How to Create an Engaging School

As a Head of School, you certainly have a lot to think and worry about lately, especially when it comes to understanding how your students are feeling, what their parents are thinking and just how engaged your staff are.

Whether it’s the media discussing Academy roll out plans and the Government’s constant spins, parents discussing SATs on Facebook, worried faces in staffrooms, there’s possibly never been a more challenging time to be a Head of School.

Understanding engagement levels is critical to a high performing and well functioning school.  Highly engaged schools are proven to be far more productive, have better results and generally are achieving greater Ofsted results and ultimately happier, switched on and more engaged kids, staff and parents.

So how can you really understand the true levels of engagement within your school?

That’s where using a tool such as People Gauge can help you.  An easy to use, cloud based survey that’s based around the fundamental principles of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Your Students

Student Gauge is a student engagement measurement survey that contains a series of statements aimed particularly around students’ needs and feelings to find out how they feel day to day in your school.  You’ll get measurements based on year levels, class groups, however you want your data split.  You’ll even get a wordle (show example) to show which words dominate their thinking when they are asked what your school is like to be at.

Your Staff

It’s essential for all schools to understand how your people are doing – how engaged are your teachers, your support staff, your catering teams.  Again these results can be sliced and diced any which way and we can offer the best advice on how to segment the findings.  It’s a proven fact that highly engaged staff are more productive and that’s surely going to have a knock on effect on your students – and parents too.

Your parents

Before your parents take to social media or start whispering in the playground that could potentially turn a bad situation worse, use Parent Gauge.  Again, totally anonymous, it will be a fantastic way to tune into such an important stakeholder group.  Again, incredibly beneficial to help shape any preparation for Ofsted parent surveys too.