When I first became a headteacher, writing an SDP was a mystery to me. The existence of an SDP also appeared to be a surprise to most of the staff. When I found one, it was a bland, dry document in a filing cabinet, that bore little relation to anything that I could see happening. Over the years, with external advice and with the collaboration of my team, we devised a format that turned the SDP into an essential reference document for the whole school community.

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How does your SDP relate to your SEF? How do these documents drive and motivate your team? How are they linked to professional development, raising standards and long-term strategic planning?

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Who is involved in your school self-evaluation process, and how objective is it? Is it based on evidence or assumptions? What does good evidence look like? How and when does the SEF feed in to the SDP?

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How responsive is your SDP to changing circumstances? Does it strike a balance between strategic planning and fire-fighting?

 

The SEF will tell you what needs fixing urgently, but the school needs to be moving forward consistently, in accordance with the values and goals that have been set.

 

The SDP should be ambitious, but not overloaded with objectives that you simply do not have the capacity to achieve. If you get it right, reporting on progress to governors or trustees becomes streamlined and rewarding.​