Transcript www.apte.org.uk

APTE Annual
Conference
14th July 2011
Leadership and a
self improving
school system
Maggie Farrar
Executive Director
National College
The policy context
“At
the heart of this Government’s vision for education is a
determination to give school leaders more power and
control. Not just to drive improvement in their own schools
- but to drive improvement across our whole education
system.
This policy is driven, like all our education policy, by our
guiding moral purpose – the need to raise attainment for all
children and close the gap between the richest and
poorest.”
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Secretary of State, Seizing Success
Conference, June 2011
Schools should be given ..“structures that encourage
collaboration and the sharing of the benefits innovation
brings.”
“of course in this landscape, where more schools have
significant autonomy……proper accountability becomes
more accountable than ever.”
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National College Remit …..
“As
the College’s work has demonstrated, it is schools
themselves and our best school leaders who are ideally
placed to drive improvement in other schools. I look to
you to continue your work in supporting them.”
“ I realise it will take time to establish a fully school led
system… we must not lose sight of our focus on
transforming the quality of education for every pupil
through effective leadership in every school.”
The Secretary of State in the National College remit letter, March 2011
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So what are the key aspects of the remit and
how does this translate…..
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A new cadre of teaching schools…. as part of a local network, so that over
time all schools benefit;
The expansion of both the National and Local Leaders of Education;
To refine and to begin to implement the Specialist Leaders of Education
programme;
Adapt the content design and delivery model for the NPQH;
Identify and develop in primary in particular, talented leaders and potential
executive Headteachers;
Support Free School Principals, Chairs of Governors and leaders of early
years;
Build schools’ capacity to take increasing ownership of leadership
development – schools to lead improvement
Toward a self improving school system
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Steve Munby, National College Chief
Executive, Seizing Success Conference
“At times of change and uncertainty, the leaders that are
going to succeed are those that see change not as a
threat, but as an opportunity to shape something that can
be even better. And I do believe that this is a once in a
lifetime opportunity for leaders to seize the agenda.”
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So… what is the task
After over ten years of investment in leadership
development. Is the system ready and prepared to
support its own leadership development, talent and
succession, and improvement ?
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Prepared to lead
The biggest contribution to school leadership development lies in providing rich
and varied opportunities to lead – professional ‘ apprenticeship model’
These are more numerous in partnerships, federations and chains
Such ‘ models’ report lower staff turnover
Leadership of learning and improvement ‘ top’ of the agenda
Range of models of leadership development and leadership learning
There is a case for the development of greater skills in the leadership of
learning (adults and children)
The attention given to the development of school staff as teachers and leaders
is an indicator of the effectiveness of the school or system leader
Matthews P; Higham R; Stoll L; Brennan J; Riley K; National College 2011
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How do leaders learn?
% of high-performing principals citing each experience
as having a major impact on their development
•
•
Learning through experience
Learning from the experienced
74
Being identified as a potential leader
Opportunities to take on responsibility
70
Discussions with peers
65
58
Working as a deputy head
47
Coaching
Mentoring
Formal training
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Source: Survey of leaders across 8 top performing school systems in ‘Capturing the leadership premium’,
McKinsey&CO, 2010
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What makes a difference ?
• Support from credible peers, through mentoring and
coaching
• Opportunity to access and to observe excellent practice
• Time for reflection
• Access to high quality research
• Opportunities to discuss with peers and to work with
them on common issues
Source: National College Illuminas Study 2009
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National Support schools –
what are we learning ?
Leadership focused on learning and teaching – leaders see it as core task
Staff given lots of opportunities to lead
Concept of ‘ growing our own’ strong
No one model of leadership development
Coaching and mentoring built into school way of working
Mutual benefit recognised from working with other schools
Knowledge and practice of effective partnership working, but less systematic
evaluation of benefits in building capacity
Opportunities for governors to work across schools not as frequent or
systematic as for other leaders
Source: Developing leadership: National Support Schools ( OFSTED 2010a)
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System leadership – appetite ?
