Addressing the leadership challenges using the principles of assessment for learning

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Addressing the leadership challenges using the
principles of assessment for learning
Steve Munby Chief Executive National College for
School Leadership
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• Pupils produced work of better quality when
  their teachers explained the criteria used in its
  assessment. Relatively few teachers did this
  effectively and pupils were generally unaware of
  any assessment criteria that the teacher might
  have been using. Pupils rarely understood the
  reason for their grades and often felt, wrongly,
  that features such as length and presentation
  were most important.
• OFSTED 1992

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• The pupils response to the task was sometimes
  less than their ability warranted because they
  were not given regular progress reports or were
  unaware of the specific criteria used to assess
  their work. Some pupils recorded Attainment
  Levels were depressed as a consequence.
• OFSTED 1992

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Key themes for Assessmentfor Learning

• Recognising the importance of the whole
  child/person and the broader achievement agenda
• Engaging the learner in the learning and
  assessment process giving learners a voice and
  empowering them to be proactive and to take
  responsibility for their own learning.
• Peer review. Sharing learning with others
  learning together.
• