Marginal gains & school improvement: Big changes in small steps Schools don’t need a big-bang approach to change or improvement, writes Matt Tiplin. It is far better to focus on small, realistic and sustainable improvements in teaching and learning…
Preparing governors for Ofsted inspection Governors have a key role to play during Ofsted inspection. Tiffnie Harris discusses 10 ways we can ensure governors are well prepared for when the inspectors come calling...
School leadership: How to respond to and solve problems As a school leader, problem or cause analysis is important and it can be worth taking time to understand a problem’s root causes before springing into action. Sean Harris considers two models for moving from reactive to responsive problem-solving
School-to-school improvement: Peer review with a purpose Following the nine principles of effective school-to-school peer review, two south London primary schools have embarked on a new collaboration focused on behaviour. Laura McPhee reports
The changing shape of performance management Decoupling performance and pay does not mean a less robust appraisal system, in fact it can mean quite the opposite. Pay specialist Louise Hatswell advises
Governors & trustees: Overcoming the barriers to recruitment Governor recruitment seems to be getting tougher and tougher. Al Kingsley considers why governance is a great role, the barriers that exist to recruitment, and how we might start to overcome them
How to write an effective SEF for your school Are you about to tackle the school self-evaluation form? Ciara Lamb shares some tips for writing your SEF, so you can be confident it is set up to effectively support your school's development
Are your pupils ready for Ofsted’s deep dives? Deep dives are intended to give Ofsted insight into how subjects are taught and are now a key tool for inspectors. But how well can pupils contribute to the discussion? Suzanne O'Connell spoke to one school about its recent experience...
Four steps to develop your school’s senior leadership team Building and developing a successful senior leadership team is an important part of the role of a headteacher. Simon Clark shares four strategic tips for how you can do this
Designing whole-school CPD: Three streams, one cycle With so many high-quality materials available to schools, the challenge these days is not the what of CPD, but the how. Applying recent EEF research into the mechanisms of effective CPD, Robbie Burns advises on designing a whole-school CPD cycle
Weekly Evaluation Sheet: A simple but impactful monitoring tool After a ‘requires improvement’ judgement, as part of his school’s response Gavin Hamilton implemented the Weekly Evaluation Sheet to help focus minds, improve monitoring and intervention, and cut workload...
The golden triangle: How to improve performance management in schools The golden triangle of performance management takes in quality improvement, performance development and CPD. Matt Bromley explains, offering some key tenets of effective performance management systems
Meaningless words? How to build a genuine school ethos Building a school ethos can so easily become an exercise in jargon and meaningless words. James Handscombe says that it is not until your ethos gets in the way of a hard decision that you know if you really believe in what you’re saying…
Three principles for an inclusive school environment Ensuring an inclusive school environment which supports every pupil to be their best is a priority for school leader Bavaani Nanthabalan. She discusses three core principles for achieving this
Edtech change and transformation: How to make things happen... When it comes to edtech in schools, we are all grappling with how to harness the momentum that has been built up during the pandemic. Al Kingsley – author of the new book My Secret EdTech Diary – explains how to take control of edtech change and make things happen
How sustainable is your school’s CPD provision? Does your school have a CPD offer? Or does it have a culture of learning? Michelle Barker shares some self-evaluation questions to help you review the sustainability of your school’s CPD provision
Developing your school's long-term strategic plan It is crucial that your long-term strategic plan helps you to sustain your school. Ciara Lamb outlines what to consider when deciding on your priorities and how to create a robust plan
Anti-racism & diversity: Curriculum, policy and practice Decolonising the primary curriculum, embedding diversity, and becoming an anti-racist school is a challenging and at times difficult process. Headteacher Laura McPhee describes how her school reviewed and reformed its curriculum, policy and practice
Student voice: How to create a collaborative school and classroom culture Collaborative decision-making happens when the options, constraints and possibilities in the classroom are discussed and decided in partnership with pupils. Dr Geraldine Rowe explains what this looks like in practice
No Silver Bullets: Day-in, day-out school improvement School improvement is not about silver bullets. Rather it is about making small incremental gains day-in, day-out. A new book is offering 89 such gains to help focus the mind. Author Paul K Ainsworth dissects four of them here…
CPD at the heart of school improvement A small primary school in Cornwall has become a CPD powerhouse after placing professional development at the heart of its school improvement plans. Yvonne Gandy takes a look
'The first thing I invested in was the school library' The library must sit at the heart of our teaching and learning environments. Former headteacher, Richard Gerver – the new president of the School Library Association – explains why school libraries have never been more important and looks at some tenets of good practice 1 comment
Schools post-Covid: Five changes for the better What changes should schools make in the post-Covid world? What are the new priorities? Malcolm Groves outlines five changes for the better that school leaders say they want to see
Effective CPD: A guide to professional learning networks This article tackles five questions to help you evaluate whether your school is making the most out of professional learning networks. Michelle Barker also shares recommendations for leaders on how to establish, grow and sustain networks that work
School improvement: The patchwork quilt approach? Best practice cannot become a patchwork quilt – stitched together from ideas, approaches and interventions seen elsewhere. We must always remember that context matters above all else, says Jonathan Cordiner