25% currently undertaking or had previously undertaken a system leadership
role
50 % headteachers are or have been a mentor to another headteacher
40% of headteachers are currently undertaking more than one system
leadership role – and 25% are undertaking 2 or more simultaneously
These heads have strong established leadership and succession arrangements
in their own school
And those who don’t
Time
Confidence / capability
Source
The importance of teaching and the role of system leadership
National College (Illuminas commentary) 2011
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3.2 Towards a self-improving system?
“There are four building blocks of a
self-improving system: clusters of
schools (the structure); the local
solutions approach and co
construction (the two cultural
elements); and system leaders (the
key people). These are already
partially in place but need to be
strengthened so that schools
collaborate in more effective forms of
professional development and school
improvement.”
David Hargreaves, Creating a self improving school
system September 2010
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Sustainability
Self improving systems
what are we learning from schools
•
Harnessing the energy, the motivation and the moral purpose of the system
to do it for itself ; schools take ownership of the problem
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Local solutions – cluster based – partnership oriented
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Characterised by ‘ co construction’ – and the building of professional
relationships within and between schools
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Expanding the concept and practice of system leadership
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The power of mass localism
Government has traditionally found it difficult to support genuine local
solutions while achieving national impact and scale. What makes
local solutions effective is their local specificity, and the ability of
groups to tailor solutions to local contexts. Policy makers need an
approach that combines local action and national scale – an
effective approach to ‘ mass localism’ .
Bunt and Harris – Mass Localism 2010 ( NESTA)
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The role of leaders in a self
improving system
A value – a conviction that leaders should strive for the success of all
organisations and young people they serve not just their own.
A disposition to action – a commitment to work with other organisations to
Help them to be successful and to be open to learning from others
A frame of reference – to see one’s role as a servant leader here to serve for
the greater benefit of children and young people
Specific roles
National leaders of education and national support schools – 1000
Local leaders of education – 5000
Specialist leaders of education 10,000
Teaching Schools 500
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The role of teaching schools
As well as offering training and support for their alliance themselves, teaching
schools will identify and co-ordinate expertise in partner schools, using the
best leaders and teachers to:
train new entrants to the profession alongside other partners, including
universities
lead peer-to-peer learning
spot and nurture leadership potential
provide support for other schools
The model is flexible and teaching schools will be able to choose strategic
partners such as other schools and universities to support the alliance. They
may also decide to join with other teaching schools to form a network of
teaching school alliances.
It will be important to build on other strong local partnerships, including with
local authorities, where appropriate.
The National College is working in partnership with the TDA
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Who can be a teaching school?
Designation is open to:
any phase of school: nursery, primary, middle, secondary, 6th form college,
special or PRUs/short stay
any type of school including independent, academy, federated, faith school, free
school or part of a chain
smaller schools, such as small primaries, as the model enables two schools the
flexibility to job-share the role of leading a teaching schools alliance
Designation criteria
a clear track-record of successful collaboration with other schools
Ofsted outstanding for overall effectiveness, teaching and learning and
leadership and management
consistently high levels of pupil performance or continued improvement
an outstanding headteacher with at least three years headship experience, and
outstanding senior and middle leaders with capacity to support others.
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Teaching school and its alliance schools
TS
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The teaching school designates SLEs from the alliance
TS
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Some alliance schools are strategic partners that take
responsibility for some delivery
SP
TS
SP
SP
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All teaching schools will also have a university partner as a
strategic partner
HEI
SP
SP
SP
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The teaching school can also be a job-share
HEI
TS
TS
SP
SP
SP
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A number of teaching school alliances decide to work together form
a network to share services and knowledge – the R and \D network
HEI
HEI
TS
SP
TS
SP
SP
TS
SP
SP
SP
HEI
SP
LA SP
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TS
SP
SP
Teaching Schools
Over 300 applications received with a
good geographical spread and range of
schools represented.
