How do school leaders successfully lead learning

1 Reportwww . LEADERSHow do school leaderssuccessfully lead learning ?Peter MatthewsVisiting Professorial Fellow, Institute of Education, LondonEdited by Peter LewisNational College for school Leadership How do school leaders successfully lead learning ?1 ContentsSummary21. What we know from inspections5 Her Majesty s Chief Inspector s annual report5 Distilling the essence of leading learning72. What we know from research9 Characteristics of outstanding headteachers as school leaders9 Impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes10 Quantifying what makes a difference11 Leadership differences by sector15 Leadership, learning and high-performing school systems163. Development of leaders of learning by schools18 Leadership development case studies184.

2 What we know from policy23 The Children s Plan: personalisation of learning23 The Children s Plan: leadership24 national Strategies255. What we know from leadership development provision26 Specialist Schools and Academies Trust26 Training and Development Agency for Schools26 Office for Standards in Education, Children s Services and Skills276. Current NCSL provision30 Review of provision30 Guiding principles31 Importance of clarity and simplicity32 Dimensions of school leadership327. How we use what we know: implications and conclusions37 Implications37 Conclusions37 References40 This review explores how school leaders create a learning community to improve learning for all. If effectiveschools are those where a range of outcomes for children and young people are provided for, and wherepupils make better progress than predicted on the basis of where they started, then the quality of theteachers and the learning they provide are central to success.

3 The steps taken to attract, appoint, develop,support and retain good teachers are vital responsibilities for school leaders . Leadership is not just a secondorder effect influencing through others it is integral to the learning of the whole school overarching questions for this review are:How do school leaders successfully lead learning ?What therefore are the implications for the development of leaders ?We start by gathering evidence on what we know about the leadership of learning from various sources. We consider what we know from inspections, followed by what we know from research, and then providesome case studies of the development of the leadership of learning in various school settings.

4 We then goon to explore the policy context and models of good practice underpinning particular national examining the range of current leadership development provision we highlight the value of someexisting approaches and indicate the potential of some new emphases. The review concludes with asummary of the eight implications for consideration by the national College for school Leadership (NCSL)and others engaged in developing the leadership of we know from inspectionsSection 1sets out the role of school leaders in securing those characteristics of effective schools which areregularly identified in inspections by the Office for Standards in Education, Children s Services and Skills(Ofsted).

5 The leadership of learning is described in several Ofsted case studies, which show the importanceof engaging headteachers in the design and delivery of learning and the methods used by the best of themto engage with their staff and to support the improvement of teaching and learning . There is a revival inthe notion of pedagogic leadership and the importance of headteachers sustaining a teaching lead by example, model good practice and are recognised by their staff as not asking anything of themthat they would not do , in effective schools, it is often headteachers and senior staff who also provide first-levelsupport to the handful of students who are making least progress. Alongside the mechanics of monitoring,evaluating and giving feedback on lessons, such effective leaders also set the tone in terms of how learningis understood, they actively develop all their staff in ways which improve teaching and learning and theyensure that the organisation is designed and operated in ways that focus on we know from the researchSection 2draws on research findings to fill out the detail of how effective school leaders undertake thesetasks.

6 A study of national leaders of education (NLEs) highlighted key professional attributes, importantskills and critical tasks in this process. Other studies have shown how leaders work to bring out the best in others, motivating staff to improve outcomes for pupils. While some studies have highlighted slightdifferences between leadership roles in primary and secondary schools, much of the evidence identifiescore skills and tasks that are significant in the leadership of learning in any setting. These factors areHow do school leaders successfully lead learning ? national College for school Leadership 2 SummaryNational College for school Leadership How do school leaders successfully lead learning ?

7 3analysed in terms of their impact on pupils results and this suggests the statistical significance of two sets of activities in particular:1. Promoting and participating in teacher learning and development2. Planning, coordinating and evaluating teaching and the curriculumEvidence on the cumulative difference that good teaching can make to pupils from early on in their schoolingis used to suggest a similar model might be proposed for the progressive value of teacher development fornewly qualified teachers (NQTs) and over their first few years in post. This fits with reports that effectiveleaders engage heavily with new staff and it helps to focus our enquiry on staff development and continuousprofessional development (CPD) methods in effective we know from the case studiesSection 3looks at particular settings where CPD is well developed or where new models of CPD are beingpioneered.

8 These examples suggest the effectiveness of multi-layered approaches that include in-schoolstaff development opportunities as well as access to local CPD provision, the use of school networks andcarefully targeted use of national provision. High-performing schools both develop teachers and developleaders of learners in processes which make good use of modelling, coaching, mentoring and regulardialogue in ways which are informed by pupil feedback and pupil results. These schools provide learning of a consistently high quality in a learner-centred environment where teachers are also learners and thewhole school is a learning such communities, the same values, principles and vision apply to educators and learners alike.

9 Pupilsare seen as partners with views that count. Monitoring and evaluation apply as much to teaching andlearning as to pupils progress and, as learning communities, such schools look outwards, seeking newknowledge from practice elsewhere, testing their approaches beyond the school , and building moral, socialand organisational capital. Their CPD approaches are in turn evaluated for their impact and so subject tocontinuous improvement. The importance of a learning culture in the staff room as well as the classroom is underlined. The skills of designing, delivering and evaluating CPD are therefore central for leaders of of the policy contextSection 4sets out the national context from The Children s Plan(DCSF 2007) and the national Strategiesprogramme (DCSF 2008).

10 It examines the implications of prioritising the personalisation of learning forleaders in terms of the tasks and skills and explores the demands being made on leaders by this widerpolicy context. leaders will need to demonstrate the approach they are looking for by personalising staffdevelopment and by creating an institutional culture that puts learning first for both pupils and current leadership development provision addresses these issuesSections 5 and6outline the thinking of three agencies the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT),the Training and Development Agency (TDA) and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) and looksat these alongside the development of programmes at the national College for school Leadership (NCSL).