APTE Annual Conference 14th July 2011

Leadership and a self improving school system

Maggie FarrarExecutive DirectorNational College

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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…..

• 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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Formal training

Mentoring

Coaching

Working as a deputy head

Discussions with peers

Opportunities to take on responsibility

Being identified as a potential leader

How do leaders learn? • Learning through experience

• Learning from the experienced% of high-performing principals citing each experience as having a major impact on their development

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 taskStaff given lots of opportunities to leadConcept of ‘ growing our own’ strongNo one model of leadership developmentCoaching and mentoring built into school way of workingMutual benefit recognised from working with other schoolsKnowledge and practice of effective partnership working, but less

systematicevaluation of benefits in building capacity Opportunities for governors to work across schools not as frequent orsystematic 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

role50 % headteachers are or have been a mentor to another

headteacher40% of headteachers are currently undertaking more than one systemleadership role – and 25% are undertaking 2 or more simultaneouslyThese heads have strong established leadership and succession

arrangements in their own school And those who don’tTimeConfidence / capability

SourceThe importance of teaching and the role of system leadershipNational College (Illuminas commentary) 2011

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3.2 Towards a self-improving system?

“There are four building blocks of aself-improving system: clusters ofschools (the structure); the localsolutions approach and coconstruction (the two culturalelements); and system leaders (thekey people). These are alreadypartially in place but need to bestrengthened so that schoolscollaborate in more effective forms

ofprofessional development and

schoolimprovement.” David Hargreaves, Creating a self improving

schoolsystem September 2010

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• Harnessing the energy, the motivation and the moral purpose of the system to do it for itself ; schools take ownership of the problem

• Local solutions – cluster based – partnership oriented

• Characterised by ‘ co construction’ – and the building of professional relationships within and between schools

• Expanding the concept and practice of system leadership

Sustainability Self improving systems what are we learning from schools

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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 – aneffective 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 allorganisations 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 rolesNational leaders of education and national support schools – 1000Local leaders of education – 5000Specialist leaders of education 10,000Teaching 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 universitieslead peer-to-peer learningspot and nurture leadership potentialprovide 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 withlocal 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 stayany type of school including independent, academy, federated, faith school,

free school or part of a chainsmaller 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 criteriaa clear track-record of successful collaboration with other schoolsOfsted outstanding for overall effectiveness, teaching and learning and leadership and managementconsistently high levels of pupil performance or continued improvementan 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

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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

TSSPSP

SP

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All teaching schools will also have a university partner as a strategic partner

HEI

SPSP

SP

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The teaching school can also be a job-share

HEI

SP SP

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TS TS

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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

SPSP

SP

TS TS

HEI

SPSP

SP

TS

HEI

SPSP

SP

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LA SP

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Over 300 applications received with a good geographical spread and range of schools represented.

Teaching Schools

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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 applicationsAround 1,200 expressions of interestOver 300 formal applicationsPhase:

• Over 45% - secondary schools • 35% - primary schools• 10% - special schools

Types:• 35% - community schools• 20% - voluntary aided or controlled school• 20% - foundation schools• 10% - academies (both sponsored and converters)

Geographical spread:• 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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3 dimensions

Partnership competence

Professional development

Collaborative capital

David Hargreaves: leading a self – improving school system 2011 ( forthcoming )

A draft maturity model for teaching schools?

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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 thepractice model of professional development. Their challenging task if toraise professional development to a new level through the exemplaryuse and dissemination of ‘ joint practice development’This captures a process that is truly collaborative, not one- way; andthe practice is being improved not just moved from one person orplace to another. Joint practice development gives birth to innovationand grounds it in the routines of what teachers naturally do .If joint practice development replaced sharing good practice in theprofessional vocabulary of teachers we would, I believe, begin to seemuch more effective practice transfer in the spirit of innovation that isat 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?

1. Improve my own school2. My own personal development3. Responsibility to children outside my own school4. Chance to bring back new ideas to own school5. Open up opportunities for colleagues in own school6. Give something back7. Financial benefit to school8. Opportunity to stay longer in role or continue after9. retirement10. 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)

1. Academies: leadership of sponsored and converting academies (10,000 views, 750 downloads)

2. Leading coaching in schools3. Creating a self improving school system4. Leadership development and personal effectiveness5. Coaching for teaching and learning6. What we know about school leadership7. Leadership for personalised learning8. Seven Strong claims about successful leadership9. Sustainable strategies for school improvement  - research

associate full report 10. 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 autonomyHence the increasingly high priority given to leadership development around the worldBut 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 ofUbuntu …….

“ A person with ubuntu is open and available to others,affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others

areable and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance

thatcomes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater

wholeand is diminished when others are humiliated or

diminished.” 

Desmond Tutu