Identifying and developing tomorrow's leaders
As a current head, you can play a vital role in securing the next generation of school leaders. As a head, part of your role is to identify and develop the talent around you. Great leaders develop other leaders - it's a sign of excellence and a sure fire way of ensuring a successful and healthy school.
Leadership succession: An overview
We have better headteachers than ever before in this country but they are in increasingly short supply. This document gives an overview of the recruitment challenge ahead and how you can help meet that challenge.
- Leadership succession: An overview
(183kb, 18 pages)
Greenhouse schools
This report provide school leaders with examples of practical strategies used by a selection of schools that have made growing tomorrow's leaders an integral and essential part of what they do.
- Greenhouse schools
(280kb, 26 pages)
- Greenhouse schools interactive guide
Leadership Partner School programme
The Leadership Partner School programme allows schools with any specialism, that meet the 'high performing specialist school' (HPSS) criteria, to become a Leadership Partner School and focus their second specialism on leadership.
Achieving equality and diversity in leadership
This interactive guide provides a checklist of key equality and diversity actions to help schools, school leaders, governors and local authorities strengthen and enhance their existing policies.
Achieving equality and diversity in school and children’s centre leadership
This guide provides support to leaders in education services in achieving equality and diversity in school and children’s centre leadership. It explains why equality and diversity leadership action at every level is critical.
Evidence Into Practice Guides
A series of guides that share intelligence and insights into the leadership succession challenge facing schools. More guides will be published over the coming months as local strategy develops.
- What are we learning about... NPQH graduates?
(473kb, 8 pages)
- What are we learning about... the school leadership labour market?
(438kb, 8 pages)
The following tool is to be used in conjunction with the What are we learning about... the school leadership labour market? guide.
Playing your part
Speaker presentation by Sue Hyland, headteacher of Houghton Kepier Sports College on how to develop and inspire the leaders of the future.
Fast tracking
Simon Atkinson discusses fast tracking to headship in this speaker presentation.
Working together to develop future leaders
Iwan Davies, assistant headteacher of Dartford Grammar School, on working together for succession planning.
Role matrix
Use this tool with your own leadership population to communicate expectations and provide a sense of progression and opportunity.
Culture for leadership survey
Use this tool with your own leadership population to communicate expectations and provide a sense of progression and opportunity.
Building a job description
This tool enables you to build a complete job description, using a step-by-step process.
Identifying and developing future leaders
This interactive guide looks at the importance of defining leadership roles and characteristics for success. It also considers the use of a leadership platform in identifying and developing talent as part of the succession planning process.
Succession planning
This interactive guide looks at the current imperative of developing the next generation of school leaders, both for our own schools and the education system as a whole.
Marketing leadership roles
This tool looks at the current imperative of developing the next generation of school leaders, both for our own schools and the education system as a whole.
What's good about leading schools in challenging circumstances?
This tool looks at the current imperative of developing the next generation of school leaders, both for our own schools and the education system as a whole.
- What´s good about leading schools in challenging circumstances?
(212kb, 16 pages)
Diversity and widening the talent pool
This interactive guide looks at the experiences of women and of black and minority ethnic (BME) school leaders and considers new models of headship.


