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Transforming the Fortunes of a Failing School or Department

Transforming a school or department takes more than a good improvement plan. It requires clear leadership, high expectations and a shared determination to create meaningful change.

In this course, experienced school leader Stuart McLaughlin shares the approach he has used to lead schools through significant improvement, drawing on his own experience of taking schools from challenging starting points towards stronger outcomes. You will explore the essential elements that underpin successful transformation, from establishing a clear and ambitious vision and changing school culture, to effective planning, improving the quality of teaching and communicating the journey clearly with staff, pupils and parents.

Throughout the course, Stuart combines practical experience with a clear focus on what leaders can do to create momentum, maintain accountability and ensure that improvement activity leads to genuine impact.

Whether you are leading a school or department through a period of significant change, or looking to strengthen your existing approach to improvement, this course provides a practical framework for transforming the fortunes of a failing school or department and turning ambition into meaningful action.

About the Creator

Stuart McLaughlin (BA MBA NPQH FRSA FCCT) 

Stuart was a senior leader for over 23 years, 17 of which were spent as a Headteacher across four different schools and two local authorities in England. His headship experience included both local authority and academy schools. After retiring in 2020, he became a school improvement consultant, working across a number of schools but primarily for a multi-academy trust based in Brentwood, supporting both the primary and secondary sectors.

Most of Stuart’s leadership experience was in deprived areas of the south east of England. Three of the schools where he was Headteacher were judged by Ofsted to be providing an inadequate standard of education shortly before or soon after his arrival. Consequently, over time he developed the knowledge and skills to rapidly transform the fortunes of these schools, leading them all to a better place. Most notably, his last school was judged to be inadequate in January 2016 and, under his leadership, successfully achieved a ‘Good’ judgement just over a year later. The school had never previously been judged Good by Ofsted.

Leadership and school improvement are Stuart’s passion, and he hopes his Microcourses will support fellow school leaders in their respective roles.