A new head had been appointed in1992 and introduced development planning as a joint Process with the large staff. The school had a good local reputation and a stable staff profile though rather long serving even for the county (which is renowned for staff`staying'). This factor also produced an unforeseen budget deficit to the new administration and governors, because salary costs had not been projected forward. There had been relatively little in the way of corporate planning. among year groups or much sharing of classroom practices. The first development plan was written after staff development interviews with all staff by the new head, with the advice and counsel of the 'steering group' — an enlarged group of six to eight of the senior staff set up for this purpose.