School Consultancy

David is keen to work with independent schools who wish to prepare and be ready for inspection Support and guidance can include scrutiny of policies and regulatory checks, including health and safety checks and an examination of the school’s safer recruitment processes. Boarding schools will welcome David’s keen and experienced eyes on all matters pertaining to boarding and David can work with school leaders to examine the full educational experience and how it positively impacts on the pupils who experience it.

As part of the process, David will leave schools with careful advice (for Governors and school leaders at all levels) so that they are able to work towards positive inspection outcomes.

As part of the ongoing service, David is happy to engage with schools via an online platform if they wish to receive subsequent advice.

Schools may prefer nuanced support and advice in improving specific areas of school practice. Consider:

1. We are very good at gathering data but are we using it efficiently enough to promote pupil outcomes?

2. We are very good at identifying pupils who have SEND, but how well do we actually disseminate information to the staff? And how consistently do our staff support pupils who have SEND in the classrooms?

3. We know what British values and protected characteristics are, but how do we demonstrate that our pupils really understand them?

4. Schemes of Work. Subject policy documentation. Where do we start?

5. We know our boarding provision is popular, but what about the National Minimum Standards (NMS)?

These are a small sample of the questions David has been asked. If you have an area of your school where you want to improve, having an experienced, enthusiastic and fresh pair of eyes may notice those changes which help you to achieve the improvements you seek.

David has worked at senior leadership level for nearly two decades, and at Head of Department level from his first day in teaching! Over the years, he has worked with PGCE students on work-placements, Early Career Teachers as they enter the profession, and he has mentored and supported hundreds of colleagues through internal appraisal processes. He feels that robust, supportive and effective appraisal systems in a school are essential in promoting excellent outcomes for pupils.

David is keen to work with schools on appraisal – particularly conducting external appraisal of senior leadership teams. David will work with Governors, Proprietors, Colleagues and Pupils (and Parents, if the school requests this) during an appraisal sequence to fully understand the strengths of the appraisee and to finely judge targeted areas for ongoing performance improvement. Each appraisal will culminate with a confidential and personal report.