NPQH Leading Culture and Ethos Cycle 2 Practice Activities
Select three of the following nine activities to submit to your leadership coach.
Choose activities based on your areas of interest and the results of the initial needs analysis undertaken at the start of the course.
School culture
Activity 1: Your vision
Read pages 25 to 28 of Day et al.’s, ‘Effective school leadership’ (2020), paying attention to the eight key, inter-related dynamic dimensions of successful leadership and how they are underpinned by values and a clear vision of student learning, well-being, achievement and high expectations.
With reference to Day et al.’s research, reflect on your school’s vision statement and the examples provided, critically analysing:
how clearly they communicate the vision for teaching, pupil well-being and achievement
how they set ambitious standards and high expectations for all pupils
Vision 1
We believe that a happy child is a successful one. We are committed to providing a positive, safe and stimulating environment for children to learn, where all are valued. We intend that all children should enjoy their learning, achieve their potential and become independent lifelong learners.
We believe that education should take place in a fully inclusive environment with equal opportunities for all and that all children should learn to value religious and cultural differences. Our school strives to be at the centre of the local community with positive and effective links to the wider and global communities.
As a school, we value:
the happiness of children, families and staff
caring staff who respect and know the children very well
the development of self-confidence, self-motivation and independence
co-operation, collaboration and teamwork
exciting but safe and secure spaces, indoor and outdoor, where children can explore, discover and experiment
the natural environment, the local community and the wider world
a stimulating and challenging curriculum, suited to children’s needs, enabling them to reach their full potential across all areas of learning
praise and celebration of the achievements of every child
raising aspirations and a commitment to lifelong learning
working in partnership with others to meet the needs of all the children and their families
all aspects of British life and culture; celebrating differences, diversity, core values and preparing children for life in Modern Britain
Our values
We believe that every child can succeed. Our diverse community is built on the values we share – Respect, Responsibility and Resilience, whilst celebrating our differences – the gifts that make everyone unique.
We are passionate about achieving outstanding outcomes for all but committed to educating the ‘whole child’. We want our children to be socially responsible and emotionally literate; we want them to be safe, confident and happy.
We are an inclusive school with a nurturing approach to getting the best out of everyone. Having fun is important to us, as well as teamwork and collaboration.
Our creative curriculum is based on the things that really work for our children.
We want our pupils to aspire to the highest achievements and our parents to be ambitious for their children.
Vision 2
We aim to:
inspire, motivate and challenge all children, to create a love of learning
build confident, cooperative, independent learners who have high self-esteem
develop citizens who have a strong sense of right and wrong
achieve high standards in all areas of learning and teaching
be creative, cultural, sporting and innovative
In an environment which is:
safe, nurturing and stimulating
fun, exciting and purposeful
well-resourced and well-organised
fully inclusive of all
We will achieve this by:
having high expectations
assessing and planning carefully
using a variety of teaching strategies so that all pupils can succeed
providing excellent learning opportunities, including outside the classroom
having clear rules, rewards and sanctions
working in close partnership with parents, carers and our community
Inclusion
We recognise that every child matters. All staff provide a safe, secure and accessible learning environment where each child is valued and their individuality celebrated.
Inclusion at our school recognises a child’s right to, and provides for, a broad, balanced, relevant and challenging curriculum appropriate to their individual abilities, talents and personal qualities.
Vision 3
We strive for all our children to meet their full academic, social, emotional and physical potential through building solid foundations during this first chapter in their lifelong learning journey.
Our vision for the school is underpinned by a set of values that are based aims which we endeavour to live out each and every day.
We value We aim to
Learning Create nurturing, challenging and empowering learning opportunities for
children, staff and parents
Inclusion Offer a broad, balanced curriculum that is relevant and accessible for all children
Achievement Celebrate the achievements and successes of each individual
Communication Ensure everyone has a voice and their contribution is valued
Responsibility Secure the accountability of all through distributive leadership, rigorous monitoring and evaluation
Reflection Improve future performance through the continuous evaluation of our practice
Creativity Think outside the box and try new ideas to continuously raise standards
Community Foster positive working relationships with parents, multi-agency professionals and the local community
Diversity Promote tolerance and respect for individual differences, abilities, needs and beliefs
Well-being Create a safe, caring environment in which everyone is healthy, happy and ready to learn
Transition Equip children and families with the knowledge, skills, independence and resilience to face future challenges
We work hard to promote our Vision and Values across the school to ensure they are fully understood and embedded within our daily practice. Examples of how we do this include:
a professionally designed Vision and Values display located within our school reception
a programme of monthly values throughout the year
vision and values boards in all classrooms, with the monthly value on display
opportunities for reflecting on and celebrating the monthly values within class end-of-day Reflection sessions and our weekly Good Work Assembly
our Vision and Values feature within our School Improvement Plan
Answer the following questions.
How effectively do the vision statements set ambitious standards for pupils?
What is your vision for teaching and learning in your school?
Draft your own vision and discuss the results with a colleague.
How has your vision been influenced by research and evidence and the needs of your pupils and staff?
How does your vision inform strategic direction?
How does this set ambitious standards for pupils in your school?
Submission
Submit your draft vision and a 100-word reflection of how it informs strategic direction, setting ambitious standards for all pupils in your school, to your performance coach.
Resource
Day, C., Sammons, P., & Gorgen, K. (2020) Successful school leadership. Education Development Trust.
