Leadership Qualities Reference Check

VisionaryDeterminedStrategicWell PreparedRealisticAmbitiousAccountableHumble

People CentredEmpatheticLoyalGoal OrientatedApproachableCommunicatorRisk Taker

How do the Best Schools in the UK Improve and Sustain Success?• They look beyond their own school as well as within it• They focus on teaching and learning• They develop Leadership at every level (distributed leadership

model)• They have simple but effective intervention strategies for

students who find learning a challenge• They invest in their staff• They have a wide network of partners who they support and

support them• They make leaders accountable

Leading Change1. Establishing a sense of urgency2. Creating a team of supporters3. Developing a vision and strategy4. Communicating the vision for change5. Decide on the starting point6. Generating short term wins7. Celebrate gains and successes and

produce the next layer of change8. Embed the new approaches to make the

“new norm”

Leading Change

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;I have spread my dreams under your feet;Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939)

Don’t forget the context

‘The effective leaders and citizens of the 21st century will be those were able to see connections were previously no link is being

made. They will see solutions to the problems which previous generations have been unable to solve. They will build connections

and establish relationships between previously unrelated ideas, people and activities’

‘As with every generation, the world in which those are becoming adults is not the same as the world in which we grew up.  The digital world brings with it infinite opportunities to collaborate, innovate and reinvent. Information no longer has a gatekeeper. So we have a new role in the classroom, and with this role comes a new skill set.

With all this democratisation, we need to be skillful enough to quality assure the information in order to help learners make

informed decisions and insightful selections about what they take notice of and what they dismiss. We must be guardians of the

creation of knowledge. We must require learners to apply rigourous selection criteria to what they choose to share and upload as well as when and how they interact with others and how they create and maintain their own online presence. Tricky thing is  that

this is very different from how most teachers express learning themselves or, indeed, what we were originally trying to believe our

roles were all about. 

Zoe Elder - Full On Learning

Leading a Department Session objective Learning outcomes

To reflect upon our own leadership styles and how it impacts upon our departments

Know – the breadth of our responsibilitiesUnderstand – our strengths and areas for development Be able to – start collaborating on best practice

The Peter Principle

Who leads the Outstanding Department in your school?

What are they doing that makes them so good?

Questionnaire

Delivering Teaching Buffering Supporting Challenging Scanning

Delivering

Own department and take pride in its contribution

Bring energy to what you do Manage the budget Plan short, medium and long-term Be resolute when necessary

Delivering (1)

Own department and take pride in its contribution

Recommendation for middle leaders: own the department and take pride in its contribution. Ensure your colleagues are clear on the wider benefits of the subjects/topics taught and regularly share these with students as part of lesson

Delivering (2)

Bring energy to what you do Recommendation for middle leaders: Bring

passion and enthusiasm. Its infectious

Delivering (3)

Manage the budget Recommendation for middle leaders: Take a

responsible and realistic attitude to financial spending. Know your numbers and establish a reputation for fiscal responsibility. Assume money will only get tighter

Delivering (4)

Plan short, medium and long-term Recommendation for middle leaders: Effort

put into preparation and planning yields considerable dividends downstream. You can hear yourself telling this to the students and the potential man hours to deploy within a department are significant

Delivering (5)

Be resolute when necessary Recommendation for middle leaders: The

role is demanding and at times requires considerable determination. Being resolute should not however be confused with being dogmatic or parochial

Teaching

Understand learning Identify components are both great learning

and a great teaching Model high standards in your own teaching Know your students Observe others and give feedback on

teaching

Teaching (1)

Understand learning Recommendation for middle leaders: stay up

to date and professionally informed about new approaches to and understanding of learning. Encourage colleagues to do the same

Teaching (2)

Identify components of both great learning and great teaching

Recommendation for middle leaders: identify components of both great learning and of great teaching. Ensure you and your colleagues understand that great teaching can only emerge from an understanding of learning. Share, colaborate, observe

Teaching (3)

Model high standards in your own teaching Recommendation for middle leaders: be

strategic in how you deploy the talent in your department

Teaching (4)

Know your students Recommendation for middle leaders: make it

a professional obligation to know who they are. As students move into exam groups ensure that you and your colleagues have detailed profiles of past performance, future potential and unique qualities.

