ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study on team building and departmental improvement by Stuart Ash. It provides the key principles and the core aims of the department following the vision exercises. It was vital to have a core purpose and ensure that everything did as a faculty supported these aims. This then simplified the process and gave clarity to the work that one did as a team in the complex environment of a school in an extremely difficult situation. The core aim is to raise student progress, achievement and attainment. The key principles are great teaching, positive relationships, a quality curriculum, and an accurate assessment and feedback. Change is one of the hardest parts of school improvement but remains one of the most motivating. The comfort of the everyday is not always a positive and in many ways, regardless of exactly what one did, it was simply the willingness to embrace change that helped to move forward.
