'How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better!

I was re-reading the brilliant McKinsey Report 'How the world's most improved school systems keep getting better' again and wondering why this doesn't shape the current debate we are having here in the UK. It isn't rocket science and we simply need to:

• Understand the context;
• Develop the improvement toolkit;
• Adapt the toolkit to fit the context;
• Develop a sustainable model;
• Ignite people's commitment and passion. 

The McKinsey report makes it very clear that any school system can improve from any starting point. To do so, school system leaders must integrate three aspects to develop and implement the journey to sustained improvement.

• The first aspect is to understand where the system currently is according to student outcomes. 
• The second aspect is to identify the set of interventions necessary to achieve the desired improvements in student outcomes. 
• The third aspect is to adapt these interventions to take into account the history, culture, politics and structure of the system and the country. 

In addition to these three basic elements are added two more: sustaining and ignition.

• Sustaining is about how to put in place processes for ensuring that improvement continues over the longer term and requires three elements: a mediating layer between schools and the centre, a strong pedagogy supported by collaborative practices and leadership continuity. 
• Ignition describes the conditions necessary to spur the system to embark on its improvement journey.

If you haven't read the McKinsey report it is really worth checking out. It is free and you can download it at