Starting point 4
A strong school raising the ceiling
When a school is already doing well, the risk is standing still. This starting point raises ambition without unsettling what works.
The situation
The school is performing well. Outcomes are strong, behaviour is good and systems work. Staff are proud of the school’s reputation.
Improvement, though, has started to level off. Practice is reliable but not always sharp, teams work well but often in isolation, and strategic conversations are more about keeping standards than raising them.
This is not decline. It is the point where a good school decides whether to become a great one.
The shared behaviours
The whole leadership team works on these three, one each half term.
- S5 Establish Collective Goals. The school aligns around a small number of ambitious, shared priorities.
- S8 Find the Lead Measures. Leaders focus on the actions that drive improvement, not just the results.
- S13 Aspire to Greatness. Leaders set a higher bar, and help staff believe it can be reached.
A routine to launch with
Choose the routine that varies most between classrooms. In a strong school, the gap is rarely in behaviour; it is more often in something like the do-now or the end of the lesson. Use How we do it to write down what your best practitioners already do, so that it becomes what everyone does.
How the year runs
Count from whenever you start. Each leader also follows the usual plan: the self-review first, colleague feedback in the second half term, and a 90-day plan from the third.
| Before you begin | Leaders take the self-review. Look at the school overview for the behaviours where the team rates itself lowest: in strong schools these are often in strategy. |
| Half term 1 | S13 Aspire to Greatness. Describe what great would look like in three years, and why it matters. |
| Half term 2 | S5 Establish Collective Goals. Agree one or two ambitious goals. Colleague feedback opens. |
| Half term 3 | S8 Find the Lead Measures. Each team finds the weekly actions that will move its goal. Leaders start 90-day plans. |
| Half terms 4 and 5 | Track the lead measures every week. Launch the routine that sharpens practice. |
| Half term 6 | Review progress against the goals, and decide what great looks like next year. |
What success looks like after a year
- Clear, ambitious priorities that staff understand
- Teams working towards shared goals rather than in isolation
- Improvement work that is more precise
- A school that is still getting better, not just staying good
The trap to avoid
Polishing what already works. It is easy to spend the year refining systems that are already strong. Put the effort where the ceiling is lowest.
A judgement call
Where agreed priorities are not being carried out reliably, C4 Maintain Consistency may be needed before S13.
When something specific comes up
The plan sets the direction for the year. Within it, leaders will face difficult conversations, team problems and moments of uncertainty. Use the Leadership Challenge Finder to find the behaviours that help most, or talk it through with the ES Coach.