Yourself behaviour Y1
Protect Your Sleep
Tired leaders are more reactive, less patient and quicker to misjudge. Treat sleep as a leadership resource, not a luxury, and protect it.
Jump to Y1 resources ↓What this behaviour looks like
Too important to be tired
A leader stops work and screens at a set time, keeps a consistent bedtime and winds down on purpose, bringing a steadier mind to pupils, families and colleagues. Late emails are scheduled for the morning, so no one feels they must reply at night.
A practical example
Closing an ordinary school night
Always on“It is 10.30 pm. I am rereading tomorrow's family letter for the third time and answering staff emails as they arrive.”
Closing the day“At 6.30 pm I check the letter is accurate and ready, write tomorrow's three priorities and schedule my replies for the morning. The laptop goes away, anything urgent comes through the agreed route, and I start tomorrow rested enough to be patient.”
Rereading the letter at 10.30 pm drains tomorrow's patience.
Stop at 6.30 pm once the letter is accurate and ready.
Write three priorities, schedule replies and put the laptop away.
Write down how tiredness shows up in your leadership, the one change you will test this week and the minimum routine you will use when the day runs late.
Y1 · Resources for your setting
Put ‘Protect Your Sleep’ 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 Y1 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 Y1 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 →
Worked examples
See Y1 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 worked example
In a primary school · Headteacher
Finishing work at a proportionate point
Ben · Headteacher · 218-pupil rural primary school
Worked example at a glance
Finishing work at a proportionate point
The challengeAssemblies, family letters and plans get reopened after dinner even when they are ready, leaving the headteacher less patient with normal interruptions and slower to make proportionate decisions.
What the leader doesThe headteacher stops routine preparation at 6.30 pm on four nights using a ‘good enough to use’ card, schedules finished work, stops sending late drafts and asks SLT to challenge work the headteacher has overexpanded.
What success looks likeBy day 30 routine work should finish by 6.30 pm on four nights with next-day duties secure; by day 60 repeated polishing should reduce and staff should feel no expectation of late replies; by day 90 proportionate completion should hold through a demanding period.
Daniel · Deputy Headteacher for behaviour and inclusion · 626-pupil primary school
Worked example at a glance
Closing the day after demanding incidents
The challengeAfter incident-heavy days the deputy rereads messages and replays conversations at night, then sounds guarded with families and carries yesterday's emotion into new decisions.
What the leader doesThe deputy completes a five-part case close with the DSL before leaving, confirms the overnight owner and next review, keeps only the safeguarding route active and takes reflection to pre-booked supervision.
What success looks likeBy day 30 every relevant incident should end with a safe handover and timed review; by day 60 night-time rereading should reduce while safeguarding responses stay prompt; by day 90 supervision and staffing should support recovery after demanding incidents.
Chloe · Early Reading Lead and Year 1 teacher · 404-pupil primary school
Worked example at a glance
Moving phonics analysis out of the evening
The challengeRereading phonics data in bed leaves the reading lead with fixed conclusions, less open to what teachers noticed and at risk of changing interventions out of anxiety rather than evidence.
What the leader doesThe reading lead keeps phonics data off the phone after 8.00 pm, turns each worry into one evidence question for protected time and, after a disrupted week, restarts that same night with a three-action minimum routine.
What success looks likeBy day 30 phonics analysis should happen in protected time with no evening data access; by day 60 intervention decisions should draw on teacher observation and purposeful evidence; by day 90 deadlines should no longer break the boundary and no pupil should wait longer.
Elena · Headteacher · ages 11 to 18 secondary school, 1,520 pupils
Worked example at a glance
Ending night-time messaging
The challengeAnswering routine staff and governor messages late at night makes the headteacher less open to challenge the next morning, and SLT have started apologising for waiting until morning to reply.
What the leader doesThe headteacher stops routine messages after 7.30 pm, schedules drafts, turns off email previews, publishes response expectations and explains the duty route for emergencies to staff and governors.
