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Sarah Rutty

Sarah Rutty

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Headteacher, Bankside Primary, Leeds

"The 'Bankside Best Commitment' is all about getting the best from everybody and the best for everybody. Since that includes staff as well as children, I was naturally interested in Fast Track.

The most important thing as far as I am concerned is that the entry criteria (established by NCSL) are totally transparent and objective. It has to be extremely rigorous to establish whether someone has the qualities to be a leader – the ability to be strategic whilst dealing with day-to-day realities. If someone comes through selection, you know they are competent classroom practitioners with the intellectual capacity and commitment to make a difference. They wouldn't put themselves through the process unless they were dedicated. So the benefits to the school can only be positive.

I'm very proud to have two Fast Track teachers at Bankside. One is working on inclusion and intervention, which is key to developing school capacity. The other is focusing on continuing professional development linked into the performance management cycle. Both these areas were enormous holes in our strategy so to have them being addressed in such a rigorous and structured way will make a massive difference to the school.

In the old days, to have 20-something-year-olds on the leadership team was unheard of. For me it's both valuable and refreshing. My Fast Track teachers add variety in terms of both age and personality which all adds up – in our case at least – to a greater sense of spirit and cohesion.

I can't keep hold of them forever and it would be wrong for me to even think about doing so. The best thing they can do is take what they learn here and apply it in a different context. My job is to develop them and then push them on. Which is why I'm looking at my next generation of Fast Trackers. Now when I recruit, I specifically ask candidates where they see themselves in the future because I'm always on the lookout for more individuals who really want to make their mark."