A key motivator for constructing a Great School Framework is to create a common language and understanding of all the component parts of a truly great school that can be shared by school leaders (staff and governors) of Hertfordshire schools, the staff at Herts for Learning (HfL) who support schools in providing the best education possible, and Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) colleagues who work in all areas of education services.

We believe that creating a common sense of what greatness looks like will enable us to work more smartly together, striving to attain collective goals, through plans, contracts and services all focused on the same priorities.

The Great School Framework is undeniably and unapologetically ambitious, aspirational and visionary. It describes the constituent parts of a utopian school, a goal that all schools should strive towards but which is perhaps ultimately unattainable. In fact we suspect that there is no such thing as a universally ‘Great School’, and that if any school thought that it was great in every aspect it would already be on a downward trajectory of self-delusion and complacency! But what a wonderfully exciting journey to embark on to aim to get as near to the summit as possible, in the knowledge that every step taken towards greatness in each of the 10 features will improve the quality of education and the outcomes for pupils along the way.

So another key aim of the Great School Framework was to inspire schools to strive for constant improvement.

The language of the Great School Framework has been chosen carefully. It is significant that the adjective ‘great’ is not in the mainstream Ofsted vocabulary. Our vision of a great school goes well beyond an Ofsted “outstanding” descriptor and the features of the framework cover aspects of provision that Ofsted does not measure. We have striven to create a framework that would be as relevant to schools and settings 20 years ago as it is today and will be in the next 20 years.

The aim is that it is classic and timeless. The 10 lenses are non-sequential and non-hierarchical; there are, however, links between them.

At HFL Education, a key aim of the Great School Framework is to help ensure that all colleagues - from a data manager, to a governor trainer, to an Early Years adviser, to an administrator in the training and events team - understand the role they play in helping schools on their journey towards greatness, and can see where their work supports the 10 features of the framework.  

The Great School Framework is the intellectual property of HFL and copyrighted. It may not be used unacknowledged by others.