At T4 Education, we know that a school’s success cannot be measured simply in test scores or the strength of teaching strategies. At the heart of it all is a thriving school culture. Schools that get this alchemical mix right empower their teachers, attract and retain the very best educators, and drive student success. Those test scores soon follow.
But how do you build a great school culture? How do you measure it and improve over time? How do you prove it? Even defining what makes a strong school culture can be challenging for schools setting down this crucial path.
That’s why we created Best School to Work: a unique programme designed in collaboration with our community of over 200,000 teachers and school leaders. It helps schools diagnose their cultural strengths and weaknesses and benchmark their progress against the best schools around the world. Built on a detailed, anonymous staff survey, the programme analyses culture through the 4 Pillars and 15 Foundations, delivering clear insights in every area of school culture, working environment, staff wellbeing and leadership, providing actionable feedback for institutions to work on. The highest performing schools are recognised with Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification, celebrating their commitment to building an outstanding working culture and putting them on the map.
The Best School to Work Framework
A year of Best School to Work results: Key themes emerging
Over the past year, schools from diverse regions and contexts have embraced the Best School to Work programme. By analysing the results — especially from Platinum-certified schools — several key themes have emerged:
- Setting visions and goals: The most successful schools set clear visions and goals to align staff efforts and create a unified sense of purpose. This foundation consistently ranks #1, with Platinum schools excelling in this area. The best schools develop their visions and goals collaboratively, have a clear strategy to communicate them with staff, engage all members of the school community and bring everyone with them on the journey.
- Inclusivity: The best schools prioritise a culture where every individual feels valued, respected, and supported. Inclusivity ensures diversity is celebrated and all staff can thrive — a strength that stands out in Platinum-certified schools, where it ranks as the #2 Foundation. The highest scoring schools have placed inclusion and diversity at the heart of their policies and strategies, ensuring all staff and students belong and can be themselves.
- Collaboration breeds success: Successful schools actively nurture collaboration among staff by dedicating time for shared activities and collective problem-solving. Crucially, the best schools create dedicated space in the timetable to do this. Collaboration ranks #3 in our findings.
- Consistent areas of frustration: Professional Development, Feedback and Coaching, and Resources are the areas where schools struggle most. Respondents frequently highlight a desire for more personalised growth opportunities aligned with their career goals and needs. Even the highest scoring schools find workload management to be a key challenge. Areas for them to address include communication protocols – for example do they let parents email teachers any time, or should they manage parental expectations of teachers? Should they avoid sending messages to teachers at weekends and after hours? Many schools also find pressures piling up around the constant drive to innovate in schools. And often workload becomes imbalanced across teams and staff.
Our first year of results makes one thing clear: building a strong school culture is an ongoing journey. Even the most successful schools uncover new areas for growth, demonstrating that continuous reflection and action are essential to maintaining a thriving environment.
To make real progress, schools must first understand their current strengths and weaknesses. By benchmarking against top-performing schools globally, leaders gain the insights they need to target long-term improvement.
Ready to build a thriving school culture?
If your goal for 2025 is to prioritise your school’s culture, the Best School to Work programme is here to help. With powerful tools, insights, and benchmarking opportunities, we empower schools to build environments where staff can thrive. Book a demo today and take the first step towards transforming your school culture.
Please note, Best School to Work is a paid-for annual subscription service for schools, to support schools develop their working culture.
