The document outlines the importance of effective leadership in education, highlighting its critical role in improving student outcomes and the challenges of succession planning due to an aging leadership workforce. It discusses various research initiatives aimed at understanding and enhancing school leadership quality, deployment, and development, while also emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach among schools. Additionally, it addresses the demographic shifts in school leadership and the implications for future leadership provisioning in children’s services.

1. Leadership Research & Policy Development Workshop Toby Greany, Operational Director - Research and Policy, National College and Chris Flynn, DCSF Presentation at DCSF Conference: The Use of Evidence in Policy Development and Delivery, 9 February 2010

2. Overview Overview of why leadership matters and of the research and evaluation work at the National College School leadership supply: the succession planning programme School leadership quality: learning from outstanding leadership and the College’s leadership curriculum School leadership deployment: National Leaders of Education and leadership for 21 st Century Schools Children’s Services Leadership

3. Why leadership matters Effective leadership is essential to improve the efficiency and equity of schooling worldwide (Pont et al, OECD, 2008). ii. Heads in England today take more decisions and bear more responsibility than anywhere else in the world except the Netherlands. Leadership is therefore at an even greater premium. (Pont et al, OECD, 2008) School leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning. (Leithwood et al, 2006). ’ Successful school leaders improve teaching and learning and thus pupil outcomes … most powerfully through their influence on staff motivation, commitment, teaching practices and through developing teachers’ capacities for leadership.’ ( Day, Sammons, Hopkins, Harris, Leithwood et al. DCSF, 2009) iv. We know from our inspection data that for every 100 schools that have good leadership and management, 93 will have good standards of achievement. For every 100 schools that do not have good leadership and management, only 1 will have good standards of achievement. There is not a single example of a school turning around its performance in the absence of good leadership. (DCSF 2008) v. Variation within-schools (WSV) in England is significantly above OECD averages (PISA, 2006) and is between five and 14 times greater than between school variance. Effective middle leadership is central to reducing within-school variation. (Reynolds, 2008)

4. Overview of Research and Evaluation 2001-2006: Director of Research oversaw programme of work focussed on understanding the nature and impact of effective leadership and leadership development, also oversaw evaluation work Developed key concepts (eg distributed leadership, Learning Centred Leadership) and identified some key priorities (eg Succession planning) Strong focus on engagement with leaders themselves (eg Research Associates programme supporting practitioner research), development of practical resources (eg FutureSight toolkit) and communication of research findings Separate, timebound research and development programme: Networked Learning Communities Review of 5 years’ research 2006-2010: Ongoing focus on understanding the nature and impact of effective leadership and leadership development, characterised by strong engagement with the profession. Formal link to policy (Director of Research and Policy) and knowledge management, with separate Director of Evaluation and Impact Smaller, timebound research programmes/campaigns focussed on strategic priorities (eg succession planning) and with strong emphasis on communication Lead role in developing curriculum for College provision/programmes From 2009, with new College remit, new team focussed on researching leadership of Children’s Services Current and future programmes New Models of Leadership (ongoing) Every Child’s Future Matters (closes summer 2010) Reducing Variability and Narrowing the Gap (ongoing) Leadership Development (2006 onwards, includes College curriculum and links to programmes) Children’s Services Leadership (ongoing) From 2010: market research campaign

5. Overview Overview of why leadership matters and research and evaluation work at the National College School leadership supply: the succession planning programme School leadership quality: learning from outstanding leadership and the College’s leadership curriculum School leadership deployment: National Leaders of Education and leadership for 21 st Century Schools Children’s Services Leadership

6. School leadership supply: overview The profession continues to face a significant demographic challenge two-thirds of heads are 50 years or older, and one third are 55 or over one-third of heads will retire between 2008/09 and 2012/13 and annual retirement rate expected to continue to rise steadily until at least that date heads have always been older but never in these numbers – in the late 90s only 40% were 50 years or older and only 13% were 55 or over The supply of new heads will need to match the retirement of the baby boomers about one-quarter of assistant and deputy heads are 55 years and older historically NPQH supply has exceeded headship demand in all phases but the supply of heads in primary remains relatively lower than secondary labour market for senior school leaders has tightened in the last few years, particularly in primary and special and in small schools and those of a religious character National College taking action to reduce the risk of headteacher shortages by bringing more high quality people through more quickly to headship and seeking to retain the best . strong and rising aspiration to progress to headship significant engagement with the succession planning challenge across the country through local solutions approach National Succession Consultants working in partnership with Local Authorities, diocese, headteachers and governing bodies encouraging evidence of progress against the key indicators

7. Base: Deputy or Assistant Heads (526) Very interested Not at all interested How interested would you be in becoming a school’s head teacher in the future?

