One of the most powerful — and often overlooked — leadership skills under the new EIF is noticing. Inspectors are placing high value on how leaders understand the real lived experience of staff and pupils: confidence levels, attendance patterns, small shifts in behaviour, subtle barriers emerging in particular groups.

Term has finished. Classrooms are quiet. You’ve finally stepped out of “school mode” and into something slower, softer, and—hopefully—restorative. Before you switch off completely, I wanted to send a small Christmas message and a few thoughts that might make your January return feel a little steadier.

The new EIF is officially live, and Inclusion is already proving to be the area schools feel most exposed in. Inspectors want to see how consistently staff remove barriers, how leaders know what’s happening in classrooms, and how schools track the difference this makes for pupils who face disadvantage or additional needs.