Leading from the Middle (LftM)

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WELCOME !

• Leading from the Middle (LftM)
• Briefing Session
• Cohort 13, starting in Autumn 2009

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During this briefing we will cover

• Programme Provider overview
• Leading from the Middle overview
• Next steps for starting the programme

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What is Leading from the Middle?

• a national professional development programme
  for middle leaders in schools, supported by an
  in-school coach.
• The programme supports and challenges middle
  leaders to develop leadership skills using a
  blend of facetoface development, in-school
  coaching, online learning and practical,
  school-based activities.

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• Leading from the Middle is an enjoyable and
  challenging programme designed to bring about
  lasting change

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• Granada Learning is the National College for
  School Leaderships Provider for LftM in the
  South West.
• We also deliver a range of other activities such
  as
• Building Schools for the Future Training for NCSL
• HLTA Provision for TDA
• Provision of Schoolcentre.net a software
  programme to enhance school development planning
• Screening and Assessment tools for the Flying
  Start programme in Wales

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Who is Leading from the Middle for?

• Subject/curriculum leaders
• Heads of department/faculty/year/house
• Key stage co-ordinators academic and pastoral
• Literacy/numeracy/strategy co-ordinators
• PHSE/Citizenship/Careers/ICT co-ordinators
• Attendance/behaviour co-ordinators
• SENCOs
• Support staff who have a role in school leadership

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The LftM Programme Aims
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Programme
Activities
ISA a
ISA b
ISA c
Leadership Focus
Leadership Focus discussion
Events
Middle Leader Diagnostic
Development Day 3
LC day
Development Day 1
Development Day 2
Induction - Twilight
Celebration
C
C
C
C
C
C
Support
Facilitator Contact
Facilitator Contact
Facilitator Contact
LC twilight
C School Coaching Session ISA
Inter-sessional Activity
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Role of Leadership Coaches

• Coaches are crucial and need to be totally
• committed to the process. They
• monitor,
• support,
• challenge,
• encourage middle leaders to complete tasks and
  implement the leadership competencies,
• help middle leaders to develop effective
  leadership and coaching skills, through example.

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Development Days for participants

• These provide the opportunity to
• meet with colleagues from your own and other
  phases
• work with two NCSL trained facilitators
• be away from school in a pleasant environment,
  with time to reflect
• share ideas, expertise and best practice

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DD1

• Development Day 1 Self-awareness (participants
  only)
• The focus of this day is to help middle leaders
  explore their leadership role and who they aspire
  to be within their leadership roles. Participants
  will explore
• understanding the need to change developing a
  deeper understanding of leadership internal and
  external influences on the role of middle leaders
• Participants will reflect on the outcomes from
  the online diagnostic tool, starting to identify
  current strengths and areas for development
• Coaching skills are also introduced and practised

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DD2

• Development Day 2 Leading innovation and change
  (participants only)
• The focus of the day is on exploring the
  processes of change, setting goals and planning
  for action
• Participants will explore their personal style
  through Viewpoints on Style
• There will also be work on shift the factors
  that lead to change
• The outcome of the day will be a development plan
  for the Leadership Focus. This is a
  school-based activity that will enable
  participants to develop leadership behaviours and
  skills in a sustained way.

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Leadership Focus

• A planned activity that allows participants to
  develop leadership skills in practice in the
  school setting
• The activity is chosen by participants, not
  imposed or suggested by others
• It will promote development of their team
• It will involve the delivery of a current
  initiative
• The activity will provide a vehicle through which
  participants develop specific leadership skills
  and behaviours

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DD3

• Development Day 3 Leading teams (participants
  only)
• Participants will focus on areas arising from
  team leadership including
• Understanding the team's openness to change
  through processing outcomes from the online Team
  Health Check tool,
• Overcoming the barriers to change,
• The skills needed for active listening.

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Online LearningLeading from the
Middle makes use of a blended approach to
learning in which face-to-face sessions,
in-school support and online learning all play a
key part.
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Online Activities

• Online Diagnostic
• Viewpoints on Style
• Virtual School
• Learn to Lead
• Talk 2 Learn
• Team Health Check

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The LftM Model
Self - Directed
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The LftM qualification

• At the Celebration at the end of the programme
  participants and coaches receive a certificate
  from the National College to recognise the
  achievement
• Completion of LftM is widely recognised in
  educational establishments across England
• As Granada Learning has links with Higher
  Education Institutions in the SW area, we can
  provide you with details of how you might be able
  to join a free tutorial programme in which you
  will use your work on LftM as part of a
  submission worth 60 M level credits

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What is an LftM group like?

• Groups will usually have between 18 and 26
  participants,
• Wherever possible there will be a mix of primary,
  secondary and special schools,
• Each group is likely to have at least six
  different schools although there may be as many
  as ten and as few as two,
• Groups may come together as a result of one
  school or a group of schools identifying that
  they have a mutual need they contact us at
  Granada Learning and then we set the group up.
  With this system we can often fix dates for the
  sessions that the school(s) choose perhaps on
  INSET days,
• Individual schools, or even individual people,
  identify a need, they get details of how and when
  to register (more on this later) and then Granada
  Learning forms a group based on a particular
  geographical area.

