S5. Establish Collective Goals toolkit
Toolkit
Establishing collective goals means uniting the whole school around one or two Wildly Important Goals (WIGs). This planner helps leaders clarify those goals, align them with the school’s mission, and ensure that every member of staff sees how their work contributes. By building shared ownership, leaders create the sense of purpose and discipline needed to move the whole organisation forward.
| Wildly Important Goal (WIG) | ||
| What is the single most important goal for this year? Limit to no more than two. | ||
| Purpose & Alignment | ||
| Why does this goal matter? How does it connect to the school’s mission and values? | ||
| Collective Contribution | ||
| How will every member of staff, regardless of role, contribute to this goal? What is the “janitor helping put a man on the moon” version for our school? | ||
| Team Involvement | ||
| How have staff been involved in shaping and refining this goal? How do we build buy-in and ownership? | ||
| Communication Plan | ||
| How will we keep this goal visible and at the forefront of the mind throughout the year? Which forums, routines, or artefacts will remind staff, students, and parents of our collective priorities? | ||
| Reflection Prompts | ||
| Are our goals clear, concrete, and memorable? Do staff at every level understand how their work contributes to these goals? Have we limited ourselves to no more than one or two WIGs to maintain focus? Are we reinforcing ownership through regular communication and celebration of progress? |
S5. Establish Collective Goals: example toolkit
Role: Deputy Headteacher
| Wildly Important Goal (WIG) | ||
| To improve the quality of feedback in every classroom so that it leads directly to better student progress and greater independence. | ||
| Purpose & Alignment | ||
| This goal matters because feedback sits at the heart of excellent teaching. When done well, it helps students understand how to improve and take ownership of their learning. It links directly to our mission of transforming life chances by developing learners who are reflective, ambitious, and capable of self-improvement. This also connects to our school value of hard work: ensuring that every student not only puts effort into their learning, but also knows exactly how to make that effort count. | ||
| Collective Contribution | ||
| Every member of staff contributes to this goal, whether they teach, support, or lead. Teachers use clear success criteria and verbal feedback routines to make improvements visible. Teaching assistants reinforce the same language when supporting students in class. Curriculum leaders focus line management meetings on the quality of feedback and its impact, not simply on marking completion. Our admin and comms teams celebrate examples of great feedback in newsletters and displays, showing students that learning is valued across the whole school. Like the janitor helping put a man on the moon, everyone’s work contributes to helping students see that improvement is possible and achievable. | ||
| Team Involvement | ||
| Staff were involved in shaping this goal through department discussions and a cross-school working group that analysed student work and shared ideas. Feedback from teachers helped define what high-quality feedback looks like in practice and how we can make it sustainable. This collaborative approach has helped build buy-in and a sense of shared accountability for achieving it. | ||
| Communication Plan | ||
| The WIG is displayed in every staffroom, forms part of the weekly briefing, and features in our “Friday Focus” updates celebrating great practice. Department meetings open with short examples of feedback strategies that are working well, and SLT learning walks highlight one powerful instance of feedback to share with all staff. By keeping the WIG visible and celebrating progress regularly, it remains part of our everyday conversation, not a one-off target. |
| Reflection Prompts | ||
| Are our goals clear, concrete, and memorable? Do staff at every level understand how their work contributes to these goals? Have we limited ourselves to no more than one or two WIGs to maintain focus? Are we reinforcing ownership through regular communication and celebration of progress? |