The same as everyone else or stand out from the crowd? How does your school rate?

As a Headteacher you want to the very best for the school and the families and staff in your care. This does not come without considerate challenges in this day and age, but you know the job and the rewards are worth it – why else would you do it?

One thing that Heads and teachers don’t often speak about is the reputation of their school. Like it or not, what other people think of your school is important. Judgements are made about you and your families. So, what can be done to make these judgements positive? 

The approach you have to the education and care of your children is an important area. If you have challenging behaviours and little parental support is there something that can be done? Often more formal teaching methods don’t seem to work so how about less formal ones? OFSTED inspections want to see how lessons are taught and will look at the impact of these- your SATs results. They can not and will not make judgements on teaching styles and the way your curriculum is arranged. Be creative, be active, be inspiring.

Children and families who are buzzing about their learning at the end of the day will go out and talk about it. This buzz is what we want from our children as it is the spark that develops a love of learning and success in later life.

Don’t be afraid to share your creativity publicly. The local press and even other Headteachers in the area would love to come along to see what you are doing. We encourage children to magpie ideas for their work in Talk 4 Writing so why shouldn’t other schools do it for their curriculum and approach to teaching?

So now take a moment to sit back and think about what you know of your school’s reputation. Do you know what the local schools / area think of you? Is there anything you are proud of and want them to know about? If not, why not, and what can you do to change this?