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Specialist Leaders of Education
•Outstanding themselves, not their school
•Range of roles
•Skill
•Track record
•Capacity
•Designated and
brokered by
teaching schools
•QA by the College
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Update on applications
Around 1,200 expressions of interest
Over 300 formal applications
Phase:
• Over 45% - secondary schools
• 35% - primary schools
• 10% - special schools
Types:
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35%
20%
20%
10%
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community schools
voluntary aided or controlled school
foundation schools
academies (both sponsored and converters)
Geographical spread:
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London, South East, North West – about 50 applications each
West Midlands & South West – more than 30 applications each
Yorkshire & Humber, East Midlands, North East - around 20 applications each
3 applications from the independent sector
28 applicants have been contacted as they don’t meet the OFSTED criteria
Over 40 schools to date have requested the opportunity to be part of the Ofsted
pilot to prove they have one teaching and learning.
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A draft maturity model for teaching
schools?
3 dimensions
Partnership competence
Professional development
Collaborative capital
David Hargreaves: leading a self – improving school system 2011 ( forthcoming )
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The importance of joint practice
development to a self improving system
It will not be enough for teaching schools to continue the drive to the
practice model of professional development. Their challenging task if to
raise professional development to a new level through the exemplary
use and dissemination of ‘ joint practice development’
This captures a process that is truly collaborative, not one- way; and
the practice is being improved not just moved from one person or
place to another. Joint practice development gives birth to innovation
and grounds it in the routines of what teachers naturally do .
If joint practice development replaced sharing good practice in the
professional vocabulary of teachers we would, I believe, begin to see
much more effective practice transfer in the spirit of innovation that is
at the heart of a self improving system.
David Hargreaves: leading a self – improving school system 2011 ( forthcoming )
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“New ways of working” – recent
announcements
• Secondary floor standards from 35% - 40% by 2012 and 50% by
end of parliament
• During 11/12 88 sponsored academies expected 73 Sec, 13 Prim +
2 all through
• 1,400 primary below the floor standard of 60% with 200 for more
than five years
• These 200 schools to be opened as sponsored academies by 2012
• LAs to be supported by the DfE in turning around the 500 of the
1,400 who have been below floor in two, or three, of past 4 years
• In addition to the sponsored academies an additional 1,200
converter academies will create a larger pool of great schools to
build chains and improve underperforming schools
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Implications for Leaders
• Seizing the opportunities and accepting the challenges
presented by collaboration and partnership working
• Considering the “pluses and minuses” for all schools of
good and outstanding schools leading the system
• Making the most of the freedoms, the flexibility and the
associated responsibility and accountability
• Accepting/working through the tensions/challenges
• Becoming as skilled in enabling adult learning as
enabling the learning of young people
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“When the watering hole begins to shrink,
the animals start to look at each other
rather differently.”
Professor Ben Levin
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So what will motivate schools to
be involved in system leadership?
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4.
5.
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10.
Improve my own school
My own personal development
Responsibility to children outside my own school
Chance to bring back new ideas to own school
Open up opportunities for colleagues in own school
Give something back
Financial benefit to school
Opportunity to stay longer in role or continue after
retirement
Personal financial benefit
Useful – research into challenges facing leaders and best practice in addressing
them; 96% useful or very useful (64% very useful)
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What leaders are reading (College reports)
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2.
3.
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5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Academies: leadership of sponsored and converting academies (10,000
views, 750 downloads)
Leading coaching in schools
Creating a self improving school system
Leadership development and personal effectiveness
Coaching for teaching and learning
What we know about school leadership
Leadership for personalised learning
Seven Strong claims about successful leadership
Sustainable strategies for school improvement - research associate full
report
Success and sustainability
(Top ten downloads – College research reports June 2011)
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Finally …..
• Leadership has never been more important –
• Leadership is moving up the agenda around the world
• The more autonomous the system – the more important the quality
of its leaders
There is a trend toward greater autonomy
Hence the increasingly high priority given to leadership development
around the world
But there will be a greater requirement for leaders to commit
themselves not only to the improvement of their own organisations
for the benefit of their children – but to the improvement,
development and support of all.
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Belonging to a greater whole and the spirit of
Ubuntu …….
“ A person with ubuntu is open and available to others,
affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are
able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that
comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole
and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished.”
Desmond Tutu
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