Culture behaviour C1
Hold High Standards
The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. Define what good looks like and act on small slips straight away.
Jump to C1 resources ↓What this behaviour looks like
No walking past
A leader agrees clear, non-negotiable standards with staff, models them visibly and deals with slips there and then, from uniform and litter to lesson starts. Pupils and colleagues see that small details matter, and every adult responds to what they see.
A practical example
Resetting lesson starts after a slow drift
Letting it drift“Lesson starts have got a bit slow lately. Can everyone try to tighten things up when they get a chance?”
Holding the standard“Our standard is that pupils begin the first task within three minutes, and recent visits show starts have slowed. We will reteach the routine on Monday and review timings on Friday. I will be on the corridor at every changeover, because a slow start we walk past soon becomes normal.”
Pupils begin the first task within three minutes.
Recent visits show that lesson starts have slowed.
Reteach the routine and review timings on Friday.
Choose one expectation that has started to slip. Write the standard in observable terms, note what the evidence shows and decide the first thing you will do about the gap.
C1 · Resources for your setting
Put ‘Hold High Standards’ into practice
Develop your own practice or lead the learning with your team. Use the chapter and workbook to explore the behaviour, then choose the resources that fit your next step.
Free preview. Everything for C1 is open to everyone, so you can see exactly what members get for all 54 behaviours. See what membership includes →
Apply · Your leadership practice
Put it to work
Use the C1 Playbook to turn the behaviour into practical action on a real leadership challenge.
- Practical toolkit and coaching prompts
- A practice script to rehearse your approach
- A 90-day plan to guide your next steps
Apply · Learning with your team
Lead a team session
Use the C1 INSET PowerPoint to help colleagues explore the behaviour and plan how to put it into practice.
- Editable slides to adapt to your setting
- Speaker notes to support facilitation
- Discussion, rehearsal and planning
Completed Playbooks
Practise · C1
What would you say?
Resetting lesson starts after a slow drift. Here is what a busy leader might say without thinking:
“Lesson starts have got a bit slow lately. Can everyone try to tighten things up when they get a chance?”
“Our standard is that pupils begin the first task within three minutes, and recent visits show starts have slowed. From Monday, I'll be at the classroom door with you for the first week, and we'll review it together on Friday.”
Why it works. Naming the precise standard, the evidence of drift and a concrete next step makes the expectation impossible to miss, because the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.
Now say yours out loud once, the way you would on the day. Rehearsing it aloud is what makes it come out right under pressure. Rehearse a real situation with the ES Coach →
See C1 applied in eight leadership contexts
Choose your role to explore the challenge, the leader’s response and the intended result. Read the complete PDF below and download an editable Word copy.
In a primary school
In a secondary school
Across schools
Selected completed example
In a primary school · Headteacher
Pride in shared spaces
Sarah · Headteacher · 420-pupil primary school
Worked example at a glance
Pride in shared spaces
The challengeCorridors and displays look tired and minor repairs stall, but raising it risks staff hearing that displays matter more than teaching.
What the leader doesThe headteacher frames the standard around the children who use the corridors, names an owner for every shared space, splits the work between staff, premises and senior leaders, and introduces a five-minute Friday check.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every repair should be acknowledged or updated promptly; by day 60 at least 90% of shared zones should meet the visual standard; by day 90 more staff, pupils and families should describe the school as cared for and welcoming.
James · Deputy Headteacher · 630-pupil primary school
Worked example at a glance
Calm transitions after playtime
The challengeLine-up times range from two to seven minutes and zones are briefly left unsupervised, while staff use different signals and are unsure who leads when a colleague is absent.
What the leader doesThe deputy headteacher places the fault in the system rather than the people, then resets one routine: named zones staffed before pupils arrive, one whistle, a two-minute line-up and explicit cover for absence.
What success looks likeBy day 30 all duty zones should be covered in at least 95% of checks; by day 60 at least 90% of classes should line up within two minutes; by day 90 transition incidents should have halved.
