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Leadership for learning: The challenges of leading in a time of change

Seven  Pathways for leaders

Given the increasing importance of, and emphasis on, effective leadership there needs to be an increasing focus on effective professional development.

This report is based on the premise that aspects of leadership can be learned and that leadership competencies can be developed over a number of years. This section establishes the need for clear development pathways for leaders so that leadership capacity building becomes an outcome of design and planning rather than of luck and happenstance. It sets out some key priorities for the different sectors from the messages arising in previous sections.

Given the increasing importance of, and emphasis on, effective leadership there needs to be an increasing focus on effective professional development. Capacity building cannot take place without appropriate professional development and support to develop the skills and expertise of staff. Those leaders who are in a position to exercise control over their funding allocation, target resources on developing the skills and knowledge of their staff. In this way, they take control of helping to grow their own leaders and taking succession planning seriously.

Many professionals in educational establishments are expected to be leaders but may have received little or no preparation, formal or informal, for the job. If Scottish education is going to progress on its journey to excellence it will require systematic and joined-up strategies at national, local and establishment level to develop leadership capacity and capability. An important issue is the development of someone’s leadership potential from early in their career perhaps, through project leadership to leading a team and then shadowing someone in a senior post. Whilst people learn and manage their learning in many different ways, leadership skills need to be honed and developed over time with regular opportunities being provided to develop leadership potential.

What’s happening in the school sector and what are the emerging priorities?

In response to the need to develop leadership at all levels, we have seen a number of major initiatives which are engaging increasing numbers of authority staff and, at times, students. These have included The Headteachers’ Leadership Academy (HTLA), coaching and mentoring programmes, insights into system-wide reform from international ‘thought leaders’, education authority pilots on adaptive leadership and initiatives geared to middle managers. These are helping to increase capacity in the system, raise the profile of leadership development and contribute towards new thinking on leadership for learning. To date, the only qualification open to those aspiring to headship in the school sector has been the Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH). This has been an attractive route for many in senior promoted posts who have used it as a stepping-stone to headship.

The challenge for establishment and education authority staff is to be selective in drawing upon the range of provision available and building clear and coherent pathways for staff at different stages in their career. A recent evaluation of the CPD implications of implementing A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century is outlined in Teaching Scotland’s Children.³³

What are the professional development priorities for the pre-school sector?

• Leadership training for non-teachers in posts with responsibility.
• Developing leadership by creating a workforce that is led by degree (or work-based equivalent) qualified professionals.
• Leadership for learning for all heads of pre-school centres.
• Developing the skills of nursery teachers in leading teams.
• Developing the ability of all pre-school staff to recognise and respond appropriately to children’s learning needs.

What are the professional development priorities for the primary, secondary and special sectors?

• The development of CPD programmes for staff at all levels, particularly middle managers who are taking on new roles such as principal teacher learning and teaching, principal teacher curriculum or principal teacher faculty.
• Ensuring that non-teaching staff have access to CPD programmes and are included in school developments.
• Leadership for learning initiatives which impact directly on the experience of all pupils from those with additional support needs to those who are higher attaining.
• Multi-agency programmes to share best practice and take forward the children’s services agenda.
• CPD for effective team and partnership working as well as self-evaluation and quality assurance.
• Coaching and mentoring development.
• Leadership at all levels including pupil leadership.
• Developing approaches to the evaluation of leadership and management programmes to evaluate their impact on personal and establishment effectiveness, succession planning and/or the leadership of learners.

What’s happening in Scotland’s colleges and what are the emerging priorities?

Leaders of Scotland’s colleges have faced very different challenges, many of which have emerged since Incorporation in 1993. Unlike leaders in other sectors, college leaders and their Boards of Management have been required to create the vision, identify the mission and clearly define their strategic directions. Boards, principals and senior staff have had to develop and hone skills to plan and differentiate their own local curriculum, whilst contributing to national developments which will effectively prepare learners in Scotland’s colleges for a future of prosperity, variety and choice.