8. Succession planning: using research to inform policy and development

9. Overview Overview of why leadership matters and research and evaluation work at the National College School leadership supply: the succession planning programme School leadership quality: learning from outstanding leadership and the College’s leadership curriculum School leadership deployment: National Leaders of Education and leadership for 21 st Century Schools Children’s Services Leadership

10. Quality: School Leadership Today What we know about school leadership, NCSL, 2006 2 The quality of school leadership is the best it has ever been, and improving (Ofsted). Good leaders employ good teachers, and help develop their skills (Barber and Mourshed, 2007). Key drivers: improving learning and standards shaping vision and delivery of schools for the future improving behaviour and pupil engagement working with other agencies to regenerate areas and improve wider outcomes. Growth of teams - the average secondary school now has five deputy or assistant heads compared with 3.4 in 2001 – but issues re diversity and succession planning. Schools supporting schools: growing expectation that schools will take greater responsibility for each other’s improvement. Changing and evolving Focused on leadership capacity Complex, accountable, relentless AND rewarding Learning- centred Distributed across staff and professional disciplines Responsive to its context More collaborative than ever Data and evidence based Successful school leadership today is

11. Quality: understanding a headteacher’s working week Source: A Day in the Life of a Headteacher, NCSL, 2007 “ Evidence suggests many school leaders are too involved in operational and delivery matters and that this has been, to some extent, at the expense of embracing their more strategic imperatives.” Independent Review of School Leadership, DCSF/PWC, 2007 Strategic leadership , 7.1 Management , 15.0 Administration , 23.5 External stakeholders , 17.0 Internal stakeholders , 8.8 CPD, 9.0 Personal issues , 4.2 Various tasks unspecified times, 14.0 NB. Percentages do not total 100 due to rounding

12. Quality: all skills are seen as important Base: All (1500) Very important Not at all important How important do you feel that the following skills are for the school leaders of today and tomorrow?

13. Quality: focusing the curriculum on what matters Prof Vivianne Robinson, 2008

14. Building quality: the College’s Review of Provision and a new curriculum for school leadership Personal leadership and effectiveness Leading Teaching and Learning Growing leaders and leading learning organisations Leading change Outward facing, collaborative and multi-agency leadership

15. Too rigid Mainly course based Modest entry standards. 50% went on to headship How the NPQH has changed Quality: National Professional Qualification for Headship Encourages autonomous leaders. Tailored to participants’ development needs Mainly ‘on the job’ Much more rigorous assessment on entry. Applicants must be 12-18 months from headship The programme was redesigned in 2008 to be more tightly focussed on those intending and ready to become a head teacher within 12-18 months Estimates suggest that 35% of schools are now led by an NPQH graduate (2007 Pensions data / NPQH records) Schools that were led by NPQH graduates for all of the three year period from 2004/05 to 2006/07 achieved faster rates of improvement in their exam results compared to those without an NPQH head. Our evidence shows that NPQH graduate heads take schools out of special measures more quickly i) The NPQH Curriculum ii) Impact and reach of NPQH: The curriculum is based on the current national standards for head teachers: i) Shaping the future; ii) Leading teaching and learning; iii) Developing self and working with others; iv) Managing the organisation; v) Securing accountability; vi) Strengthening community. Candidates undertake a rigorous assessment process at the beginning to assess their preparedness and development needs. They also face an appearance before a viva style graduation board –including head teachers –at the end of the programme.

16. Building leadership quality: the College’s provision Primary schools that are more engaged with the College’s leadership development programmes have consistently achieved faster rates of improvement in Key Stage 2 results

17. Building leadership quality: the College’s provision Secondary schools that are more engaged with the College’s leadership development programmes have consistently achieved faster rates of improvement in GCSE results.

