School leadership preparation in Scotland: professional learning programmes for aspiring, new and experienced head teachers.

Dr Valerie Drew | Senior Lecturer Professional Education & Leadership | University of Stirling Alison Weatherston | Lead Specialist | Education Scotland | Foghlam Alba

TAIEX SRSP Workshop on reform of school leadership | Lithuania | June 2019

Scotland

• 5.5m population

• 32 local authorities

• 781,376 learners

• 2,514 ELC centres

• 2,031 primary schools

• 359 secondary schools

• 141 special schools

• 50,970 teachers (FTE)

Scottish approach to policy making

The ‘Scottish approach’ refers to the Scottish Government’s reputation forpursuing a consultative and cooperative style when it makes and implements policyin devolved areas (including education).

(Cairney et al. 2016, p.333)

Policy drivers for school leadership: Scotland

Recommendation 1: Education policyin Scotland should give the highestpriority to further strengthening thequality of its teachers and of itseducational leadership. (Donaldson2010) Available:

https://www2.gov.scot/resource/doc/337626/01

10852.pdf

Empowering schools Available https://education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/an-empowered-system

Available: https://www.gov.scot/publications/delivering-excellence-equity-scottish-education-delivery-plan-scotland/pages/2/

Availablehttps://www.gov.scot/publications/2019-national-improvement-framework-improvement-plan/pages/2/

Scottish approach to designing leadership programmes

The collectivity: interrelations and activities in various groups involved in national programme design

• consultation: Scottish Government, Education Scotland/Scottish College for Educational Leadership (ES/SCEL), Universities , General Teaching Council Scotland, Teacher Unions, Assoc. of Directors of Education Scotland, Local Authorities

• co-design: partnership working between SCEL, GTCS, EIS, LA reps, Universities

• co-development: SCEL, Universities, Local Authorities, pilot cohort

• co-operation: between the university tutors, SCEL staff, local authority personnel -IH coordinator, coaches , head teacher mentors, professional verifiers and participants etc.

• co-learning: principles and practices of strategic and system leadership, roles and contributions of various actors, differing demands/expectations of various organisations

Universities programme regulations

specification

National Programme

Design Group

Sub-group 3Professional Learning

for Leadership

Mapping the complexity of collaborative leadership programme development in Scotland

Education Scotland/Scottish College for Educational Leadership

Suite of Leadership Programmes

Teacher Leadership Programme

Collaborative Middle

Leadership

Into Headship In HeadshipMiddle Leadership

PG Certificates

Specialist Qualification for Headship

Teacher Leadership Programme

Into Headship In HeadshipCollaborative Middle

Leadership

Middle Leadership

PG Certificates

Excellence In Headship

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leading Systems change

Excellence In Headship

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leading Systems Change

Professional learning for experienced head teachers

National Model of Professional Learning

GTCS Professional Standards Framework

Available: https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/professional-standards.aspx

The Professional Actions of Head Teachers

The Key Purpose of Head Teachers

• acts as the leading professional in a school and as an officer in the local authority.

• plays a pivotal role within the broader children’s services network.

• lead the whole school community in order to establish, sustain and enhance a positive ethos and culture of learning through which every learner is able to learn effectively and achieve their potential.

In line with the vision and values of the school, Head Teachers, working with others:

i. Establish, sustain and enhance the culture of self-evaluation for school improvement

ii. Develop staff capability, capacity and leadership to support the culture and practice of learning

iii. Ensure consistent high quality teaching and learning for all learners

iv. Build and sustain partnerships with learners, families and relevant partners to meet the identified needs of all learners

v. Allocate resources effectively in line with identified strategic and operational priorities

Underpinning all Professional Actions:

• Head Teachers critically engage with literature, research and policy texts

Specialist Qualification for Headship

Middle Leadership

Into Headship

In Headship

Specialist Qualification for Headship: Into Headship

Middle Leadership

• [60 credits SCQF11]

Into Headship

• 60 credits SCQF11

• Two modules

• Into Headship1

• Into Headship 2

In Headship

• [60 credits SCQF11]

Postgraduate certificate Postgraduate Diploma Masters

Masters qualification: Educational Leadership - Specialist Qualification for Headship

Middle Leadership

Into Headship

In Headship

Into Headship programme partnershipKey partnership roles to facilitate programme implementation and support participants’ professional learning and development:

• SCEL Lead Specialist

• University Programme Director

• University tutors/invited experts

• Local Authority Coordinators

• National cohort (2 conferences)

• Head Teacher mentors

• Professional Verifiers

• Cohort Peer Mentors

Into Headship: Aims

To enable participants to develop the strategic leadership and management competences as specified by the Standard for Headship in Scotland, to facilitate their transition into headship.

