Vision
A non-selective international school known for the consistency of its judgments and the visibility of its priorities in every classroom.
School priorities
Focus now
Name one instructional non-negotiable, and who on SLT holds it.
What the consultant says
One decision is overdue, and one plan action has gone quiet. Two plan actions are moving.
Priority 1. The same work gets the same grade, whoever marks it, in MYP and DP.
MovingOwner: Marco Ellison (lead), with Anna Vester and Helen Okonkwo
Sample 6 of 8 subject groups within one band now; aim 7 of 8 by March
- Decision Publish the internal assessment calendar draft. Was due 19 Oct
- Decision Ask exhibition teachers to bring one student example.
- Decision Book a room for the exhibition internal standardisation.
- Decision Compare predicted grades in groups of three subjects.
- Decision Share the exhibition rubric with DP1 tutors.
How it is measured
So what changes in teaching? Teachers mark against the same annotated samples, so a student gets the same verdict on the same work in any room.
One joint MYP 5–DP 1 standardisation cycle in every subject group
Not started · Marco Ellison, lead, Anna Vester
TOK exhibition internal standardisation
Moving · Anna Vester
Predicted grade conversations
Not started · Helen Okonkwo
Priority 2. Every student can say what good work looks like and what to do next.
MovingOwner: Anna Vester
Sample Students could say what they'll change in 5 of 9 visits now; aim 8 of 9 by March
- Decision Confirm the Extended Essay supervisor list before the next DP meeting.
- Plan EE supervision rhythm
- Plan Students act on feedback before the next draft
How it is measured
So what changes in teaching? Students see the agreed sample before the task, get one next step while the draft is open, and use ten minutes of the next lesson to act on it.
EE supervision rhythm
Moving · Anna Vester
Students act on feedback before the next draft
Not started · Anna Vester
Priority 3. Teachers get better together at one practice, with SLT learning alongside.
QuietOwner: Helen Okonkwo (lead), with Marco Ellison and Jonas Berg
Furthest from its aim Sample No count yet, because the practice is not named; aim 8 of 10 visited lessons by March
- Decision Name the subjects that share the next interdisciplinary unit.
- Plan Interdisciplinary unit calendar
- Plan Monthly teacher learning community on the named practice, with SLT taking part
How it is measured
So what changes in teaching? Teachers watch each other use one agreed practice, and SLT is observed on it too.
Interdisciplinary unit calendar
Stalled · Marco Ellison
Monthly teacher learning community on the named practice, with SLT taking part
Not started · Helen Okonkwo, lead, Jonas Berg
Not tied to a priority yet 1
CAS supervisor rhythm
Not started · Anna Vester
What strong schools do, and a version you can afford 7
Teaching quality through coaching
Peer coaching in threes: a short observation and a short debrief every fortnight, on one agreed technique, in a meeting you already have.
More
Sevenoaks publishes an Institute of Teaching and Learning, with staff research and a journal of classroom work. Cheltenham Ladies' College's inspection describes questioning that keeps students working. You do not need an institute. By day 90, one option is that every teacher has had three cycles, each with a follow-up. The school decides the technique.
Why. Kraft, Blazar and Hogan (2018) found coaching can change instruction, with smaller effects in larger programmes. Robinson, Lloyd and Rowe (2008) link leaders who take part in teacher learning with student outcomes. That is not a score for this school.
Sample KPI. Share of teachers who completed at least three coaching cycles this term, with a recorded action step and a follow-up that shows the step in use.
Curriculum coherence across the continuum
One bridge per subject group: three ideas and three skills DP1 needs on day one, checked against what MYP 5 actually teaches.
More
Cheltenham Ladies' College's inspection describes a curriculum planned with the co-curricular programme. Sevenoaks says its institute's research helps shape the curriculum. A version you can afford is one joint MYP and DP meeting each half-term, and one interdisciplinary unit on the calendar.
Why. Newmann, Smith, Allensworth and Bryk (2001) found stronger instructional coherence went with larger achievement gains. Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu and Easton (2010) treat coherent guidance as one support among several that work together.
Sample KPI. Share of students moving from MYP 5 into DP1 whose first DP1 report grade in a subject group is two or more points below their final MYP 5 grade in that group. The two scales measure different things, so treat it as a signal.
Data that changes teaching
Three measures only, reviewed every six weeks with one question: so what changes in teaching?
More
Sevenoaks publishes a learning-to-learn strand on feedback, formative assessment and metacognition. A low-cost version uses the exports you already have: cross-marking agreement, predicted grades against final grades, and one student-voice item. No new platform. Sample tracker, not a result: Individuals and societies, 22 Aug, 6 of 8 within one band. Biology, predicted against final, 9 of 12 within one grade. The rows are on the MYP desk, the DP desk, and programme health.
Why. Timperley (2008) treats teacher learning as strongest when it starts from what students need. The figure for this school is whatever the next cross-marking actually shows.
Sample KPI. Share of teachers whose cross-marked sample agrees with colleagues within one band, by department.
Wellbeing and belonging
A short student and staff survey twice a year, a tutor check-in, and a DP calendar that stops deadlines landing in the same week.
More
Cheltenham Ladies' College's inspection (9 to 11 December 2025) describes leaders and staff holding weekly meetings to discuss pastoral concerns. Sevenoaks has published work on how far its students are flourishing. One affordable move is to share three findings within two weeks and act on one. The school chooses which.
Cheltenham Ladies' College inspection report, December 2025
Why. Allen, Kern, Vella-Brodrick, Hattie and Waters (2018) treat belonging as shaped by the school around the student, including whether a student can name an adult to go to.
Sample KPI. Share of students who say there is at least one adult in school they could go to with a problem.
Professional learning that lasts a term
Replace a one-off training day with one term-long cycle on a single focus, and a training register so required workshops are planned.
More
Sevenoaks describes its institute as a research hub: lunchtime sessions, reading groups and staff investigations. A version you can afford is a monthly half-hour on one guidance report you already hold, and five minutes in a staff meeting for one classroom inquiry.
Why. Darling-Hammond, Hyler and Gardner (2017) describe effective professional learning as content-focused, active and sustained, with coaching. Sharples, Eaton and Boughelaf (2024) say a few prepared priorities beat many thin ones.
Sample KPI. Share of teachers with a recorded change in practice from this term's cycle, shown in an observation or a student work sample.
Leadership time and a decision rhythm
SLT starts with one teaching item. Every decision has an owner, a date, and how you will know. Open items come back until they close.
More
Block three hours a week for classroom visits that include feedback, and protect the coordinators' release time. Day 90 is a review of what is still open, not a new list. Sample. 9 visits this half term, and a follow-up was agreed on 6 of them. No teacher is named on this page.
Why. Grissom, Egalite and Lindsay (2021) describe a principal's effect on students as largely indirect, through teaching, climate and how people are organised. Liebowitz and Porter (2019) look across principal behaviours rather than a single walkthrough.
Sample KPI. Number of leadership items raised in three or more meetings without a decision. The aim is that this falls.
Access and inclusion as a strategy
From MYP 4, students can see the DP pathways. Track who stays on the full diploma, and talk to the students who move.
More
Cheltenham Ladies' College's inspection describes a curriculum adjusted for individual students. A version you can afford is one support for DP1 students most at risk of leaving the full diploma, recorded as a decision with an owner. The school decides the support.
Why. High-quality teaching for everyone comes before a separate programme. No further study is cited here.
Sample KPI. Share of DP1 students who started as full diploma candidates and are still full diploma candidates at DP2 registration.