How to Tell Your School’s Story: A Guide for School Leaders
Updated: Sep 3
School leaders need to be able to tell a clear, coherent story about their school: where it has come from, where it is now and where it is going next.
Whether you're explaining your school to governors, colleagues, parents, an external adviser or an Ofsted inspector, people need to understand the context behind what they see. A set of data, a school self-evaluation form (SEF) and a few classroom visits can only tell part of the story.
The challenge for school leaders is to connect the different parts of school improvement into a narrative that explains what has happened, why it happened, what is happening now and what you intend to do next.
This guide shows you how to tell your school's story using four key principles of storytelling and four periods of time.
You recognise the scenario:
Someone walks into your school - an Ofsted inspector, say - and you pray that they see all the good that you know exists. You worry that they won't get it. That they will have no clue about all the hard work that has gone into making improvements to curriculum, to lunchtimes, to behaviour. About the plans you have for further development.
How could they possibly, in such a short time, know all that there is to know about where you've come from, where you're at and where you're going next. Can the data and documentation and a few hours in classrooms and corridors really tell them all of that?
No, it won't. You know that, they know that. And that's where you (and your staff, and even your SEF) come in. You can tell your school's story.
You want a visitor to get the best picture of your school possible. You want them to see what's going well. But you also want them to know that you know exactly what's going on too. That you know what's not going well, what you're currently working on, and what you're planning to do next. You want them to be confident in your leadership.
Remember that question we used to get asked after a lesson observation? How do you feel it went? Forget the bit where you tried to second-guess what the feedback was going to be, and focus on the intent of that question: a reflective teacher who can correctly identify strengths and weaknesses is way less of a problem than one who thinks a terrible lesson went really well.
Why School Leaders Need to Tell Their School’s Story
And that's the leader you've got to be: the one who can accurately reflect on how things are going. Crucially, in this scenario, you've got to be the leader who can articulate how things are going. Any visitor who walks through your school doors is the perfect audience for your story. The one telling the story is the one who controls the narrative. When no strong narrative is put forth, onlookers will fill in the gaps themselves.
So, how well can you tell your story? Perhaps at the moment you don't feel confident enough to tell it well.
In this blog post we'll focus on getting ready to tell your story using:
4 Cs of storytelling
4 periods of time
And in another blog post we'll look at getting ready to tell your story by thinking about:
Your Fairytale Ending
Setting the Scene
The 4 Cs of Telling Your School’s Story
Causality
How are all the different 'events' (things that have been done, are being done and are going to be done) in the 'story' of your school connected? How did one thing lead to another?
Conflict
What has prevented you from meeting your goals for your school so far? What have you had to overcome in order to develop your school?
Complications
What new problems have arisen as you have overcome other barriers?
Character
You are one of the main characters as a leader, but there is a cast of other characters too: pupils, parents, teachers, other leaders - knowing and explaining how they all fit into the story will bring it to life, connecting the listener to the people involved.
The 4 Time Periods in Your School’s Story
When telling a story about an area of responsibility, such as a curriculum subject, there are 4 useful time periods to think of: past, present, future and future future.
Past
this is everything that has gone before. This could be usefully split into distant past and recent past as you tell a story chronologically.
Present
This could be this week, this term, or this year; just be careful to clarify what you mean by the present when telling the story of your school.
Beyond '...and they all lived happily ever after.' we don't normally think of the future when telling a story. But in school improvement the future is a very important part of the narrative – your story is ongoing and unfolding.
Future
That which you hope to achieve, based on your current hopes and aims. Involves an element of justification as to why your priorities have been chosen.
Future future
These are things that you know need to be addressed at some point, but which aren’t currently priorities. Communicate these to ensure that the full extent of your knowledge about your school is made clear.
Map Your School’s Story on a Storyboard
Have a go at mapping this out. Get together with fellow senior leaders, with teachers, with governors, parents and children - get as much input as possible on it. It's so easy to forget (especially when you're always focused on what's next and what's not good enough yet) all the things that have already been achieved (read my blog post 'School Leadership: The Importance Of Focusing On Now' for more on this). I recently worked on this with a headteacher who forgot to mention until late in the day that her school warranted a visit from Catherine, Princess of Wales as a result of some of their excellent achievements!
I've created a downloadable storyboard which brings together the 4 Cs and the 4 time periods, along with some simple prompt questions to get you started on mapping out your school's story. You can download it for free here:
Once you've begun to storyboard, you will begin to think more of everything you see and do in terms of where it fits in the narrative. Don't create your storyboard and then leave it to gather virtual or literal dust. Return to it - keep it open on your desktop (either digitally or physically as a print out) - add notes to it. You'll never get everything on to the storyboard in one sitting - the benefits of doing this piece of work ahead of, say, an Ofsted visit, is that you can take your time over it. Doing it as a one-off exercise will have the same outcome of being unprepared to tell your story: you'll forget some of the best bits, like the headteacher I mentioned earlier! Take your time over the storyboard, add to it, come back to it - write that thing on it that you remember whilst on lunch duty.
