Growing the Top
Helping strong schools sustain and extend their excellence
Overview
Growing the Top was founded on the belief that no school remains excellent by standing still. It is uniquely designed to inspire and inform improvement in strong schools with systemic strengths to share and the humility to appreciate there’s always more to learn and do.
Strong schools are carefully matched into trios or quads so each can both share and learn. Expertly facilitated visits enable leaders to explore leading practice and tackle improvement challenges, with host schools receiving external appraisal while visitors gain insight from observing what has worked in other strong contexts.
The Approach
The headteacher and another senior leader (always the same one) from each school attend every visit, so trust and collaboration builds over time. The relationships formed often extend to other teachers and leaders and sustain beyond the programme lifespan, and participants have relished the chance to learn and collaborate with peers from different regions.
Participants also take insight and inspiration from whole-cohort events, featuring expert speakers from academia, the corporate world and the education sector. School leaders are challenged to reflect on their own leadership approach, discuss shared priorities with other leaders and examine how to keep adapting their practice and advancing excellence.
Growing the Top offers you:
Collaboration
Meaningful collaboration and growth, working with carefully matched schools to complement and learn from each other’s strengths and differences
Learning
Experiential learning on expertly-facilitated school visit days throughout the year for your headteacher and another senior leader
Support
Support from peer leaders on your school’s development areas, and the chance to observe and learn from exceptional practice in other top performing schools and contexts
Inspiration
Inspiration and stretch at whole-cohort events offering new ideas and provocation
Helping move the whole system up
Consistent with our Upwards Convergence model, Growing the Top stimulates strong schools to rise higher, and the whole system to move up
"Lots of reflection challenge suggestions. Everyone left with strategies for next steps in their schools. The school felt supported. Really strong social capital ”
Samantha Saville, Facilitator