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Learning Sets

• Whichever type of LftM group is used, it will
  contain a number
• of Learning Sets. These comprise
• A Leadership Coach
• Between 2 and 4 participants
• Usually everyone in a Learning Set comes from the
  same school but sometimes participants from two
  schools get together and share a coach,
• Lone participants can often be catered for by
  being partnered with another school. Granada
  Learning will sometimes organise these marriages
  of convenience but it is more normal for schools
  to arrange their own,
• The Learning Set will need to be formed before
  registration can take place as the system does
  not allow individuals to register

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What other commitments are there?

• Coaches attend one full day at the start of the
  programme and one twilight session part-way
  through. They also attend two further twilights
  alongside the participants, one at the beginning
  of LftM and one at the end,
• Participants attend three full days and the two
  twilights described above,
• Ideally there will be seven coaching sessions,
  one-to-one between each participant and the
  coach. On average, these take place every five
  or six weeks and last up to half an hour,
• Coaches will also arrange learning sets two or
  three times during the programme when all
  participants and the coach meet together for a
  session in school,
• Online activities and participation in online
  communities,
• Development and delivery of the Leadership Focus

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What do others say about Leading from the Middle?

• This programme has done more for the school than
  I could ever have imagined (Coach, Devon)
• I am now much more confident about reflecting on
  my own practice and about how I can approach and
  develop my team (Participant, Cornwall)
• The power of coaching can be immense! Unlocking
  the potential of others can be a true delight as
  you see that metaphorical light bulb suddenly
  switch on. (Participant, Cornwall)
• The team is now working more coherently and
  positively towards a collective goal.
  (Participant, Exeter)
• The journey we have been through is quite
  remarkable (Participant from a collaborative
  group)

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Cost

• The fee from April 2009 is 530 per state school
  participant (this is subsidised by NCSL)
• All training for coaches is free
• Small schools (those with fewer than 100 pupils)
  do not pay any fee and may get some support with
  cover and travel
• Independent schools are very welcome to join the
  programme but as their participants do not
  receive a subsidy from NCSL the fee will be in
  the region of 1,000 per person. Please talk to
  us in advance if you might be in this situation.

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How to Enrol

• We expect to have about ten LftM groups, spread
  right across the South West, for Cohort 13
  starting Autumn 2009,
• There is a limited number of places for
  participants in each group so we may need to use
  a first come, first served approach,
• The first step to enrolling is to register
  interest in joining a group in a particular area.
  This must be done by a deadline, given at
  briefings, and also available on
  http//www.granada-learning.com/glpd/
• Once there is enough interest for a group to be
  formed we will need to check with Local
  Authorities that a percentage of the schools
  involved meet some criteria that have recently
  been introduced by NCSL. Then, all those who have
  expressed interest and for whom there is room in
  the group, will be sent a link to the online
  registration system. You will then have two
  weeks to complete your whole learning sets
  application.

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Registering interest

• Please send an e-mail to gillian.gee_at_granadalearni
  ng.net
• This must contain
• Your name and whether you are a coach or a
  participant
• Your school name and your role in school
• Details of who else is going to be in your
  learning set (coach and participants)
• If you cannot make up a learning set please be
  clear about who/what is missing and what ideas
  you have for making the learning set complete

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What will happen next?

• Your e-mail expressing interest will be
  acknowledged. Please note that at this stage you
  are not guaranteed a place
• Within two weeks (it is hoped!) of the deadline
  for expressions of interest, you will receive
  another e-mail. This will either give you the
  link for registering for Leading for the Middle
  or it will explain why we are unable to offer you
  a place. The earlier you express interest, the
  more likely you are to be accepted.

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The online application process

• If at all possible it should be the coach who
  starts the application process off. When he/she
  has completed his/her application, he/she will
  then electronically invite the other members of
  the learning set to make their own application.
  Each of the other members gets an e-mail with a
  link to do their own application.
• There are always two stages to an application.
  Firstly you register with the National College of
  School Leadership. You only ever do this
  registration once so if you already have a
  username and password you will miss this first
  part out.
• Secondly you apply to become a coach or a
  participant on Leading from the Middle.
• Both of these stages are acknowledged by a
  generic e-mail reply from NCSL. If you do not
  get these your application is incomplete. For
  help in this situation contact the Helpline on
  0845 609 0009. They are open Monday to Friday
  8am to 9pm, excluding Bank Holidays.
  Double-check that the second acknowledgment
  e-mail contains the words LftM this is the
  indication that you are actually registered.
• It will be some time later that Granada Learning
  will process your application and you will then
  get an e-mail from us finally confirming your
  place on the programme. In most cases the
  process will be completed by the end of July.

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Key Contacts

• Education Manager
• gillian.gee_at_granadalearning.com
• 01297 631295
• LftM co-ordinator
• 0208 996 6039