The school is performing well.

Outcomes are strong, behaviour is secure, and systems are largely effective. Staff take pride in the school’s reputation.

However, improvement has begun to plateau. Gains are incremental rather than transformational.

Practice is reliable, but not consistently sharp. Teams work well, but often in isolation. Strategic conversations focus more on maintaining standards than raising them.

This is not decline. It is complacency.

The leadership focus

The issue is not capability. It is coherence and ambition.

Senior leaders identify that priorities are not tightly aligned, and improvement lacks precision.

They make a disciplined decision to focus on a small number of shared behaviours.

Shared behaviours (Year 1)

These behaviours are not secure, so they become the priority.

• S5 Establish collective goals Leaders align the school around a small number of ambitious, shared priorities
• S8 Find the lead measures Leaders focus on the specific actions that will drive improvement, not just outcomes
• C4 Maintain consistency Expectations are applied reliably so that improvement is sustained across teams

These behaviours are the priority. They are taught, practised, and reinforced consistently.

How the year unfolds

June to October
Leaders build shared understanding of priorities and practise applying these behaviours in everyday leadership.

October to November
Diagnostics are introduced once leaders have real experience to reflect on.

December to March
Leaders begin a 90-day cycle, applying behaviours to real challenges with greater precision.

What success looks like by the end of Year 1

• Clear, ambitious priorities understood across the school
• Greater alignment between teams and departments
• More precise and focused improvement work
• Consistent execution of agreed priorities

Improvement is sharper, more deliberate, and more impactful.

Leadership judgment

In most schools, these three behaviours provide the strongest starting point. Where the primary issue is weak follow-through, L8 Don’t drop the ball may be prioritised.

The key discipline

Do not move on too quickly.

The most common failure is introducing new priorities before consistency is secure.

Once consistency is embedded, the focus shifts to building shared ownership and then raising ambition.

Applying this in practice

The worked example sets your overall direction.

Within that, leaders will face specific challenges, difficult conversations, team issues, or moments of uncertainty.

Use the Scenario Finder to identify the right leadership behaviours for those situations and apply them with precision.