ABSTRACT
Some of the advice given by supporters of school improvement suggests that change in schools must come from the top. To a certain extent there is some validity in this view. The more the whole school, for example, values speaking and listening and encourages staff to use small group exploratory talk, the easier it is for the individual teacher to use these techniques successfully. A policy on speaking and listening and small group work or a system for auditing the curriculum to assess how embedded speaking and listening is across all subjects must always be welcome. If the head teacher is really enthusiastic and knowledgeable about teaching and learning and how to improve the experience of staff and students in the classroom, time will be allocated for discussion of these issues and money and resources will be made available for staff training.