• Build and apply sound knowledge and understanding of strategic leadership and management theories and practices in the context of the role of the head teacher

• Foster a future orientated strategic stance to initiate and lead change for improvement, through engagement with the full school community

• Develop practice in the use of critical enquiry and reflection to evaluate and strengthen the impact of their practices on the school community

• Enhance interpersonal and personal skills, confidence and resilience for those preparing to move into headship

Into Headship: Module Overview

Into Headship 2

Leading strategic change

Aim: to enable participants to lead and manage a collaborative change process with members of the wider school community through mapping sets of strategies to address the educational issue identified in Module 1.

40 credits SCQF11

Into Headship 1

Developing as a strategic leader

Aim: to enable participants to prepare for strategic leadership through understanding their role as a headteacher in applying the principles and practices of strategic leadership to frame and conceptualise educational problems and issues.

20 credits SCQF11

Specialist Qualification for Headship: In Headship

Middle Leadership

• [60 credits SCQF11]

Into Headship

• 60 credits SCQF11

• Two modules

• Into Headship1

• Into Headship 2

In Headship

• [60 credits SCQF11]

Postgraduate certificate Postgraduate Diploma Masters

Masters qualification: Specialist Qualification for Headship

Middle Leadership

Into Headship

In Headship

In Headship programme partnership

Key partnership roles to facilitate programmeimplementation and support participants’ professional learning and development:

• SCEL Lead Specialist

• University Programme Directors

• University tutors/invited experts

• National cohort (2 residentials)

• Local Authority Coordinators

• Critical Colleagues

• Cohort Peer Mentors

In Headship: Aims

To enable headteachers to:

• engage in critical reflection on their transition to headship• recognise, understand and adapt to complex challenges, trough

engagement with academic research• develop a culture of sustained professional growth for self and

others• continue to demonstrate professional values and personal

commitment from Standard for Headship• build on critical understandings of core professional and academic

literacies• develop a critical understanding of professional learning as collective

and emergent to facilitate school and system improvement• understand the significance of strategic and system leadership in

driving change and improvement

In Headship: Module Overview

In Headship 2a & 2b

a. Pursuing equity and excellence in practice

b. Building capacity in self and others

Aim: to enable participants to engage critically and reflect on their transition to headship as they pursue equity and excellence through building capacity in self and others.

40 credits SCQF11

In Headship 1

Shaping professional identity and practice: critical reflection in the transition to headship Aim: to enable participants to engage critically and reflect on their transition to headship as they pursue equity and excellence through building capacity in self and others. More specifically this will include a focus on: developing professional identity as a head teacher; values based strategic leadership; criticality and critical reflection; and professional learning.

20 credits SCQF11

Into/In Headship Assessment/Professional Verification

Into Headship Summative Assessment includes:

• critical analysis of the current policy context leading to the identification and justification of strategic change issue

• critical reflection on self-evaluation of professional learning

• reasoned argument to underpin a proposal for strategic change

• critical evaluation of interim progress against short-term objectives

• critical reflection on your leadership and management of strategic change

• Professional Verification of professional actions

In Headship Summative Assessment includes:

• critical reflection on transition into headship and professional problem solving in practice through building capacity in self and others

• presenting academic poster identifying key issues related to achieving equity and excellence

• leading small group discussion about the challenges and opportunities identified in the early stages of building capacity in self and others

• critical analysis suitable for dissemination on building capacity across your school community

Evaluating impact of programme: Into Headship

Feedback on impact from: Participant: At the start of the process I simply didn’t make the connections between the work being undertaken at the University. I remember during one of my check-ins asking “ How will this practically help me when I become a Head Teacher?” The “Into Headship” programme challenged my thinking, by providing time and space to explore the relationships between International, national and local policies and leadership at a deep and meaningful level. Most importantly the process taught me to develop criticality, to look at the political drivers behind policies and the implications for their implementation in practice. It has better equipped me to gather evidence around the implementation of any new initiative and specifically to focus on measuring the impact. I always thought that being a head teacher is an extremely challenging job. This conception has not changed, however being part of the Into Headship program has resulted in a greater understanding of the complexities of leadership.

