I did, I didn't and I do work in an outstanding school; and I don't mean Outstanding by Ofsted definition, I mean outstanding in terms of student and staff fulfilment. Let me set my stall out from the start. This blog is "not" based on Ofsted definition, so if this is why you came here, you will only be disappointed, so I suggest you are better off reading this.
Many years ago I did: I was fortunate enough to be appointed to my first middle leadership position. Starting in 1999, I joined EF Moscow. Russia as an ESL teacher working with 60 students. Today, the school has approximately 260 members of staff and over 2300 students in Moscow alone.
I can safely say, my time at EF were the happiest teaching years of my career (to date); so let me tell you why. The luxury of a working for such a serious shcool allows all stakeholders to join a fresh ethos and a crisp vision. I recall the school motto quite clearly, "Success for All". But behind the scenes, the ethos amongst the staff was "the extra mile" and within such a young evolving cohort, a healthy zest of competitiveness remained. It was great fun and staff morale was epic!
Staff relished working, and I loved Monday mornings again. I couldn't get to school quick enough. Studnets on the whole, were excited about each new phase of the school's growth, as this made a significant impact on personal development, fully understanding this unique position of being "the first".
I loved every second!
Matt Ferry.