Culture behaviour C8
Create Moments
People remember the peaks, not the ordinary days. Plan small, personal moments at transitions, milestones and difficult times so everyone feels seen and valued.
Jump to C8 resources ↓What this behaviour looks like
Build the peaks
A leader looks ahead to transitions, milestones and pits, the moments that shape how pupils, staff and families feel about school, and plans them with care. Small, personal gestures that show someone was listened to matter more than grand or costly events.
A practical example
Welcoming a pupil who joins mid-year
Just another day“This is our new pupil. Find a spare seat for now and I will sort out your books later.”
A planned welcome“Welcome, we have been looking forward to meeting you. Your name is on our class map and, as your family told us you love drawing, there is a sketchbook waiting. Two classmates will show you around at break. On Friday I would love to hear what helped you feel at home.”
A pupil joins the class partway through the year.
Name on the map, a sketchbook, two classmates as guides.
Ask what helped the pupil feel welcome, then adapt the next welcome.
Pick an upcoming transition, milestone or difficult time. Write what you want people to feel and remember, one personal detail that would create it and how you will ask what worked.
C8 · Resources for your setting
Put ‘Create Moments’ 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.
Apply · Your leadership practice
Put it to work
Use the C8 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
Members only · Explore membership →
Apply · Learning with your team
Lead a team session
Use the C8 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
Members only · Explore membership →
Completed Playbooks
See C8 applied in eight leadership contexts
Choose your role to explore the challenge, the leader’s response and the intended result. Members can read the complete example and download an editable Word copy.
In a primary school
In a secondary school
Across schools
Selected completed example
In a primary school · Headteacher
A welcome for mid-year joiners
Wendy · Headteacher · 218-pupil primary school with high mobility
Worked example at a glance
A welcome for mid-year joiners
The challengeFourteen pupils joined after September last year, six could not name a trusted peer after their first fortnight, and the welcome depended on the class teacher.
What the leader doesThe headteacher prepares a five-minute welcome: the child's name on the class map, a peer ambassador at the entrance, one family-chosen interest shared only if the pupil wishes, and a personal check-in after week one.
What success looks likeBy day 30 welcome profiles and choices should be ready; by day 60 trusted connections should be checked; by day 90 review whether at least 90% reported a strong, dignified welcome two weeks after joining, with no group less positive.
Colin · Deputy Headteacher · 455-pupil primary school with a communication provision
Worked example at a glance
A return on the pupil's own terms
The challengeReturn plans after long absence cover timetable and care well, but families say the emotional return can feel exposed, and two pupils asked to leave their welcome assembly last year.
What the leader doesThe deputy headteacher lets the returning pupil design the welcome, including who meets them, what classmates are told and a small token linked to an interest, with freedom to change anything on the morning.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every returning pupil should have a pupil-authored plan before their first day; by day 60 adjustments should run through one coordinator with no unconsented public gestures; by day 90 pupils and families should report stronger connection.
Asha · Geography and Outdoor Learning Lead · 276-pupil junior school
Worked example at a glance
A real audience for fieldwork
The challengePupils complete strong fieldwork, but the outcomes usually stay in books and only 24% say an adult beyond their teacher has seen or used their work.
What the leader doesThe geography lead helps Year 5 design an evening exhibition where pupils guide families and community partners through their evidence, unveil a joint proposal and receive a specific response with a date for follow-up.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every pupil should present one evidence-based claim; by day 60 every recommendation should have a named response route and date; by day 90 at least 80% of pupils should explain how their evidence changed an adult's thinking.
Diane · Headteacher · 1,070-pupil comprehensive school
Worked example at a glance
A leavers' gathering for everyone
The challengeThe leavers' assembly is dominated by examination predictions and a few prize winners, and only 51% of last year's Year 11 felt their contribution had been noticed.
What the leader doesThe headteacher designs a gathering where every tutor group tells a story of growth and every pupil receives a specific, private card from an adult who knows them, choosing public, group or private recognition.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every tutor group should contribute an approved story and every pupil have a checked card; by day 60 at least 90% should feel their growth was recognised; by day 90, asked on results day, no pupil group should feel markedly less recognised.
Omar · Assistant Headteacher · 1,485-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Making coaching learning visible
The challengeSeventy-two staff completed coaching cycles, but closure is private and only 33% say they know what colleagues learnt or how practice changed across the school.
What the leader doesThe assistant headteacher closes the cycle with a staff showcase where each coaching pair shows a before-and-after artefact in ninety seconds, names a limitation and has the claimed difference tested by a pupil panel.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every coaching pair should produce an evidence story with its limits; by day 60 at least 80% of staff should contribute to or view the showcase; by day 90 two practices should show credible benefit beyond the original pairs.
Ray · Head of Year 7 · 1,320-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Fifty days in
The challengeTransition activity is concentrated in the first week, and by October 28% of Year 7 say they have not contributed and 19% cannot name an older pupil who could help.
What the leader doesThe head of year holds a gathering in week seven where tutor groups add contributions to a shared installation, peer mentors recognise specific acts of courage or help, and pupils meet their mentors in person.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every tutor group should have contribution routes and mentor pairings ready; by day 60 every pupil should name a contribution and an older helper; by day 90 belonging should exceed 85% in every feeder-school group.
Marcia · Head of Food Preparation and Nutrition · 925-pupil secondary school
Worked example at a glance
Cooking for a real brief
The challengePupils develop technically sound dishes, but evaluation ends with teacher marking and only 37% say the project feels connected to a real audience or community need.
What the leader doesThe head of department hosts a tasting where Year 10 serve refined dishes to the community partners who set the briefs, explain the need each dish meets and receive honest written feedback.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every pupil should present a safe, refined dish to a real audience; by day 60 every partner response should inform a reasoned design decision; by day 90 at least 85% should explain how feedback shaped their design.
Geraldine · Trust Director of Talent and Leadership · eleven-school trust
Worked example at a glance
Welcoming new headteachers
The challengeInduction is thorough but presentation-heavy, and only four of the last nine new headteachers felt colleagues understood their school's history and strengths by the end of the first term.
What the leader doesThe director designs a school story exchange: each new head brings an object representing their community, is introduced by a listening peer with their approval and leaves with three specific, dated offers of support.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every new headteacher should approve their introduction and leave with three commitments; by day 60 those commitments should be completed or openly renegotiated; by day 90 each new head should name three trusted peers.
The complete Playbook is for members
Turn this example into action
Read the full toolkit, coaching and practice scripts, and 90-day plan. Members can view the PDF here and download an editable Word copy.
Resources for this behaviour
Templates and checklists from the resource library that put C8 into practice.
Further reading
Recommended book
The Power of Moments – Chip & Dan Heath (2017)
This book deepens the behaviour by showing how leaders can deliberately create moments of elevation, insight, pride and connection that people remember.
References from the Everyone Succeeds book
- Heath, C. and Heath, D. (2017) The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact. New York: Simon & Schuster. Buy on Amazon ↗
- Guidara, W. (2022) Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. New York: Optimism Press. Buy on Amazon ↗
- Kahneman, D., Fredrickson, B.L., Schreiber, C.A. and Redelmeier, D.A. (1993) 'When more pain is preferred to less: Adding a better end', Psychological Science, 4(6), pp. 401–405. View article ↗
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