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Information for headteachers

The aim of Fast Track Teaching is to equip those classroom teachers, in the early years of their careers, who have already demonstrated clear leadership potential with the skills to enable them to further enrich the lives of the children they teach. The programme is all about improving the teacher, your school and education as a whole.

Benefits

There are many benefits for schools that employ Fast Track teachers. All teachers go through a rigorous and challenging selection process that can help schools identify those teachers with the potential to achieve a senior leadership position. On the programme, they receive additional support and development opportunities, and are prepared to take on extra responsibilities. Fast Track teachers are expected to agree with their headteacher to take on an objective with a Wider School Focus – leading a project which will help to meet their school's development needs and have a positive impact on the whole school community.

School commitment

To maximise the benefit to both the school and the Fast Track teacher, a genuine partnership between the school and Fast Track Teaching is encouraged. This involves commitment from the school including:

• providing an experienced school mentor who will support the Fast Track teacher’s development and programme objectives
• providing challenging leadership opportunities and experiences to support the Fast Track teacher’s development in a Wider School Focus
• committing to the Fast Track teacher(s) taking time out of school, where necessary, to attend relevant professional development events, and funding travel and supply costs if appropriate

Funding

NCSL covers the full cost of the development activities and support provided by Fast Track Teaching.

What qualities should a Fast track teacher possess?

Fast Track teachers need to show potential. In order to identify a good candidate, ask yourself whether they:

• set and achieve high standards for themselves and their pupils
• are actively committed to furthering their own professional development
• achieve and exceed their performance objectives
• demonstrate excellent communication skills, orally and in writing
• work well within and across teams
• seek out opportunities to engage in developments at a wider, whole school level

If you're thinking about a particular individual as you read this list, you should consider recommending them to apply.

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