Professional Verifier- Impact on building staff capacity and capability- Teaching staff spoke of the leadership opportunities that they had been given, supported with appropriate professional learning. They spoke of enhanced collegiate experiences and alluded to the concept of professional capital to effect positive change.

Professional Verifier- Impact on pupils learning experiences and outcomes

Staff report a significant improvement in pupil motivation. Relationships with parents had been further enhanced through leadership of this SCI. Parents reported on the impact in developing positive attitudes to reading.The positive impact on attainment has been significant and has served to strengthen the belief of staff in the changes that D1 is trying to implement in the school. His vision, determination and excellent interpersonal relationships have made a significant impact in the school.

Local Authority Co-ordinator (system level) Candidates are more successful in securing HT posts earlier as a result of engagement in IH programme -more knowledgeable and confident about their role in interpreting and implementing policies in practice,

Evaluating impact of programme: In Headship

Being and becoming [a] headteacherI wanted too much change, too quickly. The professional reading was challenging but offered guidance and support as I felt my way into my new leadership role. The professional dialogue with academic staff and peers was undoubtedly of great benefit. It encouraged me to look beyond the minutiae of management and embrace leadership.

Enacting Values-based Leadership in PracticeWithout the extensive background reading, personal enquiry and professional dialogue and understanding of the “bigger picture”, I believe that there would be temptation to do what is easy rather than what is right. Doing what is right, takes considerable professional resolve, resilience and self belief.

Enhancing criticality and critical reflectionIt convinced me of the need for an evidence base before any strategic decisions are made. More than that, it’s about casting a critical eye over the evidence and asking specific questions – in other words, having a critical framework in order to ask important questions before both accepting claims from others and making claims of my own.

Pursuing Equity and ExcellenceAs a result of engaging in this reflective process via the programme, I was able to identify an overall aim to develop a culture and climate whereby professional values and actions underpin a collegiate commitment to improving the quality and consistency of classroom pedagogy.

Building Capacity in Self and Othersnal Verifiers report[A1 SeptMy professional learning has been turned around. I did not appreciate the impact of professional reading. My participation was commented on favourably during a recent inspection. I have introduced professional reading into staff meetings which is impacting on whole school improvement and leadership at all levels. I was ‘singled out for providing strong leadership with the school thriving and providing a nurturing environment that is inspiring children to embrace learning and to care for each other”. I believe I would never have achieved this with my school had I not undertaken In Headship.

Excellence in Headship

Excellence in Headship enables school leaders to build capacity in critical self-awareness, leadership of learning, leading system change, organisational effectiveness and working beyond the school with community champions.

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Theme 1

Critical self-awareness

Theme 2

Leadership of learning

Theme 3

Values based leadership

Theme 4

People and partners

Theme 5

Leading systems change

Theme 6

Organisational effectiveness

Teacher Leadership Programme

Into Headship In HeadshipCollaborative Middle

Leadership

Middle Leadership

PG Certificates

Excellence In Headship

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leading Systems change

System Leadership: Evolving Systems Thinking

For systems leaders with responsibility for curriculum or pedagogical developments:

• National collaborative working • Connecting effective school

and system level leadership practices

• Developed in partnership with the Ontario Principals’ Council

• Six modules, over three residential events

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Teacher Leadership Programme

Into Headship In HeadshipCollaborative Middle

Leadership

Middle Leadership

PG Certificates

Excellence In Headship

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leading Systems Change

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leadership for system

improvement

Effective school

systems

Capacity building practices

Data use and planning practices

Instructional practices

Collaborative enquiry plan for system

leaders

System Leadership: Leading Systems Change

System Leadership:

Learning from research: public service context for systems leadership and systems leaders an integrated model

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Systems Leadership: Exceptional leadership for exceptional times (Virtual Staff College)

Teacher Leadership Programme

Into Headship In HeadshipCollaborative Middle

Leadership

Middle Leadership

PG Certificates

Excellence In Headship

Evolving Systems Thinking

Leading Systems change

Contact details

Alison Weatherston

Lead Specialist

Education Scotland | Foghlam Alba | Glasgow, G2 8DU

Email: Alison.Weatherston@educationscotland.gov.scot

Web: www.scelscotland.org.uk / education.gov.scot

Dr Valerie Drew

Senior Lecturer in Professional Education and Leadership

Faculty of Social Sciences | University of Stirling | Stirling, FK9 4LAEmail: v.m.drew@stir.ac.uk | Web: https://www.stir.ac.uk/people/256138