The sector is supported by a number of leadership and development initiatives, which have been designed by a range of supporting partners. The primary provider of professional development for leaders in Scotland’s colleges is The Scottish Further Education Unit (SFEU). The unit works in partnership with colleges to anticipate and identify the issues and challenges they may face. It provides a structure to support training in areas such as organisational development, learning and teaching, research, and project management for leaders at various levels and at various points in their career.

SFEU has recently designed Scotland’s Professional Enhancement Programme (SCOPE). SCOPE is an innovative, four-stage programme, which uses a blended delivery approach. Developed through consultation with principals, middle managers and HR managers, the programme is focused on real issues and provides access to individual learning support throughout the programme. Key aspects of this programme include an online toolkit which addresses a wide range of management and leadership topics, as well as the identification of a personal leadership challenge. College principals themselves also have access to CPD through the Principals’ CPD Programme, also provided by SFEU. Every college in Scotland is unique, with its own curriculum, partnerships, competitors, local economy, communities and learner profile. Therefore, every leader faces unique challenges. Through this programme, principals can access bespoke CPD to address their own personal development needs, as well as those required to lead their staff towards the college’s unique vision.

Every leader faces unique challenges.

What’s happening in the CLD sector and what are the emerging priorities?

The Lifelong Learning Sector Skills Council is consulting on National Occupational Standards for leadership and management in the learning and skills sector. This covers the CLD and college sectors. The object is to develop new National Occupational Standards that accurately describe the skill-sets required of leaders and managers working in the lifelong learning sector, which could be used by employers to manage and develop their leaders and managers at all levels. Post graduate courses and masters routes as well as non-certificated courses focused on education and management are available from a range of providers and are accessed by some practitioners in order to improve their skills and knowledge.

What are the professional development priorities for the CLD sector?

• The development of coherent CPD pathways to develop the leadership of staff at all levels.
• Opportunities to engage in skills development with leaders and aspiring leaders from other sectors.
• Developing the skills and expertise of volunteers.

Establishing a direct link between leadership development and establishment effectiveness is not straightforward. Having said this, it is important to begin to think about how we might evaluate the impact of leadership development work which takes significant investments of time and money. What effect is the investment having on the potential of an establishment to improve its performance and/or the effectiveness of individuals in taking on leadership responsibilities? A key principle emerging is that significant professional development programmes, projects or initiatives should be evaluated objectively with lessons learned and disseminated.

What type of professional development is most helpful?

We are beginning to see a shift from courses on leadership towards experiential development which takes place in the workplace. Some examples of professional activities that are being taken forward include the following.

• Learning ‘on the job’ through shadowing and team teaching.
• Coaching and mentoring experiences.
• Teaming up with another member of staff or organisation or establishment to exchange practice and ideas (at times, by buying in supply cover to allow staff to undertake peer observations or visits).
• Secondment opportunities.
• Opportunities for team teaching/team presentations followed by review and agreement on action points.
• 180° or 360° feedback to identify strengths, areas for development and aligned CPD opportunities.
• Being involved in chairing a working group or project or committee.
• Leading a development project.
• Attendance at leadership seminars, master classes or conferences.
• Attendance at agreed ‘core’ leadership and management courses in local CPD directories.
• Professional review and development which is effectively tied into a leadership framework such as the Standard for Headship in schools.
• Multi-agency professional development to share best practice and take forward the children’s services agenda.
• Away days and retreats.

Developing student leadership

In order to develop the capacity of learners to be independent in their learning, establishments are beginning to broaden pupils’ experiences and achievements so they can become leaders of their own learning. The use of personal learning planning and ICT to promote independent learning has enabled more learners to lead their own learning. Equally, the development of the citizenship and enterprise agendas is playing a key role in developing entrepreneurial qualities, aligned to leadership potential. Here are some examples:

• student-led activities including student council/associations, contributions to working groups/programme team meetings, student learning and teaching forums and residential leadership courses;
• work experience placements including opportunities for some students to undertake these abroad;
• student-led surveys and reporting back findings to students and staff with clear action points for the future;
• educational and cultural exchange programmes;
• peer learning and training programmes; and
• student membership of key committees and strategic planning groups.

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