Leadership

Analysing The ‘Self-Improving School-Led System’ Agenda In England And The Implications For Schools

This NFER report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, focuses on the concept of the self-improving system and addresses the different forms and levels of accountability, collaboration, competition, system incentives and constraints within the parameters of autonomy. Fundamentally, it asks whether the English education system is self-improving and analyses those elements that facilitate or impede this intention. Leadership Briefing 12.11(143)

The four-year study evaluated the government’s ‘self-improving school-led system’ (SISS), which has become an overarching narrative for education policy since 2010, making schools more autonomous and accountable for their own improvement.

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Professional Development

Making research engagement part of the life force of the school

13 Feb 2019

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Executive Leadership

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(2015). Towards Self-Improving School Systems: Lessons from a city challenge. London: Routledge.Baars, S., Bernardes, E., Elwick, A., Malortie, A., McAleavy, T. McInerney, L. Menzies, L. and Riggall, A. (2014). Lessons from London Schools: investigating the success, Reading: CfBT. Breakspear. S/, Peterson, A., Alfadala, A. and  Khair, M. (2017). Developing Agile Leaders of Learning: school leadership policy for dynamic times, . Doha: WISE Foundation.Brown, C., (Ed.) (2015). Leading the use of research and evidence in schools, London: IOE Press.Brown, C. and Greany, T. (2017). The evidence informed education system in England: where should school leaders be focussing their efforts?  Leadership and Policy in Schools. DOI: 10.1080/15700763.2016.1270330 Bush, T. and Glover, D. (2003). School leadership: Concepts and Evidence.  National College for School Leadership: Nottingham.  Chapman, C. Muijs, D. Sammons, P. Armstrong, P. and Collins, A. (2009). 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(2012) Review of the school leadership landscape, Nottigham: National College for School Leadership. Earley, P. and Weindling, D. (2006). Consultant leaders: a new role for headteachers? School Leadership and Management, 26:1, 37-53.Fluckiger, B., Lovett, S., and Dempster, N., (2014). Judging the quality of school leadership learning programmes: an international search, Professional Development in Education, 40:4, 561-575, DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2014.902861Fullan, M. (2005). ‘Leadership across the system’ Available online:  http://www.michaelfullan.ca/media/13396061760.pdf accessed 13.1.18 Greany T. (2014). Are we nearly there yet?: progress, issues and possible next steps for a self-improving school system, London: IOE Press. Greany T. (2015). More fragmented, and yet more networked: Analysing the responses of two Local Authorities in England to the Coalition’s ‘self-improving school-led system’ reforms, London Review of Education, 13/2, pp. 125-143(19). Greany, T., and Higham, R., (2018). Hierarchy, Markets, Networks and Leadership: analysing the ‘self-improving school-led system’ agenda in England. IOE Press: London.Greany, T. and Maxwell, B. (2017). Evidence-informed innovation in schools: aligning collaborative Research and Development with high quality professional learning for teachers, International Journal of Innovation in Education (IJIE) Vol. 4, Nos. 2/3, pp. 147-170.Greany, T. and Scott, J. (2014). Conflicts of interest in academy sponsorship arrangements, House of Commons Education Select Committee:London.Greaves, G. Macmillan. L. and Sibieta, L. (2014). Lessons from London schools for attainment gaps and social mobility, Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission Research report, London: Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute of Education. Gu, Q. Rea, S. Smethem, L. Dunford, J. Varley, M, Sammons, P.  (2015). Teaching Schools Evaluation: Final Report, London: Department for Education."
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Executive Leadership

System leadership and collaboration – a new skillset for leaders?