Activity 2: Using data
Access a range of internal data for your school, e.g., school self-evaluation report, pupil profiles, records of monitoring, records of the quality of education and quality of teaching.
What does it reveal about the quality of education in your school?
How can you use this internal data to establish and sustain strategic direction, securing alignment between curriculum, assessment and teaching, and your vision for pupil learning?
Access a range of external data for your school, e.g., DfE Sign-in for access to your pupil progress data, and the Find and compare schools service or Families of schools database to benchmark your school against similar schools.
How can you use this external data to establish and sustain strategic direction?
Identify colleagues and individuals or organisations in the wider community with expertise relevant to school improvement, e.g., members of the governance board, parent teacher association, advisory boards, consultants, national leaders of education, partnerships or hubs.
How can you use their expertise to ensure the strategic direction remains aligned to curriculum, assessment and teaching?
Submission
Write a 100-word (maximum) summary of your findings linked to establishing strategic direction and how it will be sustained and submit to your performance coach for feedback.
Resource
DfE Sign-in
Activity 3: Communicating culture
In the ‘School culture’ study pack, Francis Power described his development of a communications framework to ensure strategic direction and the intended culture was regularly communicated with the whole school and wider community. The example policies from Hale Grammar School illustrated the use of consistent, intentional language to communicate the intended culture. Read a selection of your own school policies.
How effectively do your school policies, vision and values communicate your intended school culture?
Walking around your school, what evidence can you see of the impact of school policies on the culture and environment?
How is school culture communicated to stakeholders?
How intentional is the language? How could this be increased?
Are the messages consistent? How could this be improved?
How is language used in your school to promote professional development and high professional standards?
Submission
Write a 250-word (maximum) summary of your response and submit to your performance coach.
Behaviour
Activity 4: Use of sanctions and rewards
Read sections 2 and 3 of the EEF (2019) guidance report on improving behaviour in schools, paying attention to the guidance on motivating pupils and reinforcing positive behaviours. Reflect on your school’s approach to behaviour management.
How do you ensure intrinsic motivation, positive reinforcement and the development of selfregulation is prioritised?
How do you ensure teachers and pupils understand the rules and criteria for receiving a reward or sanction? What action could you take to make this more effective?
How do you ensure staff have the same high expectations for all pupils and use sanctions and rewards consistently? How could this be improved?
How do you ensure the school’s policy on the use of rewards and sanctions is fair and inclusive?
How do you support staff responsible for the escalation of behaviour incidents? How could you better support the process?
Produce a plan to make your school’s use of rewards and sanctions more inclusive and effective.
Submission
Submit your plan, supported by a 100-word justification, to your performance coach.
Resource
EEF (2019) Improving behaviour in schools
Activity 5: Timpson review
Read the ‘Timpson review of school exclusion’ and pay attention to the recommendations for managing behaviour and exclusions for vulnerable children and pupils with SEND.
Meet with a senior colleague or SENCo to discuss the recommendations.
How appropriate are the recommendations for implementation in your school?
What action is required to implement the recommendations more effectively?
Submission
Write a 250-word (maximum) summary of your response and submit to your performance coach.
Resource
DfE (2019) Timpson review of school exclusion
Activity 6: EEF’s ‘Improving behaviour in schools’
Share the summary of findings from the Education Endowment Foundation’s (2019) ‘Improving behaviour in schools’ report with a group of middle leaders in your school.
Discuss the findings and support the group in planning how to:
use the evidence to support the selection and implementation of appropriate strategies within their teams and areas of responsibility
maintain clear behavioural expectations
use appropriate interventions without lowering expectations of pupil behaviour
Submission
Submit a 100-word summary of the outcome of your meeting to your performance coach.
Resource
EEF (2019) Improving behaviour in schools
Professional development
Activity 7: Leading the design and delivery of effective CPD
Read the recommendations in the headline messages on pages 5 to 7 of ‘Developing great leadership of CPDL’.
What action can you take to model and orientate CPDL systems and activities towards building shared accountability among all staff for pupil achievement and well-being?
How could you promote and support the of use well-designed frameworks and resources to create impact and increase efficiency and effectiveness?
Submission
Submit a 100-word summary of your response to your performance coach.
Resources
DfE (2016) Standard for teachers’ professional development
Cordingley, P., et al. (2020) Developing great leadership of CPDL
Activity 8: Making time for CPD
Read the recommendations from the Sutton Trust for making time for CPD in ‘Developing teachers’.
What action would you need to take to implement these recommendations in your school?
What are the barriers and how could they be overcome?
Submission
Submit a 100-word summary of your response to your performance coach.
Resource
Sutton Trust (2015) Developing teachers
Activity 9: Developing specialist expertise
Read pages 5 to 10 of Darling-Hammond et al.’s (2017) review of effective teacher development, looking at content focus, active learning and collaboration, which highlight the benefits of collaboration and inquiry to develop subject expertise.
Devise a strategy to promote the development of teachers’ specialist knowledge in your school.
Talk to senior leaders to identify the actions required to better support and recognise teachers’ specialist expertise.
What action is required to support the development of subject-specific networks for teachers in your school?
What action is required to facilitate collaboration between subject specialists and classroom inquiry?
What action is required to promote, acknowledge and celebrate the expertise of subject specialists in your school?
Submission
Submit your strategy, supported by a 100-word justification, to your performance coach.
Resource
Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017) Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.