Maya · Years 5 and 6 Phase Leader · 420-pupil primary school
Worked example at a glance
Protecting the daily reading routine
The challengeMonitoring shows three classes losing reading time and holding irregular reading conversations, and a small phase meeting could easily turn into colleagues guessing who is being criticised.
What the leader doesThe phase leader describes the reading routine precisely enough for anyone to run it tomorrow, models it before monitoring it, invites practical barriers and agrees two brief routine checks each week.
What success looks likeBy day 30 at least 90% of sampled sessions should start within two minutes; by day 60 every class should hold four reading conversations on most days; by day 90 at least five of six focus pupils should improve their fluency.
Marcus · Headteacher · 1,150-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Calm corridors and prompt lesson starts
The challengeStandards have drifted gradually rather than failed dramatically: only 68% of lesson starts meet the three-minute standard and leaders are unevenly visible at changeover.
What the leader doesThe headteacher personally takes a corridor zone every day, publishes leaders' changeover duties and sets one clear standard: doors staffed, calm movement and pupils starting the retrieval task within three minutes of the bell.
What success looks likeBy day 30 leaders should complete at least 95% of their zone duties; by day 60 at least 85% of lessons should meet the three-minute start; by day 90 at least 95% should, with fewer changeover incidents.
Daniel · Deputy Headteacher · 1,200-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Consistent behaviour routines in every classroom
The challengeThe behaviour policy is clear but unevenly enacted: removal rates vary sixfold between similar departments and pupils describe different rules in different classrooms.
What the leader doesThe deputy headteacher has middle leaders rehearse the entry routine, correction language and consequence sequence in threes, so they can model it themselves, and makes same-day follow-up their responsibility.
What success looks likeBy day 30 at least 90% of sampled lessons should use the entry routine; by day 60 at least 85% should use correction and escalation accurately; by day 90 at least 80% of pupils should say expectations are the same everywhere.
Aisha · Head of Year 9 · 1,000-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Year 9 punctuality
The challengeLate marks have risen from 74 to 113 in four weeks, and pupils believe the follow-up depends on which adult they happen to meet.
What the leader doesThe head of year sets one standard for every pupil, gives tutors the same recording and same-day response, strengthens supervision on problem routes and offers a private way to raise genuine barriers.
What success looks likeBy day 30 register coding should be at least 95% accurate; by day 60 late marks should fall by 30%; by day 90 they should halve without disadvantaging pupils with agreed adjustments.
Helen · Head of Mathematics · 1,350-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
A common Key Stage 3 homework routine
The challengeHomework submission ranges from 61% to 94% across similar classes, and colleagues hold different views, so a common routine could feel like losing control of the mathematics.
What the leader doesThe head of mathematics leaves the mathematics with colleagues but agrees a common minimum: homework set on the agreed day, due within seven days, recorded on the platform and followed up the same way.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every Key Stage 3 class should use the common routine; by day 60 each class should reach 85% submission; by day 90 submission should reach 90%, with at least 90% of sampled work showing method and correction.
Priya · Director of Education · six-school trust
Worked example at a glance
A trust-wide standard for lesson climate
The challengeSome headteachers want a single trust policy while others fear losing autonomy, and only three of the six schools define their core classroom routines observably.
What the leader doesThe director separates a common entitlement from local choices: every school defines and teaches routines for entry, attention, independent work and exit, rehearses them with staff and takes part in reciprocal peer review.
What success looks likeBy day 30 all schools should agree the four principles and their local mapping; by day 60 every school should train and rehearse its routines; by day 90 peer review should find the entitlement secure or improving everywhere.
Read the complete worked example below, including the practice script and 90-day plan.
Resources for this behaviour
Templates and checklists from the resource library that put C1 into practice.
Further reading
Recommended book
Leverage Leadership 2.0 by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
This book supports the behaviour by showing how precise expectations and follow-up drive consistency, improvement and professional trust.
References from the Everyone Succeeds book
- Whitman, D. (2008) Sweating the Small Stuff: Inner-City Schools and the New Paternalism. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Read free ↗
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