Who is this template for?
This template is for any leader in a school setting—including Headteachers, Middle Leaders, Subject Leaders, and Heads of Department—who is committed to their own professional growth. It provides a structured framework to reflect on the core behaviours that underpin effective leadership and drive school-wide success.
Why use this template?
Effective leadership is the cornerstone of a successful school, and that begins with personal effectiveness. This template moves professional development beyond a simple checklist, empowering you to take ownership of your growth through meaningful, structured reflection.
- Structure Your Professional Reflection: The template provides nine key areas of leadership effectiveness, giving you a clear and comprehensive framework to evaluate your strengths and identify areas for development.
- Build a Rich Evidence Base: The iAbacus process encourages you to link your self-reflections to concrete examples and evidence from your practice, creating a robust portfolio of your impact and growth over time.
- Create Targeted Development Plans: By analysing the factors that are helping or hindering your effectiveness, you can create a focused and actionable professional development plan that is tailored to your specific needs.
- Enhance Professional Dialogue: This template provides the perfect foundation for a rich and meaningful professional conversation with a line manager or appraiser. It allows you to lead the discussion, grounded in your own thoughtful self-evaluation.
- Foster a Culture of Growth: By modelling a commitment to reflective practice, you can inspire a wider culture of continuous professional learning and development throughout your team and the entire school.
- Take Ownership of Your Career: This tool empowers you to be in the driver's seat of your own professional journey, providing a clear and continuous record of your development that is invaluable for appraisals and future career progression.
How does it work?
This template follows the standard, intuitive iAbacus process of making a judgement, verifying it with criteria, providing evidence, analysing factors, and planning for success. It is structured around nine core behaviours of effective leadership:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Developing Self and Others
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace
Clear, Professional Reporting
With a single click, you can export your self-evaluation into a polished, professional PDF report. This provides a rich, organised summary of your reflections, evidence, and development goals. It is the ideal document to share with a line manager or appraiser to support a performance management review, facilitating a meaningful and forward-looking professional dialogue that is grounded in your own insights.
How to Get Started
New to iAbacus? Discover how this template can support your improvement strategy. Book a personalised demo or start a free trial to explore the full platform. Visit www.iabacus.com to learn more.
Already a subscriber? You can find this template in the template library within your iAbacus account. Simply log in, create a new abacus, and select it from the list to get started.
