ABSTRACT
This chapter starts by examining the world focus on data aligned specifically here to describe the obsession with PISA league tables and the international competition these data create between jurisdictions striving to achieve what is measured to be the ‘best’ educational outcomes. Focus then turns to a project, led by two leading universities, which aimed at turning around the fortunes of 11 primary schools in a city in affluent semi-rural Britain. The Leadership for Learning project is described in full to illustrate the levels of challenge and change expected of school leaders striving to achieve teaching and curriculum excellence. The policy initiatives that impacted the school system over a short period of time are listed and the current focus on data critiqued.
