Six to eight hours in total over four to eight weeks.
During the orientation phase you will be expected to undertake a number of tasks. In order to gain feedback on your leadership, you will be required to nominate colleagues to complete questionnaires about your professional characteristics, leadership styles and climate. You will complete the survey too, and receive and reflect on the feedback generated from your own answers. You'll prepare for specific sessions that take place in phase 2, by analyzing your context and journey as a leader. We'll also ask you to nominate a sponsor. This may be one of your governors, a trusted adviser or a colleague. There is no formal involvement for your sponsor but they should be someone you trust and respect. They will be asked to challenge, offer advice and to hold you accountable for the outcomes you set yourself during the programme.
Three-day residential - three days, two nights.
The residential event offers practical frameworks to explore models of outstanding leadership and the comparative data provided by your colleagues with a focus on the connection between these and school outcomes. You will consider the current and future educational landscape, alongside your current context, in order to create a preferred future for your school. You will experience and explore a variety of learning processes and tools to enable you to focus on the change required to reach this future. The residential event stimulates peer development groups (usually groups of three headteachers) who will work together throughout the remainder of the programme.
Four to six weeks, in school.
When you leave the residential event, you will have declared your preferred future and focus for change. You should have a clear idea of what you will do over the next few weeks to challenge perceptions of your context and harness support of colleagues across and beyond the school community. There are a range of self-paced activities and online support tools that you can access to support this work. You and your peer development groups will meet at agreed frequency and times during this period. At the end of phase 3 you will share your commitment to change with colleagues through the talk2learn community, identifying how you will measure the success. You will also describe how you will build the capacity of the school through work with colleagues.
Approximately 10 months, in school.
Over the next 10 months in school, you will implement your agenda for change to achieve your preferred future. Online and facilitator support will be available and your peer development group should continue to give and receive support during this period. Your sponsor should also offer advice and challenge during this period.
One-day workshop held approx 12 months after phase 2
This is the final formal element of the programme. You will re-join participants from your residential and other groups in a facilitated workshop where you celebrate and share progress. The workshop looks to the future and reconnects with the changing educational landscape. There is a focus on succession planning and cascading lessons you've learned on Head for the Future to other leaders in your school.
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