A guide to subject leader handbooks

Find out what to include in a subject leader handbook, how it differs from a subject leader file, and how it can help you prepare for an Ofsted inspection.

Last reviewed on 4 June 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 11387
Contents
  1. Subject leader handbooks vs files
  2. What should be in your handbook?
  3. Handbooks can prepare you for Ofsted 'deep dives'
  4. More support for subject leaders

Subject leader handbooks vs files

Both documents are designed to help subject leaders organise all the information about the role and help you perform it well. However, they'll contain different information.

Handbooks:How to do the job, including self-reviews and evaluations about how the department is performing
Files:What the job involves

In reality, there is some crossover between the two and some of the same information might appear in both documents.

Who else has access to them. If colleagues can access your handbook, consider putting sensitive pupil or staffing information in your file instead How long you want each document to be. If your handbook is a brief record of the most important information, it might not be the best place for in-depth analysis How you want to present information to Ofsted. There's no expected