Underlying all initiatives and processes in our educational institutions – from planning school improvement to evaluating the curriculum to managing change – is documentation. Effective reporting to governors and senior leaders on such matters is essential to their success and when this writing is done well progress is achieved.

Unfortunately, however, we often see writing in reports that is ineffective, resulting in much wasted time and effort. Looking broadly at responsible authorship, this module presents new avenues to writing more insightful and effective reports.

Moving away from surface level features to consider the deeper skills that lie at the heart of impactful report-writing, this module covers topics such as dealing with data; developing arguments; and proceeding ethically with respect to the Nolan Principles.

In this module, participants will gain a deeper understanding of:

• What it means in practice to produce insightful and well-written reports

• The critical thinking and decision-making skills that underly impactful report writing

• Data evaluation and triangulation for effective report writing

• Developing sound arguments for reports

• Organising evidence in reports

• How matters of ethics apply to report writing