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Leadership Pathways

Overview

Leadership Pathways is a self-directed, blended learning programme that enables participants to choose their own pathway to leadership learning. It is designed to be flexible to suit individuals' contexts and needs. The programme extends over a period of one year and is designed with a heavy emphasis on work-based learning and application.

Leadership Pathways offers senior school leaders access to the latest in leadership thinking and school practice, in a very practical way, which will benefit their school as well as the individual. Nominated school-based coaches offer support and challenge to participants as they trial, refine and embed improved leadership practice across a whole school.

The whole-school leadership and management experiences that participants receive from this programme can help support those aspiring to take part in the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). This programme seeks to build on previous experience and development at a middle leadership level, for example, the Leading from the Middle (LftM) programme.

Leadership Pathways aims to support the development of senior school leaders through:

• strengthening and updating their existing leadership skills
• enhancing understanding of current and future national agendas
• bringing a deeper sense of professional satisfaction to their current role by developing leadership skills
• building up evidence to demonstrate the impact of learning on standards in schools
• actively engaging in self-directed leadership learning
• helping develop the essential skills for learning in and managing effective networks
• increasing their ability to contribute to the development of the leadership capacity of colleagues
• enhancing their ability to build and sustain effective relationships in their school and the wider community
• increasing motivation to take on a more substantive leadership role in the future
• demonstrating the impact that their leadership has on their school

Eligibility

Leadership Pathways is aimed at senior leaders or those aspiring to a senior leadership position in the next one to two years:

• who have significant experience in school leadership roles
• who will have an opportunity to undertake a whole-school leadership change project
• who have previous involvement in successful change management
• who have the motivation to direct their own leadership learning
• who are currently based in an educational setting
• who have identified and are willing to work in partnership with an in-school coach to further leadership learning
• who have the support of senior school leaders to undertake the programme (see also the Expectations of school leaders document (25kb, 1 page) for more details)

Priority will be given to applications from individuals who are members of the senior leadership team within an educational establishment.

Identifying your in-school coach

It is essential that a participant identifies an in-school coach before applying for Leadership Pathways.

To help identify a suitable in-school coach to work with you throughout the duration of this programme, please visit the In-school coach web page.

Availability

• Taster sessions are available regionally to help you find out more about Leadership Pathways.
• Cohort 9 will begin in April/May 2010. The application round will be open from 7 December 2009 until 19 February 2010.

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