Journey to Outstanding Programme

Great News

We’re proud that all Heads Up schools inspected in 2015/16 have gone up by at least 1 Ofsted grade.

To create an outstanding school you need to create a high performing culture, an outstanding culture; which means you can’t keep doing what got you to good.

Our Journey to Outstanding programmes help you do this by using 3 key strategies.

We use 3 key strategies:

First you need to create a really compelling vision.

Secondly you need to create a culture of healthy conflict by have those tricky conversations successfully.

Thirdly you have to develop the skills of team, helping them become exceptional in their role.

Our Journey to Outstanding programmes support you in putting one, two or all three of these in place:

First steps to outstanding -

Create a powerful vision

First steps to outstanding – create a powerful vision

Every school has a vision.

Most don’t do the job they need to.

Most are not remembered.

How good is your vision?

We’ve helped many schools create a new vision and when we have every school has a vision:

The team love.

The team remember it.

The team are energised by it.

So you want an outstanding vision? You need our ‘First steps to outstanding’ course.

Over 1 – 2 terms we work with your leadership team and we come to you.

We will create your vision by:

Understanding which values underpin your vision
Create your compelling vision which you and your team will understand it and be excited about it
Create the plan to achieve your vision quickly
Show you how to communicate your vision so your team can get on board

The result: A compelling vision you team loves, wants and remembers.

– Jo Hester, Headteacher, St John's C of E School Primary School

‘20 years in schools not having a good vision, having a vision no-one remembers and then suddenly now we have a vision which really does say what we believe’ – Emma Taylor, Senior Leader, Sandridge Primary School, Herts

Moving to outstanding -

Develop healthy conflict

Moving to outstanding – Develop healthy conflict through successful difficult conversations

Getting really good at dealing with conflict is the second of the 3 strategies needed to create an outstanding school.

Conflict is the currency of leadership.

But most of us are not trained in how to handle conflict well.

Yet it’s a key feature of high performing teams.

And conflict costs your school at least £19k pa.

You’re ready to get a great vision and create healthy conflict? Then you’ll want our ‘Moving to Outstanding’ course:

Over 1 year we work with your leadership team and we come to you. In addition to the ‘First steps to Outstanding’ course we will train you on:

1. The 3 skills you need to have successful difficult conversations

2. How to be flexible in your own style to get the best outcome for any situation

3. What you can and can’t do legally, with our legal expert

The result: You will have your team behaving and performing as well as your class did.

We’ve trained 100s of school leaders in how to have difficult conversations more successfully and 100% recommend the training.

Outstanding and Beyond -

Grow the skills of the team

Outstanding and Beyond – Grow the skills of the team so they can be exceptional

Growing the skills of your team so they are exceptional is the third of the 3 strategies needed to create an outstanding school

Staff costs are your highest cost and your greatest asset.

Every school is spending time and money on CPD.

But most schools don’t feel like they are getting real value from that CPD.

The problem is it’s harder to stretch good performers to become great.

You want to take your culture to the highest level? Then our ‘Outstanding and beyond’ course is for you.

Over 2 years we work with your leadership team and we come to you.

In addition to the ‘Moving to Outstanding’ course, we will train you to help your team become great in their roles by:

Effectively coaching to improve performance
Create goals which will lead to faster development
Coaching someone who is struggling to improve by removing their obstacles
Coaching quickly when time is short

The result: A culture of excellence.

'Heads Up was my best choice in 15 years of headship!' - Kim Parnell, Headteacher, Balfour Junior School

Download the brochure for more information

Download brochure

Satisfaction Guarantee

We offer a ‘no questions asked’ satisfaction guarantee for ‘Moving to Outstanding’ and ‘Outstanding and Beyond’. If after the first 3 days of training you’re not happy with the training you have received we will give you a full refund, no questions asked.

If you’re interested in how Heads Up can help you create an outstanding school culture, get in touch with us today.

We’ll then meet with you to understand where you are currently, where you want to get to and whether we can really help you.

Together we will tailor the course of action to achieve your goals, because we know every school is different, so we adjust our courses to suit your needs.

Only after we have been through this process will we ask you to decide if you want to work with us.

‘The Heads Up training has had a real impact on our success in gaining outstanding in all areas and we have learnt so much about ourselves and our leadership styles...If we could recommend one CPD programme that gives real results, then this would be it!’ Lorna Rourke and April Grimes, Joint Headteachers of Forest and Elveden C of E Primary Academy, Suffolk