Next Practice in System Leadership - Field Trial Sites

New leadership and governance for a nursery school and children's centre, providing multi-agency services for the locality.

Chichester Community Alliance, Chichester, West Sussex
Lead contact: Candy Daffern, 01243 782540, head@chichester-nur.w-sussex.sch.uk

The field trial involves a nursery school and children's centre seeking to implement new leadership and governance arrangements with a view to ensuring continued high quality educational provision whilst extending opportunities for integrated working across agencies. Through a new Community Alliance between key services, this provision will support children on-site in the nursery and in the local community, providing multi-agency services for children and families.

The Community Alliance leadership and governance structure is also utilising its potential constructively to influence or adapt locally the Local Authority's wider strategy for ECM implementation, particularly its definition of locality and the allocation of services. Significant momentum was generated by using The Bridge Change Leadership Framework and Delta 6, and they are extending the approach, with Local Authority support, to a rural children's centre in West Sussex.

Whole town governance and leadership of the five ECM outcomes.

Hailsham Partnership, Hailsham, East Sussex
Lead contact: Lesley Farmer, 01323 841468, farmerl@hailshamcc.e-sussex.sch.uk

The five schools in Hailsham (one secondary and four primary) are aiming to establish 'whole town' delivery of the five ECM outcomes across all phases. To achieve this they are creating new structures for 'whole town' leadership and governance of ECM outcomes across all phases of education.

The site is using the expertise of Hailsham Community School as a full-service extended school across the whole community. It is looking to create a governance arrangement which will agree strategic objectives, oversee implementation and be the ultimate accountable body for the town. An executive headteacher and an ECM development manager, working with the individual heads and a multi-agency group, are accountable for developing the plans, securing stakeholder support, and monitoring progress. This strong partnership is generating considerable momentum.

New leadership models and flexible leadership deployment across a federation of six academies.

Harris Federation of South London Schools, London
Lead contact: Dan Moynihan, 0208 7712261, D.Moynihan1@Btinternet.com

A group of six academies in a highly challenging South London area have formed a hard federation which will operate as a single legal entity with one board of trustees. It will incorporate a seventh school in 2008. It is implementing a new Leadership and Governance structure across the federation of academies - including the role of the CEO, a single Governing Body, the mobilisation of leadership capacity across the federation, the use of an internal researcher and a bespoke, federation-wide Masters programme.

The new leadership arrangements include flexible leadership deployment and federation succession management strategies. The site is designing and implementing these new leadership arrangements, and leadership learning strategies across the federation, to generate the leadership capacity for its bold plans and is also exploring federated 14-19 arrangements.

Bringing three schools into one strategic trust to provide for all post-16 learners across a local area.

Haven, north-east Essex
Lead contact: Caroline Haynes, 01255 672116, caroline_haynes@ttc.uk.net

Three secondary schools in north-east Essex are establishing and implementing a social enterprise to oversee and commission coherent, joined-up provision of elements of post-16 learning across the area covered by the three schools.

This will provide, in partnership with local businesses and other strategic partners, post-16 education, training, apprenticeship or employment for all their students, in particular the high proportion of NEETs (not in education, employment or training). The three schools have explored forms of non-profit-making company organization to host this shared work. Proposals have been accepted by each of the governing bodies and they are currently building the wider partnerships necessary for success. If achieved, this could offer a powerful, sustainable and replicable model for the creation of new provision to meet local priorities.

Leadership and governance arrangements for a 0-19 full-service, inclusive, extended school which embraces other than school provision.

Queens Park Alliance, Bedford
Lead contact: Anne McCormick, 01234 352901, annemccormick@schools.bedfordshire.gov.uk

A Children's Centre, lower school and upper school on the same broad campus are seeking to create a 0-19 full-service, extended and inclusive school in an urban, multi-cultural environment. A newly created and professionally facilitated Governance Group has been established across the existing three-tier system and children's centre, to offer strategic leadership for newly introduced aspects of all-through education. One such innovation is the partnership's initiative to provide for in excess of one hundred previously home-educated pupils a flexible and personalised provision.

The intention is for the full-service 'school' to have a radically new leadership and governance structure, which will be developed with the existing governing bodies, and built on evidence from the pioneering work currently being undertaken. The strategy for Queens Park's work has been accelerated by use of a facilitated seminar with To Be, and by the use of Delta 6.

Town-wide governance and leadership of 14-19 educational and vocational provision.

Stevenage 14-19 Partnership, Stevenage
Lead contact: Russell Ball, 01438 310046, sv1419@lea.herts.sch.uk

Stevenage is developing and implementing a new governance structure and shared leadership, linked to possible Trust status, for town-wide 14-19 provision.

All the 11-19 community schools, the two special schools, the Pupil Referral Unit and the FE College have established a 14-19 partnership, with a full-time director funded by the partnership, to deliver all 14-19 provision in Stevenage. They plan to create a hard-edged and dynamic governance group to be directly accountable for the configuration of provision, which will include town-wide curriculum planning and joint blocked timetables. The intention is to make the 14-19 entitlement a reality for all Stevenage's young people, and so significantly increase participation and achievement levels.

The Local Authority is also engaging with the partnership to address proposed changes to school reorganisation within the town and, in doing so, creating a relationship that could provide a basis for devolved or decentralised working in the future.

Extension of an existing 'chain' of schools to include additional schools in challenging contexts and address leadership succession challenges.

3Es coalition, centres in the South East and the West Midlands
Lead Contact: Valerie Bragg, 0121 7791302, valerie.bragg@3es.com

This coalition originally comprised six schools spread across the country, with a chief executive and operational heads based on each site. Over a number of years the schools have implemented a set of radical innovations covering both curriculum and school organisation, which have very significantly raised standards.

The coalition has opened up the network's membership to bring in new stimulus and to partner schools in challenging circumstance. A TES advert inviting new members has produced additional schools and a new Coalition Director has been appointed to develop the coalition further. The field trial involves creating and implementing a new and sustainable model of practice and leadership structure for this extended chain of federated schools.