18. Overview Overview of research and evaluation work at the National College and how it informs leadership workforce policy School leadership supply: the succession planning programme School leadership quality: learning from outstanding leadership and the College’s leadership curriculum School leadership deployment: National Leaders of Education and leadership for 21 st Century Schools Children’s Services Leadership

19. Deployment: making the best use of our best leaders National Leaders of Education NLEs are outstanding head teachers, who, along with their schools (National Support Schools), have capacity to support underperforming schools Over 300 designated and target for 500 by 2012. Both supported and supporting schools experiencing greater than average rates of improvement: see fig 1 & 2 Independent evaluation identified how NLEs can succeed in supporting other schools. This included: Taking decisive action on behaviour, curriculum and quality of teaching. Focusing relentlessly on teaching and learning Prioritising staff development and training Achieving consistency, clarity of expectations, and carefully monitoring areas of concern and progress 2% 7.1% 2.1% 2007 – 2008 Improvement in % Level 4 at Key Stage 2 7.1% 2.1% 2.0% 3.5% 1.3% 1.8%

20. Deployment: new models of leadership and partnership System direction Headteacher role Other roles Uni of Manchester for NCSL, 2008 Key findings: Context as the greatest variable in determining success The quality of leadership is a powerful determinant Within School Across Schools Beyond Schools Management Leadership Governance

21. Most schools still fit traditional model of headship (eg 78% of primaries and 39% of secondaries have no senior support staff on leadership team – PWC, 2007) One in ten schools say they are in a formal collaborative (PWC) 2009 survey of 50 LAs found 264 schools in 122 federations. 88% involved 2 schools, 8.5% three-schools, remainder larger. 81% had joint Headteacher, 19% did not. 15% had a joint governing body, 85% did not. Analysis of these federations against comparator schools found evidence of positive impact on pupil outcomes from federation, particularly in ‘Performance Federations’ (ie high and low performing schools together, which represented 15.6% of the sample). 124 Trust schools open and a further 444 schools have applied for Trust status. 40 sponsors of multiple academies either open or in the pipeline. 15 “all-through” academies are open or planned. Over 300 NLE/NSS now accredited, supporting 220 struggling schools in May 2009. NLE/NSSs will increase to 500 by 2012 (300 primary and 200 secondary). 200-400 Executive Heads? (research forthcoming) Deployment and new models of leadership: the current-ish picture

22. Overview Overview of research and evaluation work at the National College and how it informs leadership workforce policy School leadership supply: the succession planning programme School leadership quality: learning from outstanding leadership and the College’s leadership curriculum School leadership deployment: National Leaders of Education and leadership for 21 st Century Schools Children’s Services Leadership

23. Research into children’s services leadership The average age of DCSs is 53 years The vast majority of current DCSs describe themselves as White British Just over half of current DCSs are female The average tenure would be 5 to 7 years as system currently operates This equates to an annual turnover of 19% or ~30 DCSs This is slightly higher but fairly consistent with historical data – there was a 15% turnover of DCSs in 2008, but this is highly volatile A small scale survey of the voluntary sector suggests that: other Children’s Services professionals are interested in the DCS role; one third of respondents said the option of becoming a DCS in the future appealed to them. 80% of Tier-2 and Tier-3 survey respondents perceive there to be barriers to them entering the DCS role in the future. These barriers include: - experience, expertise, skills - age - politics; and - lack of confidence in own abilities Our research has established that there is a succession planning challenge in children's services: McKinseys&Co/National College/CWDC, 2009 The average age of Tier-2 managers is 51 years The average age of those who said the option of becoming a DCS appeals to them is slightly younger at 50 years The average age of Tier-3 managers is 50 years The average age of those who said the option of becoming a DCS appeals to them is younger at 47 years

24. Discussion How can we best balance the need for rapid evidence to inform policy development and more longitudinal research into the practice and impact of leadership? How should we approach the development of a research and evidence strategy for leadership in children’s services which informs both policy and practice? What are the lessons for research, evidence and policy across the wider children’s workforce?