What success looks likeBy day 30 routine messages should stop after 7.30 pm with no urgent decision missed; by day 60 staff should no longer feel expected to respond at night; by day 90 the boundary should survive a demanding school event without hidden workload moving to others.
Grace · Assistant Headteacher for examinations · ages 11 to 18 secondary school, 1,680 pupils
Worked example at a glance
Signing off each examination day
The challengeMidnight contingency checks during the exam series slow the assistant head's judgement and suggest that safety depends on one leader's personal vigilance rather than a secure system.
What the leader doesThe assistant head signs a one-page control record with the exams officer at 7.00 pm, names triggers and owners, keeps the exams phone on calls only and thanks colleagues who raise uncertainty early.
What success looks likeBy day 30 each exam day should close with evidenced controls and accepted ownership; by day 60 unnecessary night checks should reduce with no missed risk; by day 90 the control system should work through absence and busy periods without depending on one leader.
Faisal · Head of Year 11 · ages 11 to 16 secondary school, 1,090 pupils
Worked example at a glance
Handing over pastoral cases before going home
The challengeRereading family messages and case notes at night leaves the head of year expecting conflict the next day, hurrying conversations with pupils and taking on work tutors should hold.
What the leader doesThe head of year completes a 5.15 pm handover confirming safety, owner and next contact, removes record access from the phone and uses scheduled supervision instead of late reassurance messages.
What success looks likeBy day 30 priority cases should have clear evening ownership and no routine home access to records; by day 60 tutors should feel confident to escalate and leaders should use supervision; by day 90 the routine should stay safe through absence and exam pressure.
Haruto · Head of Design and Technology · ages 11 to 16 secondary school, 940 pupils
Worked example at a glance
Setting a finish line for practical preparation
The challengeLate-night improvements to exemplars and worksheets, after lessons are already safe and teachable, leave the head of department less flexible with pupils and with less energy for supervising practical risk.
What the leader doesThe head of department treats safe, sequenced and teachable as the finish line, completes a stop card at 6.00 pm, moves optional enhancements to Friday's development list and shares preparation fairly.
What success looks likeBy day 30 practical preparation should close by 6.00 pm on three nights with safety secure; by day 60 enhancements should be chosen in shared time and preparation shared more evenly; by day 90 a major project should run without weaker learning or hidden workload.
Aisha · Trust Director of Safeguarding · eight-school mixed-phase trust
Worked example at a glance
Closing routine safeguarding assurance
The challengeRoutine safeguarding assurance creeps into the evening. After a short night, the director moves too quickly from evidence to instruction and becomes less curious about why schools differ.
What the leader doesThe director closes routine assurance by 7.00 pm on four nights, names the owner of any live risk, schedules non-urgent messages and explains the urgent route and threshold to headteachers.
What success looks likeBy day 30 routine assurance should close by 7.00 pm on four nights without a missed urgent response; by day 60 central deadlines should stop creating night work for school leaders; by day 90 the boundary should be normal practice with a trusted urgent route.
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.
Further reading
Recommended book
Why We Sleep – Matthew Walker (2017)
This book deepens the behaviour by explaining the science behind sleep and its essential role in leadership clarity, decision-making and emotional regulation.
References from the Everyone Succeeds book
- Cho, K., Barnes, C.M. and Guanara, C.L. (2017) 'Sleepy punishers are harsh punishers: Daylight saving time and legal sentences', Psychological Science, 28(2), pp. 242–247. View article ↗
- Guadagni, V., Burles, F., Ferrara, M. and Iaria, G. (2014) 'The effects of sleep deprivation on emotional empathy', Journal of Sleep Research, 23(6), pp. 657–663. View article ↗
- Van Dongen, H.P.A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J.M. and Dinges, D.F. (2003) 'The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation', Sleep, 26(2), pp. 117–126. View article ↗
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