Make It Happen

The challengeThe first-day absence routine has been tightened twice before, and both attempts faded within a fortnight.

What the leader doesThe headteacher agrees with the office and safeguarding team a sequence they can run on a busy morning, rehearses every role and the call itself, and checks completion daily.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every role should have rehearsed the routine and cover plan; from the end of week six and through day 60 at least 95% of first contacts should happen by 9.30, with every risk handover confirmed; this should be sustained through day 90.

The challengeChecking for understanding has been trained but not adopted, and phase leaders expect another monitoring form rather than owning the practice in their phase.

What the leader doesThe deputy headteacher asks each phase to rehearse a subject example where pupil evidence shapes the next teaching decision, then reviews practice with phase leaders using pupil work rather than reported use.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every phase should rehearse an evidence-to-decision example; by day 60 full-sequence use should reach 70%; by day 90 at least 85% of sampled lessons, up from 44%, should show evidence accurately shaping teaching.

The challengeTwo internal deadlines have passed, and colleagues are quietly building their own materials because they cannot see what will be ready in time.

What the leader doesThe science lead breaks each unit into six named components with an owner, status and date, offers a colleague genuine authority over one unit and holds every unit to the same quality check.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every component should have an owner, status and date; by day 60 all sequences and assessment checks should pass peer review; by day 90 four units should be ready three weeks before teaching.

The challengeThe reading strategy is understood but not yet reliable practice across departments, and some heads of department will argue, reasonably, that reading belongs to English.

What the leader doesThe headteacher asks every department to commit to its first disciplinary-reading routine with an owner and evidence, holding the entitlement firm while handing over real authority over method.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every department should identify a problem, routine, owner and evidence; by day 60 every department should have taught and reviewed its routine; by day 90 review should show stronger disciplinary reading in every department.

The challengeThe launch of the centralised detention system has moved twice, two decisions are still open and it is unclear whether the parts genuinely connect.

What the leader doesThe deputy headteacher gives every component an owner, acceptance test and dependency, tests the whole process from the pupil side rather than trusting status reports, and agrees a no-launch trigger in advance.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every component should have an owner, acceptance test and dependency; by day 60 all four pupil pathways should pass tabletop testing; by day 90 the system should launch safely with at least 90% same-day completion.

The challengeAfter-lunch lateness in Year 11 stands at 14%, and tutors have heard several versions of this before, so another routine risks feeling like more work.

What the leader doesThe head of year launches a six-week routine that pairs each pupil action with a school action, gives repeatedly late pupils a plan and says honestly what tutors will stop doing in return.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every repeatedly late pupil should have a reciprocal plan; by the end of the six-week cycle after-lunch lateness should be below 7%, with school actions closing on time by day 60; by day 90 it should remain below 7%.

The challengeThe same Key Stage 3 participation figure of 82% has been reported for two terms, with wider gaps for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, but nobody owns the barriers.

What the leader doesThe head of PE gives every barrier behind the figure a named adult and a first action, and shows one concrete example where access changes in a real activity without lowering the thinking.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every class should identify its barriers and one response; by day 60 meaningful participation should reach 88%; by day 90 it should reach 92%, with SEND and disadvantage gaps below five points.

The challengeThree schools did not complete the first curriculum-entitlement review cycle, and the central team's own feedback was slower than the standard it asked of schools.

What the leader doesThe director owns the central delay first, gives every school an owner, evidence plan and protected review time, and commits to returning actionable feedback within five working days.

What success looks likeBy day 30 every school should have an owner, evidence plan and protected review time; by day 60 all submitted reviews should receive feedback within five working days; by day 90 eight credible reviews should feed priority actions into school plans.