But there are two more crucial components to your storytelling that will help you to be well-prepared when you have to tell someone the story of your school:
Your Fairytale Ending
Setting the Scene
Define Your School’s Desired Future
Starting at the beginning seems logical, but when telling the story of your school, it’s all about the ending. Your fairytale ending is the goal that you set for all pupils. It’s the ambitious ending that you want for each of them. It’s that intent statement that describes the outcome that you want to support every child to achieve.
By identifying this ending, and describing it before you even start to tell your story, you give important context for all the rest of your storytelling. By first explaining your fairytale ending, you have provided a reason for everything that has happened, is happening and will happen in your school’s story.
Ask questions such as:
What are you trying to achieve for all your children? What is it that, ideally, all children would leave your school knowing, feeling and being be able to do?
Set the Context for Your School
It’s really hard to get into a story when you don’t understand the world it is set in. Imagine trying to read what you think is a fairy tale only to find out it is set in space – you’d be really confused! When telling your story, it’s really important to set the listener up with an
understanding of where it takes place. The context of your school, as it is commonly known, will have a bearing on everything that has happened, is happening and will happen in your school’s story, so whoever you are telling your story to needs to know it.
Ask questions such as:
Where is your school? What’s the area like? What are the challenges? What are the enabling factors? What are outcomes typically like? What’s the staffing situation?
How Your School’s Story Can Strengthen Your SEF
A well-told school story can also provide a useful structure for your school self-evaluation (SEF). Rather than simply presenting a collection of evidence, your SEF should help the reader understand the journey your school is on: the context you are working in, where you have come from, where you are now, what you have done to improve things and where you intend to go next.
Thinking about your school as a story can help you make those connections clearer. What has happened in the past? What challenges or complications have shaped your priorities? What have you done in response, and why? What difference has this made for pupils? And what still needs to happen?
In this way, your school’s story isn't separate from your self-evaluation. It provides the context and narrative that helps make sense of the evidence, showing not just what is happening in your school, but why, how you got there and what you are going to do next.
The result should be a SEF that tells a coherent story of school improvement rather than simply describing the current state of play.
At one school I worked with recently, the headteacher and I spent some time writing a statement that set the scene for their school. I asked lots of questions; the headteacher answered them. During our time together we downloaded all the information from the headteacher's brain and summarised it carefully and simply so as to set the scene for their school's story.
The following text became the first part of the school's SEF:
Can you spot where we also added in aspects of the school's fairytale ending?
In return for a subscription to my mailing list, you can download my free storyboard tool to help you and your leadership team to map out the story of your school:
The above tool will help you to think about your fairytale ending and how to set the scene. It will also help you to think about the 4 Cs of storytelling and the 4 periods of time you need to cover in your story telling.
How to Tell Your School’s Story Clearly and Confidently
Telling your story doesn't need to be complicated, and it doesn't need to be something you worry about. With a bit of forethought and planning ahead you can be ready and confident to tell your complete story in such a way that any 'visitor' is full briefed on all the excellent work you've done, all the things you're doing to make things even better and all the things you're planning to do next.
When you know your story, nothing a visitor sees will come as a surprise. When they ask you "What will we see when we go into this classroom?", you'll be able to tell them, and you'll be proven right. And even if what you see isn't going well, the fact that you as a leader had the measure of that classroom is a plus point for your leadership.
When you know your story, you'll feel confident to tell it - proud, even. You'll have clarity on all the important points and these will come across loud and clear to anyone listening. You'll not be leaving anything to chance - you'll ensure that every part that needs to be told is part of what you say.
Want Help Telling Your School’s Story?
If you’re looking for a way to make sense of your school’s journey, clarify your priorities and communicate your plans with confidence, let’s talk. Together, we can develop a clear story that helps you and your staff understand where your school is going. Here’s your 3-step plan for making it happen:
Find out how I can help your school
Drop me an email and we'll arrange a phone call to talk about your school
We’ll work together to develop a clear strategy and story for your school
Or, you get can something booked in right away:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to tell your school's story?
It means explaining where your school has come from, where it is now and where it wants to go next.
Why is it important for school leaders to tell their school's story?
It helps others understand the context, challenges and decisions behind your school's current position.
How can storytelling support school self-evaluation?
It helps connect your school's context, actions, impact and next steps into a coherent narrative.
How can I map out my school's story?
Use the four Cs - character, conflict, complications and causality - across the four time periods: past, present, future and future future.
What should be included in a school's story?
Your school's context, the challenges you've faced, what you've done in response, the impact of those actions and what you plan to do next.
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