps before plunging into the middle of […]
To be honest, this is a bit chicken and egg (ok, I know the answer is egg, but you know what I mean). The two work together, they are symbiotic and symbolic. Let me explain: Symbiotic When I walk into an outstanding school, and I walk into a lot, the environment demands more of me. […]
Something I’ve noticed high performing teams in a range of contexts have are maxims. You will have come across maxims before even if they’ve not been explicitly called one. A maxim is: “a ground rule or subjective principle of action; in that sense, a maxim is a thought that can motivate individuals”. It is defined by the […]
Are you expecting inspectors? Then how about a handy crib sheet to help you from the moment you get the call? This comes from Paul Murphy, Headteacher at Lancasterian Primary School, Haringey, London who had their inspection in May – thank you Paul 😊 If you’ve not got one already then please click here to automatically download […]
At our annual conference ‘Moving to Outstanding 2016: Best practice from outstanding head teachers’ the brilliant Gillian Kemp, Headteacher at Cyril Jackson Primary School in London, shared a way in which you can have a pretty good idea of when your next inspection will be. I’d never heard of this way before but speaking […]
Getting to good is hard work, I’m in schools every day and I see that first hand. However becoming outstanding can be a bit of a mystery. I know heads who can walk into a requires improvement school (or worse) and turn it around to be good; some specialise in this. But getting to outstanding […]