Read about leadership in teaching these days and you’re likely to be met with headlines about a recruitment crisis; long working hours; changing goalposts; and the pressures of balancing classroom time with managerial responsibility. Combine this with a high-stakes inspection regime and the lack of a single, defined training route for potential leaders and it’s a wonder anyone wants to tackle a senior post.
But just as there are those who are born to teach, there are also, thankfully, many teachers who aspire to lead. We asked our readers to put questions to a panel of experts on how to nurture leadership in teaching. Here is a round up of the best advice they offered:
1 What courses or training sessions are useful for aspiring leaders?
For me, the most developmental experience was the National Professional Qualification for Headship; being able to engage in and reflect upon teaching and leadership across a range of settings was especially useful. Prior to this I really valued cluster work across my local authority, for exactly the same reason.
- Jennifer Barker, associate director, TeachFirst Leadership Development Programme
I completed the Aspiring Leaders programme and found this a great step to beginning my leadership journey. It gave me a taste of leadership, I then completed other programmes after this one.
- Rimah Aasim, headteacher, Worth Valley primary school in Keighley
I think building a professional learning network through Twitter and off-shoot events, like #TeachMeets and conferences, can be a very powerful way of learning with and from others. And in these times of squeezed budgets, it’s actually free. (Though it does take time, which isn’t “free”, and it can be scarily addictive).
- Jill Berry, former headteacher and leadership coach
2 How can a junior teacher get involved with whole school activities?
Small contributions to a bigger project can be a great way to start – ask the teacher who’s running whole school literacy/boys’ achievement or other project if you can help. This gets a foot in the door, and you’ll soon start to see how hard it can be to run something across the school. Also, talk to senior staff, and explain that you’d like to be involved in something school-wide. There might not be an immediate opportunity, but people will have your name in mind when something comes up.
- Chris Rolph, principal lecturer, school of education at Nottingham Trent University
Try things out on a small scale first, and learn from successes and mistakes before applying to run a bigger project. Try to choose something that really interests you or that you are passionate about. Talk to the head or senior leaders about your ideas first to ensure you have their support.
- James Bowen, director of NAHT Edge
3 Should aspiring leaders only apply to ‘good’ schools?
If standards aren’t high I’d stick with it. It’s a great idea to tap into other sources of expertise elsewhere, but in challenging circumstances of any kind the room for impact is significant. It will likely mean showing a lot of initiative, but this is also great practice.
- Jennifer Barker
Be careful not to be too dismissive – I’ve worked in requires improvement/satisfactory and inadequate schools (and ones that would class leadership in this way), yet there are some very good people working on senior leadership team and other areas of the school. It’s about learning from experience. When you’ve worked in a school where things aren’t going right you can see as a leader how you’d fix them if given the chance. Or offer suggestions for improvement: good leaders listen too.
- Peter Lee, current vice principal at Q3 Academy in Sandwell
If there’s little inspiration within the school, some contacts from other schools will be really important, either through a course or programme like the national professional qualification suite, or through more informal arrangements. You can work 100% on making an impact but you’ll need someone with whom you can share ideas and plans, and also who will allow you to let off steam.
- Chris Rolph
4 How can you stand out at interview?
I think it’s very good for aspiring heads or senior leaders to consider joining the governing body of another school. This is a win-win – it helps to build their knowledge and understanding of governance (a key area for heads to feel confident about) and it means educational expertise is offered to the governing body they join.
- Jill Berry
I’ve heard the typical questions: “What’s your leadership style?” and so on, but I still think the best leaders (although not exclusively) are those who are still great teachers and think with the teacher and students at the forefront of every decision.
- Peter Lee
5 How can teachers build their awareness of special educational needs for more senior roles?
One way is to draw on expertise of outreach from local special schools. Visit and talk with them about the work they do. So much of that can be applied in the mainstream.
- James Bowen
I was struck by the comment in the Carter Report into initial teacher training: “Good practice for SEND [special educational needs and disability] is good practice for all children.” I’d follow SEND specialists on Twitter and read their blogs – would recommend Nancy Gedge, Jarlath O’Brien and Simon Knight, for example. I’ve certainly learnt a lot from them.
- Jill Berry
Gain wider experience of SEND students by working in partnership with SENCOs (special educational needs co-ordinators), but also focus on the needs of the students you teach.
- Craig D’Cunha, principal at Chantry Academy in Ipswich
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