The most important rule in your school? → Have as few as possible.
Sep 04, 2025The most important rule in your school? → Have as few as possible.
I’ve seen schools where every wall is covered with laminated rules.
Don’t run. Don’t shout. Don’t use your phone.
But the truth is: rules multiply because trust is missing.
Every new exception, every conflict, every “what if” leads to another rule.
Until the school feels less like a community, and more like a manual.
What if we flipped it?
👉 Fewer rules.
👉 More shared expectations.
👉 More trust in people’s intentions.
Because when learners and colleagues know ‘why’ something matters, they rarely need a rule to follow it.
So maybe the most important leadership move is this:
Not to write down everything people can’t do.
But to co-create a handful of expectations that guide what we ‘want’ to do—together.
What do you think: if you walked through your school today, would you see more rules on the walls, or more expectations lived in practice?
