The Journey to Outstanding Programme
A one year programme that transforms the culture of your school.
Enabling you to create your Outstanding school for your children.
Why are Outstanding schools outstanding?
Since 2011, Sonia Gill, founder of Heads Up has visited recently inspected outstanding schools, particularly those in challenging contexts.
What does she find? That in nearly all cases, these schools:
- Are genuinely outstanding.
- Have a curriculum that is rich and broad, providing a holistic education.
- Retain staff amidst the happiest and most fulfilled environment, often working fewer hours than those in ‘Good’ schools.
To this day Heads Up continues to visit outstanding schools that offer the outstanding education that you, as educators, strive for.
So what are they doing differently?
When speaking with headteachers of these schools, they’d mention their exciting curriculum, community engagement, extracurricular activities, pastoral care, behaviour improvements and more.
But there is one thing they all have, high performing teams.
Teams that aren’t only good, they are great.
They are aligned together and frequently overcome the many challenges their school faces.
Which is why we created the 1 year programme Journey to Outstanding.
Using our 10+ years experience of walking into Outstanding schools, we are able to show you and your SLT how to build the core foundations for your Outstanding school, as defined by you for your children, not by Ofsted.
Below you will find the step by step details of how the programme will work term by term.
If you would like to discuss the programme in more detail please do get in touch, our recommended first step if you haven’t already is to attend our workshop Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Good.
Schools that work with us are 300% more likely to achieve an Outstanding judgement
80% of our schools that were judged recently were better than Good
The journey to outstanding programme - step by step
The programme consists of 10 training sessions (8 online and 2 in person), split into three phases.
Some sessions will be with just your school, some you will join with the other schools on the programme.
The programme will equip you (headteachers) and your leadership team with the skills and knowledge you need to create your high performing team.
So you can overcome the challenges and barriers your school faces. Helping you to make your Outstanding school as defined by you and the needs of your children.
Solve your difficult conversations (Phase 1)
So you can fix the tricky issues quickly and with kindness
Create a cultural ecosystem for excellence (Phase 2)
So that your team are 100% with you on the journey to outstanding
How to communicate your compelling vision successfully
To ensure your vision is lived continuously
Solve your difficult conversations
So you can fix the tricky issues quickly and with kindness
Session type: Your school only (you and your SLT).
Duration: All day (09:30 – 16:00).
You will learn how to:
- Open and structure a conversation so that it stays on track.
- Manage emotions so they don’t become a barrier to the conversation.
- Create a psychologically safe space so you can have the conversation that needs to be had, and fix it.
- You will practise a difficult conversation you want to solve, supported by our expert trainers who will give you clear direction so you can fix that issue kindly.
How this session will help you:
By learning the core skills for solving successful difficult conversations you will resolve issues faster and more effectively, removing a barrier to improvement. Your team will have a shared approach to improve consistency.
Session type: Group session with all schools on the programme.
Duration: 1/2 day (09:30- 12:30).
You will:
- Learn when and how to use 4 different leadership styles so you can fix issues more quickly because you use the best approach.
- Review your performance and behaviour matrix so you can target the next improvements.
- Apply the skills you have learned to plan the best way to move people up or off the matrix to create a better performing team.
How this will help you:
You’re leading lots of different people, at different stages of their career. You find one using one approach is successful with one individual but not with another.
By the end of this session you will have learned how to identify what leadership style you should apply for each member of your team.
Create a cultural ecosystem for excellence
So that your team are 100% with you on the journey to outstanding
Session type: Your school only (you and your SLT).
Duration: All day (09:30 – 16:00).
You will:
- Learn why values are so important when creating a high performing culture.
- Assess your current values and know what values you want for your school.
- Explain these values in a way everyone will remember, so that they can live the values without you having to ‘police’ them.
How this session will help you:
By the end of this session you will have clear school values that you and your team can articulate powerfully, meaning everyone within the school will be able to remember them and live them.
Session type: Group session with all schools on the programme.
Duration: 1/2 day (09:30- 12:30).
You will:
- Dream big for your school and create a wish list so that you can think beyond the challenges of today and imagine the school you long to create.
- Organise your dream school so that you can prioritise the key areas for the outstanding school you want.
- Articulate each area so that your team have clarity about what they mean for your school.
How this session will help you:
Great organisations focus on doing fewer things brilliantly rather than lots of things reasonably well.
By understanding what your most important priorities are and what they mean for your school, you will do less work but achieve better results.
Session type: Your school only (you and your SLT).
Duration: 1/2 day (09:30 – 12:30) – coupled with afternoon session, see Session 6 (pm).
You will:
- Learn what a powerful vision does and how it works so you can create a vision that works.
- You will create a strong first draft of your vision so that you can let it grow and refine, before finalising it with your trainer in a check-in call a few weeks later.
How this session will help you:
Before this session:
You’ve been told you need a vision. You’ve shared it countless times. You’ve made it short, and easy to remember as you can.
But still people don’t remember it. And they don’t all live by it.
After this session:
You will have a much stronger version of your vision, which soon will be finalised and ready to drive your team.
Session type: Your school only (you and your SLT).
Duration: 1/2 day (13:30 – 15:00) – coupled with morning session, see Session 5 (am).
You will:
- Learn what your environment is saying about your school so you can improve the messages.
- Have an action plan of quick and inexpensive (free) ways to improve your environment so that it gives the best messages to your children and team.