Know them as individuals and establish relationships

Teaching (5)

Observe others and give feedback on teaching Recommendation for middle leaders: shift the

culture. Go beyond PerMan to create shared opportunities to plan, teach, observe each other and review for improvement. A collective culture of support and improvement

Design or obtain A customisable system to store and share collaborative work

Buffering

Soften the hierarchy Interpret and protect the school vision Be positive and have consistent values Establish and maintain orderly systems Communicate regularly and clearly

Buffering (1)

Soften the hierarchy Recommendation for middle leaders: part of

your job is to make it easier for others to do their job. Monitor help manage the workload of your colleagues, especially those with less experience

Allow them to do what they do best

Buffering (2)

Interpret and protect the school vision Recommendation for middle leaders: be

supportive the school leadership team as far as is possible. Stay appraised the facts, don’t speculate about intentions or encourage others to do so.

Ensure you are not part of the ‘them and us culture’. Ultimately, it is poisonous

Buffering (3)

Be positive and have consistent values Recommendation for middle learners:

focused on solution, Encourage others to do the same

Buffering (4)

Establish and maintain orderly systems Recommendations for middle leaders:

ensure that everyone is well informed about and understands the agreed working practices

Buffering (5)

Communicate regularly and clearly Recommendation for middle leaders: run all

meetings with clear outcomes and action points. Use a departmental handbook as reference and resource. Maintain it as a working document

Supporting

Be on top of performance data Motivate yourself and others Involve others in decision-making –

collegiate Develop yourself, others and the team Contribute to the life of the school

Supporting (1)

Be on top of performance data Recommendation for middle leaders: be on

top of performance data. Use data to drive department thinking about pupil performance and interventions.

Ensure everyone understands the significance of data and can explain its relevance in simple terms to parents and people

Supporting (2)

Motivate yourself and others Recommendation for middle leaders: it’s

easier to stay motivated when there is something strong to buy into; a core purpose, when systems and structures are simple and helpful, when there is a team ethos and a sense of collective improvement. Motivation isn’t about one off speeches!

Supporting (3)

Involve others in decision-making – be collegiate

Recommendation for middle leaders: it’s not always possible to read shared agreement but always desirable to use a shared purpose

Do not assume you have the sole monopoly on what is right and proper, but you will be accountable

Supporting (4)

Develop yourself, others and the team Recommendation for middle leaders: seek a balance of

professional learning and development models to avoid overreliance on one type of provision.

Introduce a coaching approach. Actively seek formal and informal opportunities inside and

outside of school to enhance professional capabilities of your staff. Where possible give responsibility as part of development

Share the best of what you do and adopt the best of others

Supporting (5)

Contribute to the life of the school Recommendation for middle leaders:

departments can become isolated and parochial especially in larger schools.

Encourage colleagues to take on whole school initiatives and opportunities and give them responsibility to lead those elements within your subject

Challenging

Ask questions and encourage others to do so Direct and be directive when necessary Monitor performance Benchmark and model consistency and

standards Challenge mediocrity

Challenging (1)

Ask questions and encourage others to do so Recommendation for middle leaders: use

departmental meetings and discussions as an opportunity to use some of the questions and thinking techniques you would use in lessons

Challenging (2)

Direct and be directive when necessary Recommendation for middle leaders:

sometimes there are occasions that require a fierce conversation

Challenging (3)

Monitor performance Recommendation for middle leaders: the

progress on results of any colleague or any student in your department should never be a surprise. Catch a potential problem early and intervene

Challenging (4)

Benchmark and model consistency and standards

Recommendation for middle leaders: standards can apply at different levels: Whole school, department, subject, team, individual member of staff all students. Whoever it applies to, strive for high and consistent standards

Share the best of what you do

Challenging (5)

Challenge mediocrity Recommendation for middle leaders: good

enough rarely is. If you apologise for, or overlook poor quality you allow standards to drop and all your colleagues to suffer

Scanning

Keep the specialist knowledge up-to-date Pioneer and set an example Be reflective Scan the horizon to understand what’s

possible Make informed and judicious decisions

Strategic (1)

Keep the specialist knowledge up-to-date Recommendation for middle leaders: some

subjects have a body of knowledge that shits and expands. Exam requirements change, new services are offered and assessments get altered. Stay abreast of changes

Strategic (2)

Pioneer and set an example Recommendation for middle leaders: when

necessary, highly ideas and lead innovation. Make it easier for others to take risks in order to develop

Strategic (3)

Be reflective Recommendation for middle leaders:

evaluate what you and your colleagues do. Ask what’s gone well and what could be done even better. Do so frequently and formally. Question what’s become departmental tradition and precedent

Strategic (4)

Scan the horizon to understand what’s possible

Recommendation for middle leaders: get out of school to see the best what’s around. Collaborate to seek out advantage

Strategic (5)

Make informed and judicious decisions Recommendation for middle leaders: Don’t

rush to judgment. Weigh things up. Once a decision is made, exhibit commitment and purpose in your support for that decision. In order to get things done use your influencing and persuasion strategies to get it.

Strategic (5)