S8. Find the lead measures toolkit
Toolkit
Finding the lead measures means identifying the specific, influenceable actions that most reliably predict success. Unlike lag measures, which only tell us if we have achieved our goals after the fact, lead measures can be influenced in the present and tracked regularly. This planner helps leaders define lag measures, identify predictive lead measures, and embed ownership and discipline into routines so that teams focus their energy where it counts.
| Goal | ||
| What overall outcome are we trying to achieve? | ||
| Lag Measures (Outcome) | ||
| What end result will tell us if we’ve achieved the goal? (e.g. % Grade 5+ in English/Maths, overall attendance rate, staff retention %). | ||
| Lead Measures | ||
| Lead measure | Owner | Review |
| What predictive, influenceable actions will most reliably move this lag measure (e.g. number of extended written responses each week, daily attendance calls for students at risk, proportion of on-time arrivals)? | ||
| Reflection Prompts | ||
| What are the current lag measures I’m focused on, and do my lead measures genuinely predict their success? Are my lead measures specific enough to be tracked week by week? Do staff understand and feel ownership of them? Have I built check-ins into existing routines so they cannot be skipped? Am I using the data from lead measures to adapt and improve, rather than simply to report? | ||
S8. Find the lead measures: example toolkit
Role: Head of Department
| Goal | ||
| To improve the proportion of students achieving Grade 5+ in GCSE English Language by ensuring that extended writing tasks are consistently taught, practised, and reviewed across all year groups. | ||
| Lag Measures (Outcome) | ||
| The key indicator of success will be the percentage of students achieving Grade 5+ in GCSE English Language, alongside internal assessment data showing consistent improvement in writing structure, accuracy, and depth of analysis across Key Stage 3 and 4. | ||
| Lead Measures | ||
| Lead measure | Owner | Review |
| Each class completes one extended writing task per fortnight, marked using a shared success criteria grid | Classroom teachers | Weekly during department meeting |
| Every teacher provides live feedback to at least three students per lesson on writing quality | Classroom teachers | Monitored through learning walks and teacher reflection logs |
| Department uses moderation every three weeks to calibrate marking and share examples of strong student work | Head of Department | Fortnightly review with SLT link |
| Teachers model one exemplar paragraph in every writing lesson, showing structure and precision | All teaching staff | Reviewed through peer observation schedule |
| Focus students (below expected grade) receive one feedback conference per half term to review writing goals | KS4 lead teacher | Half-termly data meeting |
| Tracking these measures weekly ensures that we are not waiting until mock exams to find out whether our actions are having an impact. We focus discussions on these inputs rather than just end results, creating a sense of agency among the team. | ||
| Reflection Prompts | ||
| What are the current lag measures I’m focused on, and do my lead measures genuinely predict their success? Are my lead measures specific enough to be tracked week by week? Do staff understand and feel ownership for them? Have I built check-ins into existing routines so they cannot be skipped? Am I using the data from lead measures to adapt and improve, rather than simply to report? | ||