Transcript Document

Addressing the leadership
challenges using the principles
of assessment for learning
Steve Munby
Chief Executive
National College for School Leadership
“Pupils produced work of better quality when
their teachers explained the criteria used in its
assessment. Relatively few teachers did this
effectively and pupils were generally unaware
of any assessment criteria that the teacher
might have been using.
Pupils rarely
understood the reason for their grades and
often felt, wrongly, that features such as length
and presentation were most important.”
OFSTED 1992
“The pupils’ response to the task was
sometimes less than their ability warranted
because they were not given regular progress
reports or were unaware of the specific
criteria used to assess their work. Some
pupils’ recorded Attainment Levels were
depressed as a consequence.”
OFSTED 1992
Key themes for Assessment
for Learning
1. Recognising the importance of the whole child/person
and the broader achievement agenda
2. Engaging the learner in the learning and assessment
process – giving learners a voice and empowering
them to be proactive and to take responsibility for their
own learning.
3. Peer review. Sharing learning with others – learning
together.
4. Using clear assessment criteria to identify current
performance and to set personal targets.
The context – the state of school
leadership in England
We have the best set of school leaders this
country has ever had. Leadership is good or
better in over 75% of schools, very good or
excellent in over 40%, and becoming
stronger every year.
Q Which, if any, of the following professions do you think provide particularly
good examples of leadership?
51%
Headteachers
38%
Officers in the armed forces
35%
Police
34%
Doctors
17%
Ministers of religion
15%
Sports coaches/managers
13%
Business directors
10%
Members of Parliament
Trade union officials
Local politicians
Health service managers
Civil servants
Base: All respondents in England (2004: 1,756)
7%
4%
4%
3%
Source: MORI
“The two significant issues that stand in the
way of consistent improvement across the
whole education system are:
1. the impact of social class on
educational achievement
2. the variability in performance and lack
of progress made by a substantial
minority of schools.”
HMCI Annual Report 2003/04
The HMCI Annual Report says:
“few schools have a convincing, systematic
programme
for
developing
middle
managers. Without such a programme,
schools find it difficult to improve the
consistency
of
leadership
and
management and to support career
development.”
HMCI Annual Report 2003/04
The four challenges
Challenge One
The implications of the Children Act
- the balance between the ‘standards’
agenda and the ‘whole child’ agenda
“In terms of attainment in school, if a child
had a choice between moving from having
a bottom quartile parent to having a top
quartile parent or moving from a bottom
quartile school to a top quartile school, the
child should change the parent every
time.”
Charles Desforges
Challenge Two
System leadership – developing capacity
within the school and leadership beyond
the school
Challenge Three
Sustainability, succession planning and
growing tomorrow’s leaders
Challenge Four
Ensuring clear leadership in a time of
uncertainty and in a context that will
continue to be complex, relentless and
accountable.
“And its best if you know a good thing is
going to happen, like an eclipse or getting a
microscope for Christmas. And it’s bad if you
know a bad thing is going to happen, like
having a filling or going to France. But I think
it is worst if you don’t know whether it is a
good thing or a bad thing which is going to
happen”
Mark Haddon “The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time”
Every Child Matters
Focusing outward
towards the
community and
other agencies
System Leadership
Focusing outward
to other schools
New opportunities for
school leaders
Developing Capacity
Relentlessness
Complexity
Accountability
Focusing inward –
developing yourself
Succession Planning
Focusing forward –
developing others
The Role of the National College
for School Leadership
NCSL aims
(September 2000)
1. to provide a single national focus for school
leadership development and research
2. to be a driving force for world class leadership
in our schools
3. to be a provider and promoter of excellence; a
major resource for schools; a catalyst for
innovation; and a focus for national and
international debate on leadership issues
The distinct College
Focuses on core business.
Clear moral purpose.
Everyone knows what it
stands for.
The selfevaluating
College
Focusing on
outcomes and
welcoming external
challenge.
Overall vision for
the College
The National
College
Leading edge and
informing future
policy and practice.
“Our College”
Much greater school
ownership.
Inclusive.
Collaborative in style.
The responsive
College
Flexible in approach.
Commissioning.
Connecting theory
with practical
realities.
Personalisation.
Michelangelo once said:
“Sculpture is a wonderful thing. Inside every
piece of stone is a beautiful statue – all you
have to do is to get rid of all the stuff that is
in the way.”