How this session will help you:
Environment is emblematic of culture. And it’s giving out messages to everyone in your school, especially your children.
This session will show you how to raise the standard of your environment for little time and money.
Session type: Group session with schools on the programme.
Duration: 1/2 day (09:30- 12:30) – coupled with afternoon session, see Session 8 (pm).
You will:
- Learn a simple but effective planning tool so you can create your 3-5 year plan.
- Know how to track progress against your plan so you can tweak it each year in line with your vision.
How this session will help you:
The annual school development plan can feel like a chore, or a job that you need to lock yourself away for! By the end of this morning you will no longer suffer with this problem.
You will have a 3-5 year plan, developed with your SLT with simple tracking built into it and aligned to your vision.
Session type: Group session with schools on the programme.
Duration: 1/2 day (13:30- 15:00) – coupled with afternoon session, see Session 7 (am).
You will:
- Generate lots of ways to seed your vision in your school.
- Plan easy ways how to keep your vision alive throughout the year in a range of formats, places and timeframes, so that it remains embedded.
How this session will help you:
You want everyone to buy into your vision. This session will show you how to keep your vision alive, without you having to do all the work.
Updated values that you and your SLT agree represent your school.
Strategic priorities that you and your SLT agree are the best way forward for your school.
A handcrafted vision that encapsulates both your values, priorities and the journey you want to take your school on, meaning 100% of your SLT are inspired by the vision.
A personalised school plan that has at least 5 ways to improve your school environment, elevating the school.
A plan to ensure your vision is seen everyday to align your school on your journey to Outstanding.
How to communicate your compelling vision successfully
So that your team are 100% with you on the journey to outstanding
Session type: Group session with schools on the programme.
Duration: All day (09:30 – 16:00).
You will learn:
- The dynamics of communicating with impact when under pressure.
- The theory behind powerful communication.
- Useful individual feedback.
- Techniques to make your communication more effective.
How this session will help you:
Have you ever shared information with your team, to find that some people didn’t remember?
Or they didn’t hear what you wanted them to?
By the end of this session, you will know how to make sure your communication is really heard and understood.
Session type: Your school only (you and your SLT).
Duration: All day (09:30 – 16:00).
You will:
- Embed your vision into spoken presentation so you can get maximum buy-in from your team.
- Learn how to structure your communication so that your team can get on board with your vision.
- Practice delivering your vision applying the communication tools you’ve learnt so that your team buy-in.
- Know how to measure buy-in so you can track the impact of your vision and work with anyone who isn’t bought in.
How this session will help you:
You now have a fantastic vision, now we need to deliver it to the wider team.
By the end of this session you will know how to share your vision so well that it will lead your audience to a spontaneous round of applause and even tears.
You will know how to deliver your vision to get maximum buy-in, which you will be able to measure.
Session type: Once a term, a one hour session for headteachers only. Group session with all schools on the programme.
Duration: 1 hour, online.
You will:
- Have a safe space to celebrate your brags, and share your drags so we can help you turn any frown upside down.
- Work with like-minded heads, at various stages of the programme, so you can build your network of heads who are ambitious for their school like you.
- Be able to ask any questions about the training so you have ongoing support to make the most of it.
How this session will help you:
Leadership can be lonely and there are many challenges. You’re often the person who solves problems for others, so we give you a place where others help solve the challenges you face and share their own experiences for your benefit.
- Any leadership challenges you have will be improved, if not resolved.
- You will get more from your Journey to Outstanding programme.
All SLT will learn how to communicate with impact to all audience types and sizes.
You will deliver your vision to the wider team and achieve a 90%+ buy in rate from everyone (5-10% will have questions and a few might feel your school isn’t right for them).
See the impact in this video:
Jo Savidge: they said it couldn’t be done
| Demographics | School | National Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils with an SEN Education, Health and Care Plan | 3.1% | 2.5% |
| Pupils with SEN Support | 8.2% | 13.5% |
| Pupils whose first language is not English | 19.2% | 22.0% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals at any time during the past 6 years | 29.4% | 25.9% |
Contact Jo: 01708 745972, [email protected]
Paul Murphy: from bottom of the borough to above national
| Demographics | School | National Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils with an SEN Education, Health and Care Plan | 3.5% | 2.5% |
| Pupils with SEN Support | 13.8% | 13.5% |
| Pupils whose first language is not English | 69.8% | 22.0% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals at any time during the past 6 years | 47.1% | 25.9% |
Contact Paul: 020 8808 8088, [email protected]
Ian Scotchbrook: we were good, but a bit stuck…
| Demographics | School | National Average |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils with an SEN Education, Health and Care Plan | 1.4% | 2.5% |
| Pupils with SEN Support | 16.7% | 13.5% |
| Pupils whose first language is not English | 35.2% | 22.0% |
| Pupils eligible for free school meals at any time during the past 6 years | 17.6% | 25.9% |
Contact Ian: 020 8340 2757, [email protected]
Journey to Outstanding - The investment
We understand that the programme is a significant investment in time and resource. But if you are ready to put the work in and create your Outstanding school, we can help you get there. We want to help you get there, for your community and your children.
We have a variety of options to help with the investment cost, please ask for details.
Plan 1
You can split the cost evenly over 2 Financial years
Plan 2
You can split the cost over 2 Financial years unevenly (Whatever works for your budget)
Plan 3
You can pay monthly over the school year