Systems

Systems are absolutely crucial to ensure the successful development of a school.

High expectations without systems are useless.

You don’t rise to the height of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

If you want to safeguard the wellbeing of staff, you need systems in place.

So what do I mean by systems?

You’ll have a systemic approach to the way your curriculum is planned. If it’s thought of on the hoof term by term - then there’s probably no system in place. If the curriculum has been strategically designed so objectives build on the previous year and are a precursor to the subsequent year - then that is a system.

You’ll have systems for communication formed by cornerstone behaviours. This might include one-hour limit meetings, or 3-item agenda meetings, or a weekly staff briefing following the same pattern to ensure not just that dates/information are communicated - but also that the story and vision of the school are reinforced, discussed and actually brought to life.

If I had to narrow it down to one sentence - it’d be something along the lines of:

People must take personal responsibility for their own wellbeing by consistently trying to be their best self - but the school must strive to create an environment where people are enabled to be their best self.

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