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As project leader, you’ll probably be responsible for scheduling the improvement activities set out in your improvement plan. To keep this manageable:
- Enlist the support of colleagues to lead discrete improvement activities and encourage them to seek the views of your setting’s external partners such as advisers, health workers and youth workers.
- Establish roles and responsibilities for delivering the activities, with clear timeframes and impact measures.
- Build in regular monitoring so that learning can be captured and actions don’t drift.
- If any activities run over schedule, plan how this will be resolved or amend them as needed.
- Schedule improvement activities into your setting’s staff calendar. Brief all colleagues on what they are expected to do, with whom, and when. Prepare other stakeholders when needed.
Build in regular monitoring activities to review progress against your improvement plan and assess whether your activities are making a difference. Aim to do this termly where possible, so that you can identify what is working and adjust activities before the end of the academic year. Try to use existing systems to gather evidence, rather than creating new processes. For example:
- Staff feedback – include brief surveys or standing agenda items at staff meetings to capture changes in knowledge, skills and confidence.
- Pupil feedback – draw on existing pupil surveys or school council discussions to understand whether children feel safer and more informed.
- Case studies – request short written accounts from staff or pupils that illustrate the impact of a specific activity or change in practice.
- Learning walks – use these structured observations to see how changes to practice or the environment are being embedded day to day.
- Behaviour and safeguarding data – review trends in recorded concerns, incidents or referrals, to identify whether your activities are having a measurable effect.
- Routine updates – use existing reporting structures (such as governor meetings or designated safeguarding lead/professional briefings) to track and share progress.
Reflect and adjust
Set aside time to review what your monitoring is telling you, and use this to shape your next steps. If an activity has not had the intended impact, consider whether it needs to be adapted, delivered differently, or targeted at a specific group.
This reflection is especially important if your data suggests that particular groups of pupils may be at increased risk – for example, those with special educational needs or disabilities, those who are looked after, or pupils in specific year groups.
Share key findings and updates with colleagues and stakeholders so that the work remains visible and understood across your setting.
Think carefully about how you will make changes stick beyond the life of the improvement plan, by:
- incorporating pupil voice – for example, through pupil surveys, focus groups, or school council involvement in reviewing policies or the curriculum
- engaging parents and the wider community – for example, through sharing information via newsletters, parent evenings or community events, and signposting families to relevant support
- sustaining professional development – for example, through building safeguarding updates into staff induction, appraisal cycles and continuing professional development, rather than relying on one-off training
Update your setting’s policies
Identify which policies need updating and use your existing review cycle to manage this. Consider the following policies and any others that are relevant:
- Child protection and safeguarding
- Behaviour (including anti-bullying)
- Relationships and sex education (RSE)
- SEND
- Supporting pupils with medical conditions
- Curriculum
- Staff induction and professional development
- Appraisal/performance management
- Grievance procedures
- Whistleblowing