If you ask almost anyone in education, they’ll agree: school culture matters. But agreement isn’t the same as understanding. What exactly is school culture? And how do leaders shape it? Not in theory, but in the real, daily experience of teachers and students.

This debate matters because the evidence is clear that strong school cultures drive better learning. A growing body of research shows that when school leaders develop trust, inclusion and shared purpose, both student engagement and teacher retention improve significantly.

In fact, schools implementing collaborative leadership models saw a 15 per cent increase in academic performance and a 20 per cent rise in teacher job satisfaction.

So, the question isn’t if culture matters; the question is: what do great school leaders do to build it?

Leaders design school culture

At Nord Anglia, one of the world’s largest providers of international education, with teachers of more than 60 nationalities, this question sits at the heart of a global research initiative we’ve launched with Dr Flossie Chua at Project Zero, a research centre at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Our project is called ”Leaders as Architects of Culture”, because we believe that effective school leaders don’t simply respond to culture; they design it.

Through this work we’re moving beyond slogans like “happy teachers make happy students”. Instead we’re exploring the daily habits and deliberate practices that turn values into action.

This aligns with a growing call in education research to shift from top-down leadership to more relational, enquiry-driven models. A recent study in School Leadership & Management shows that trust-based, distributed leadership leads to more effective school improvement.

The four ‘Ps’

Our research is structured around four key themes of culture:

• Practices: the routines that make thinking visible.
• People: relationships rooted in trust and collaboration.
• Place: learning environments that promote curiosity and belonging.
• Poetry: the language, values and shared stories that shape identity.

This framework builds on earlier work by Project Zero, which highlighted how the most effective leaders create environments where learning is emotionally resonant and socially connected. In that study, the qualities of strong school leadership included modelling curiosity, deep listening and nurturing a shared sense of purpose; all essential for shaping culture.

Across our 80-plus schools in 30-plus countries, leaders choose one of these “Ps” as a focal point. From July to November 2025, they will conduct collaborative inquiries with their teams, documenting what they learn and sharing insights across our global network.

The goal isn’t theory; it’s strategy. What can be scaled? What actually works, even in different cultural or curricular contexts?

There have already been success stories that echo these themes throughout the education sector.

At Highfield Junior and Infant School in the UK, part of the Prince Albert Community Trust, a sustained focus on professional learning helped to shift the school from “special measures” to a “good” Ofsted inspection rating in just three years. This improvement was driven by trust, tailored CPD and a commitment to shared leadership.

Culture in action

We’ve also seen cultural impact on Nord Anglia students in recent years. Our first-year findings in our metacognition research with Boston College show that 70 per cent of students involved in the project reported an increase in “how often they feel like learning” - a shift directly linked to the environments that their teachers and leaders had created.

That finding is reinforced by broader research. Students who feel a strong sense of belonging at school report better wellbeing, stronger academic outcomes and a deeper motivation to learn.

Culture isn’t just a feel-good factor; it’s foundational to how students learn.

From insight to impact

As this work evolves, school leaders across our network are capturing what we call “Pictures of Practice”: real-world case studies that show how abstract values bring tangible change. These will be showcased globally in November 2025 and published with Dr Chua to support the wider educational community.

We’re also embedding this research into Nord Anglia University, our professional learning platform, so that every educator - not just senior leaders - can see themselves as a culture-builder.

Why it matters

Students won’t always remember every lesson, but they’ll remember how school made them feel: whether they felt safe, challenged, included or seen.

These feelings aren’t accidental. They’re shaped carefully and continuously by the decisions that school leaders make every day.

Dr Kate Erricker is group head of education research and global partnerships at Nord Anglia Education

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