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Issue 47, July 2008

Each month, this bulletin reviews recently published leadership research, policy and practical papers that we hope you will find relevant. The brief summaries aim to provide a taster and links to the full reports for your interest.

Blue skies learning

"What Next? Twenty One Ideas for Twenty First Century Education" is Charles Leadbeater's synthesis of the current best practice in six schools (or groups of schools) that have been working closely with the Innovation Unit over the past ten years.

Leadbeater believes that schools which don't understand, or pay attention to, their changing relationships with their pupils and their communities are the ones that struggle. He suggests that what is needed is a strong leadership team with charisma and vision that can establish a sense of order. He also argues that the size of a school matters: just as relationships cease to function as effectively in big groups, so too do schools. Leadbeater would like the large comprehensives to be broken up into a number of smaller schools, similar to what has happened in parts of New York City.

Learning, insights and policy recommendations

This Innovation Unit report describes what schools and colleges involved in the Next Practice in Education Programme are achieving and how they are doing it. The report draws together the implications of the programme and suggests how participants and policy makers might support, sustain and develop this work further.

Summer 2008 Research Associate reports

Eight new practitioner research reports from NCSL, covering a range of school leadership topics, are now available.

Giving schools a seat at the table

Secretary of State Ed Balls has launched plans to help give schools a greater say with local agencies in improving children’s wellbeing, in order to help them drive up school standards.

The package of measures will help achieve the ambition at the heart of the Children’s Plan for schools to play a key role in the wider development of young people. This supports their core mission of ensuring all pupils achieve their potential through excellent teaching and learning.

At the same time the government published a consultation on possible legislative options which would give a framework to support partnership working and the role of schools in driving up standards and supporting and developing children.

Schools and sustainability

Ofsted visited a number of primary and secondary schools to see what they were doing around developing sustainability and what progress they were making towards the goals outlined in the National Framework for sustainable schools.

In the best lessons, teachers used a range of imaginative activities to help pupils develop and test out their views on complex ethical issues. However, most of the schools visited had limited knowledge of sustainability and work in this area tended to be uncoordinated, often confined to special events rather than being an integral part of the curriculum.

Safeguarding children

Ofsted has led the 2008 review of arrangements to safeguard children and young people. The report highlights what has improved over the past three years and assesses to what extent the considerable amount of activity at both national and local levels has affected outcomes for children and young people. It also identifies those areas that are still in need of improvement.

The learning school

This Futurelab article descibes the Learning School, a unique project that has enabled schools around the world to benefit from evaluations by international groups of school students.

Every year an international group of 18 and 19 year-old students visits and evaluates schools around the world. The project was launched in 1998 by Stewart Hay, Deputy Head at Anderson High School in Shetland.

Professor John MacBeath, Chair of Educational Leadership at the University of Cambridge, describes the Learning School as “the most innovative and radical experiment that I’m aware of”.

Teachers as innovative professionals

CPD is crucial for creating the right environment to sustain and encourage innovation in schools, according to a report by GTCE.

This study identifies nine key building blocks considered essential for innovation. Leadership is highlighted as the most important aspect of an innovating school, but the report links this with the CPD of school leaders and finds that innovating heads often spend time outside their school seeking inspiration and space for reflection, as well as sharing their own good practice with others.

Leadership talent identification and development

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by NCSL which explored leadership talent identification, development, succession and retention in contextually different primary and secondary schools in England. Twenty characteristics indicative of leadership talent were identified.

The longer-term career planning of staff, the place of needs analysis, self-disclosure and senior leadership decision-making are examined in relation to leadership talent identification and development. The article offers a basis for schools to reflect on their role in providing a good training ground for future leaders.

£23 million boost to rural plans to support the diploma announced

Ministers have announced that £23 million will be made available to help rural areas formulate plans to ensure all young people can benefit from the new diploma.

They also welcomed fresh support from employers for the diploma and announced a new protocol to involve independent schools.

The diploma is being rolled out gradually and a recent survey shows that there should be no significant transport issues in delivering the first five diplomas from September. However, more work needs to be done to ensure that local authorities and 14-19 partnerships are ready to meet the demand as it builds in future years.