Please be aware of a very important statement hidden away on page 18 ‘Reporting’.

“If leaders, including governors, cannot articulate how biblical teaching roots the school’s vision, giving it coherence, relevance and sustainability the school could not be judged good overall.”

In the glossary see this: “School’s vision: The school’s Christian vision and associated Christian values. The school’s vision should be specific to the school’s particular context and foundation. It should also have regard to the Church of England Vision for Education and/or Methodist principles as well as any diocesan vision for education.”

A top tip for you all is to complete the context box on the self-evaluation form as a collaborative exercise with all stakeholders. You are only allowed a few bullet points so what are the key aspects of your context that determines what and how you do things? Deprivation? Isolation? Urban? Urban? Mobility? Turbulent times? SEND? Don’t be afraid to state your challenges. Your vision needs to be relevant to the context. What do you want to achieve as a school in order to meet the needs of your children and their community? Your vision must be underpinned by biblical teaching and everyone must be able to explain this.

The strength of your vision, and therefore the impact it has, is that everyone understands what it means, where it comes form and that it is central what you do. It should be woven throughout all your documents and policies. I would recommend and annual review of your vision and values chosen to achieve it.

Circumstances change… if your vision is several years old are you still heading in the right direction?