I’ve written hundreds of SDPs (or SIPs). Many bad ones, and some good ones. I’ve written some really clever, smart-looking ones alone that were hardly touched, and a few really simple ones together that we used daily. I know what it feels like to pour in hours of planning only for an SDP to gather dust. Now, school leaders often ask me to take a look at theirs. I’ve learnt lots from the process of writing, sharing, and attempting to deliver improvement through the SDP. Here’s what I’ve learnt:
For me, the 5 main weaknesses of a SDP are:
1. Too long (are you asking me to use a 2-page plan or to file a 15-page thesis?) BE BRIEF
2. Destination not clear (how ambitious is the plan and where do you want it to take you as a school community?) MAP THE JOURNEY
3. Too many priorities (Are we clear on the key things that really need improving? Michael Barber says we always risk ‘the undisciplined pursuit of more’). KEEP IT SIMPLE
4. No mechanism for using it (we spend days writing it, but we aren’t getting maximum use out of it). MAKE IT EASY TO USE
5. Not enough investing in staff (we lead pupils and adults) THINK LONG TERM
Everything else about your plan – measurable targets (how will you know you are improving?), accountability (who will you hold to account for getting it done?) and time frame (how long have you got?) comes later, but I’d say that first you need to nail 1, 2 and 3.
What’s the difference between a SDP and a SEF?
A self-evaluation (SEF) is a succinct way of answering three questions: How well are we doing? How do we know? What do we need to do next?
A school development plan (SDP) delivers on the ‘what we need to do next’. It should be a simple, short document which sets out the plan for the next one to three years, and which prioritises actions.
The final SDP is really important in helping move your school forwards, but as with the SEF, it is the process which will engage your senior team and governors and help them be part of the plan going forwards.
What are my sources of information for the SDP?
The SEF (this is my starting point – how accurate is it?)
What children are saying
What staff are saying
What parents and governors are saying
Evaluations of school improvement visits
Recommended actions from the previous inspection report
Summary of pupil groups’ attainment and progress (what needs to be improved quickest)
When and how to write it:
Some HTs get to the week before we come back in September, worry they haven’t produced the SDP, hide in a dark room, and write it furiously (I’ve done that). The following worked better for me: ask senior/middle leaders over the first part of term six to identify their key priorities, which then feeds into your thinking and planning as you meet with governors. Then you write the plan second half of term six. This means you don’t spend the summer worrying about it, or worse writing it in a vacuum all by yourself.
The planning process with your team is always more important than the final plan on paper.
Key elements of a SDP:
Have simple actions: each with a clear timeline of how it will be monitored and when completed by.
Prioritise the weaknesses: which need to be worked on first: make sure that you have created milestones through the year where you and your team can measure the progress you are making against that objective.
Have a ‘who’s responsible’ section: this will help you communicate who is responsible for different elements and also help you hold the right people accountable for what is being done, or not being done.
Know how you’ll track progress: what will your mechanism be? Plan regular sessions with senior leader/s and governors so that the SDP remains a live document and so they can can help track progress.
Choose your guiding coalition: Know who’ll help you to track progress. Decide which stakeholders should help – chair, governors, middle leaders, teaching staff, support staff, parents, children.
RAG-rating your SDP:
I’m not a huge RAG-rating fan, and it is definitely not the perfect method of showing how you track progress of your SDP, but you could consider:
Green – actioned, completed and evidence that it’s working.
Amber – actioned, but waiting for evidence that it’s working.
Red – Not actioned, or partially actioned.
Choose the mechanism of how you will use it, to maximise impact:
Walking your school – with it in your hand sends a clear message to everyone that its the most important document in school (because it is).
Line Management – Using the SDP as the agenda for how you will line manage your senior/middle leaders reminds everyone of our priorities. This will make it integral to the culture of your organisation, and build it into systems already in place (eg. line management). When we don’t make this a priority, other priorities (and lots of admin stuff) will take its place.
Meetings – Deciding how you’ll use the SDP in team meetings helps everyone know when they will have to give an update on their area.
Governors – Breaking up the SDP priorities helps you allocate governor responsibilities – providing them with questions to ask around that area helps them plan their time in school effectively, and describing exactly how you want them to report back means everyone is clear and saves everyone time.
So, good practice in development/improvement planning might be where:
The headteacher sets a process which involves key stakeholders – this helps leaders and governors feel that they have real agency in school improvement. The head checks carefully throughout the year that actions completed are having impact before considering these complete (or RAG-rating them green). A trusted School Improvement Partner meets regularly with the HT, and this relationship provides challenge and support (‘critical friendship’) to school improvement planning.