16 Apr 2018

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      string(368) "... leadership teams and governing bodies of the country’s schools. This research offers a fascinating consideration of the schools’ landscape and clearly highlights how it has evolved over the 10 years since the first review of school leadership in England in 2002. By the National College for School Leadership - 2012"
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      string(438) "... compared to only half of community school headteachers. Academies – bothsponsored and converter – tend to report little discomfort with the current landscape, having alreadyembraced issues around school structure and organisation that are key to the autonomous or self-improvingschool improvement policy agenda. Primary schools have consistently been reported as the least ..."
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      string(598) "The English education system is experiencing an era of unprecedented change, at least as significant as the move to Local Management of Schools after 1988. Nowhere are these changes more keenly felt than amongst the leadership teams and governing bodies of the country’s schools. This research offers a fascinating consideration of the schools’ landscape and clearly highlights how it has evolved over the 10 years since the first review of school leadership in England in 2002. By the National College for School Leadership - 2012"
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      string(5790) "other considerations, compared to the relatively younger pool of classroom teachers. The data suggeststhat particular types of schools have very strong preferences for senior leaders who share a religion or schooltype.The last significant demographic issue raised through the analysis of the various data sets concerns theturnover of acting and deputy heads. The data suggests a reduction of such posts and a degree of ‘blocking’of promotional opportunities. Turnover of such posts is important to ensure a pool of applicants for headshipgoing forward to prevent possible future shortages. Turnover may also be affected by the range of otherposts available to heads, including any further development of the executive head grade. Heads from 7 percent of schools retire each year, some taking early retirement, and about 2,000 new headships are advertisedannually. The implications for succession planning are important.Responding to policy and other changesThe survey data and the data collected through interviews show that a diverse picture has arisen involving acomplex pattern of change, and at times, differential responses and effects throughout the system. Overall,there was a high level of confidence in managing current change. Most headteachers (84 per cent), middle/senior leaders (84 per cent) and chairs of governors (86 per cent) felt their school had the confidence tomanage current policy changes. There was also, however, a diverse range of opinions on the aims and thepotential impact of policy.The data captured the situation at a particular point in time – a snapshot of a changing educational landscape– but since that time there have been several important policy developments (eg Ofsted framework, nationalcurriculum), and academisation proceeds at pace with 2,373 academies in place at October 2012.Chapter 8: Conclusion110 © National College for School LeadershipThe data that has emerged throughout the 12-month study highlights that national policy changes haveat times seen a range of responses; key differentials include school phase, with substantial differencesemerging between primary and secondary sectors. Secondary headteachers were more receptive to thenotion of autonomy than their primary counterparts. The vast majority of academy headteachers werepositive about autonomy as compared to only half of community school headteachers. Academies – bothsponsored and converter – tend to report little discomfort with the current landscape, having alreadyembraced issues around school structure and organisation that are key to the autonomous or self-improvingschool improvement policy agenda. Primary schools have consistently been reported as the least ready totake advantage of policy initiatives, particularly in terms of social and material capacity. Primary schools alsotend to report deeper and more frequent challenges within the current landscape.On approaches to managing policy change, four main clusters of headteachers emerged:— Just over a fifth of headteachers (22 per cent) were strongly positive about current policy and wereactively pursuing new autonomies and system leadership roles.— About a third (34 per cent) were more cautious about engaging with policy while being moderatelypositive about its potential impact.— Another third (32 per cent) were less positive, more apprehensive and hesitant about engaging with newpolicy opportunities, especially around school autonomy.— The smallest group, about 1 in 8 headteachers (12 per cent), viewed policy negatively and were relativelysceptical about its intentions and potential impact.While there was a relatively even spread of headteachers (by school type, phase, Ofsted category andcontext/FSM band) across the four classes, there were more academy principals (both primary andsecondary) and headteachers of ‘outstanding’ secondary schools in the first cluster: those most positive aboutand actively engaged in the new opportunities created by policy.Overall, partnership and collaboration were viewed most positively but reforms to the inspection frameworkand curriculum change were perceived more negatively.In terms of implications, the research suggests that confident heads mediate policy and make professionaljudgements to ensure that it is in the best interests of their schools and the students. The manner in whichschools respond to change reflects both their particular state of readiness to meet policy change, as wellas the convergence between national policy intentions and local vision. For example, most school leadersthroughout the study were highly receptive to opportunities for partnership and collaboration. However,tensions such as mistrust, time pressures and the privileging of being deemed ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted wereseen to undermine opportunities.At the inception of the research it was clear that a range of issues (ie curriculum, accountability, collaborationand competition, autonomy and funding) were at play. This endured throughout the research and in someways the complexity deepened as further changes were introduced or proposed. There has been continuingpolicy movement in fundamental areas such as major curriculum and qualification reviews, multiple revisionsto the inspection framework, the special needs green paper and a review of alternative provision which willaffect the whole system as well as reforming particular dimensions of it.The major systemic change to the role of local authorities has also played into this picture and brought aconvergence of national, district-level and local change issues."
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Leadership

Review of the school leadership landscape

6 Jul 2017