Subject Leadership: Evaluating Impact and Planning Ahead

A pack with full guidance on how cyclical improvement works in subject leadership, including how to complete a subject self-evaluation and how to use this information to inform your next steps. We offer guidance on the pros and cons of subject improvement plans vs. subject action plans, providing you with easy-to-adapt templates for both.

When you make your purchase, you'll receive a ZIP file containing the whole pack, including:

• A 32-page PDF in full colour, containing all the guidance, research and information you need.
• A low-colour, print-friendly version of the same PDF.
• 9 fully editable and easy-to-use templates that can be adapted for your setting. These include:

1. Subject Self-Evaluation Form - Concise (for a speedy look at evaluation)
2. Subject Self-Evaluation Form - In-Depth (for when more detail is needed)
3. Subject Improvement Plan
4. Subject Action Plan
5. Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids
6. Subject Leader Skills and Confidence Audit (for you, the subject leader)
7. Staff Subject Confidence Audit - Detailed (for staff to make written answers with a full question bank included)
8. Staff Subject Confidence Audit - Tick Boxes (with a full question bank included)
9. CPD Plan and Cycle

The pack also reviews CPD, including staff confidence surveys for both yourself as a subject leader and for staff who teach the subject you lead. If you're seeking ideas for questions to ask staff, we've included a huge bank of them so you can tailor your subject confidence audit to the needs of your setting. There's also guidance on different ways you can gather accurate staff views and how you can use this to create a CPD plan for the year.

It’s the perfect way to gather information at the end of the school year to allow you to plan for subject development in the next academic year (only please don’t do this over your summer holidays!)

Subject leaders, particularly if it’s the first time you’ve led a subject or if you’re seeking guidance on how to strategically plan for your subject in the long term. It would also be helpful if you’ve started leading a subject that you’re not so confident about, or if you’ve moved schools and you’re looking for a way to gather information about the subject you’re taking on. 

Heads, senior leaders and middle leaders would also find this pack useful if you’re looking to support and develop a subject leader in your school.

Gone are the days of subject leaders ordering a few resources for their subject and ticking it off on an action plan. Subject leaders play a vital role in ensuring pupils have great outcomes, both academically and in a broader sense. That means this pack is ideal if you’re looking to see the impact your leadership has had so you can develop. It can also raise your confidence as a subject leader if you know that you’re working towards improving pupil outcomes, particularly if you’re feeling unsure about an overdue Ofsted inspection. 

Key questions answered:

• What is a subject self-evaluation?
• When is it a good idea to complete a subject self-evaluation?
• What considerations should I make before carrying out a subject self-evaluation?
• How do I carry out a subject self-evaluation?
• What is a subject improvement plan and how is it different from an action plan?
• Which is the best fit for me – a subject improvement plan or an action plan?
• How do I carry out a subject improvement plan?
• What is a subject action plan?
• When is the best time to write a subject action plan?
• How do I write a subject action plan?
• What is a subject leader skills and confidence audit?
• What is a staff subject confidence audit?
• Why take the time to do a staff subject confidence audit?
• In which situations might you find that a staff subject confidence audit helps you as a subject leader?
• How do I carry out a staff subject confidence audit?
• What are the pitfalls to be aware of when completing a staff subject confidence audit?
• Why should subject leaders consider CPD for staff?
• Who should I consider when planning for CPD in the subject I lead?
• What considerations are there when creating a CPD plan and cycle?
• How do I begin writing a CPD plan and cycle?

Browse all Honeyguide's subject leadership resources for more support.