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July Reflections: Knowing Where You Are (Without the Deep Dive)

As educators, we are often sprinting from one demand to the next—meeting expectations from government, parents, Ofsted, and our own school communities. The drive to “keep going” can leave little time for pause. But July gives us a vital window to stop and ask:

Where are we, really?

Not in a deep-dive, data-heavy, time-consuming way. Just a snapshot. A moment to reflect.

Sometimes a quick stocktake is the wisest next step—because when you know where you are, you can figure out where to go next. 

Why “Knowing Where You Are” Matters

  • 🎯 It helps you take purposeful next steps, not just reactive ones.
  • 💡 It gives you insight into what’s working—and what’s just wearing people out.
  • 🧭 It creates a shared sense of direction before launching into a new term.
  • 🛠️ It helps identify where you might benefit from outside support or shared best practice.

Signs You’re Due for a Snapshot

  • Staff are tired and stretched—not up for a long evaluation process.
  • You’ve finished the exam cycle but haven’t had time to process outcomes.
  • You feel like you’re doing a lot, but you’re not sure what’s landing.
  • There’s no shared language about what success looks like right now.
  • You want to be proactive about September—but you’re unsure where to begin.

A Light Touch, Powerful Insight

Encourage:

  • Teachers to complete a short reflection on what worked for them and their students.
  • SLT or pastoral leads to submit a one-page overview of student support and wellbeing.
  • Heads of Year or Heads of Subject to gather a quick 'what went well / what to change' list.

Or…
Send one simple reflection document to your Headteacher or SLT team to complete and discuss together.

Your Snapshot Should Cover:

  • ✅ Academic performance: what worked, what didn’t?
  • ✅ Wellbeing of staff and students.
  • ✅ Student readiness: not just knowledge, but mindset and resilience.
  • ✅ Teaching strategies that felt effective—or exhausting.
  • ✅ Staff support: where did people feel backed? Where didn’t they?

Taking the Next Step

Once your snapshot is in hand:

  • Pick one priority area to focus on for September.
  • Decide: what do you need internally, and where could outside support help?
  • Bring in external voices or training to share best practice and lighten the load.
  • Avoid overload—change doesn’t need to be big. It needs to be targeted.

Supporting You with the Next Step

I offer snapshot-friendly support for schools looking to:

  • Lift student exam confidence and mental health.
  • Equip staff with practical tools and training.
  • Embed exam stress and resilience strategies into everyday classroom practice.

Explore my Exam Resilience CPD, worksheets, MP3s and teaching resources during a CPD session. They're ready to use and designed to save you time.

👉 Click here to download your CPD pack.

Final Thought

You don’t need a huge overhaul to make real progress. You just need to know where you are.

And from there, the next best step becomes much clearer.