10 Questions for Heads – What’s on your list this summer?

For many, this is the last week of term. Sports day and summer concerts are in full swing or have been and gone. So what are your plans for the summer? We recommend taking the time now to reflect on how the year went and what next year has in store. As a Head, our experience suggests your first thoughts are often  worries about aligning the teachers to the number of pupils this year and making sure that the repairs / building projects aren’t going to over run. However, we think there may be some other things to think about for the summer. Check out our questions for heads over the summer:

Looking back:

1. What was my cost/surplus per pupil this year? What should it be in next year according to my model? Will I make the magical 10%?

Looking at now:

School is all but broken up, but there is a process that is in full flow now and shall be for the rest of the year –  admissions!

2. We are currently midway through the pupil recruitment cycle – how are we doing? Are our leading indicators showing that we are going to hit target? If not, what can we do to improve the situation?

Looking to the future:

3. What is my/the school’s strategy to compete with the schools (maintained & independent) in my area?
4. What is the message I need to communicate to parents, staff and pupils to help this strategy?
5. How is my teacher and admin staff configured to achieve this goal?
6. Does the school have the right ‘style’ to match this strategy? The uniform is looking good, but is it time for a fresher, new look make over?
7. What has technology done for me lately? Teaching tech? Admin tech? Databases?
8. What skills do I need in the team to make this year successful for the school and the staff?
9. How do I make parents my biggest advocates?

And the overall thought for introspection:

10. What is the one thing that I would like to improve on for next year?

The summer holidays provide a perfect time to puzzle over some of the things that you simply don’t get the time to reflect on during the busy term time. We hope you have a lovely summer break and look forward to working with you in the autumn term.

If you would like advice, guidance, or just to talk about any of the above, please do give us a call. Happy summer from MTM.

What did you think of our Questions for Heads and what would you add? Let us know in the comments!

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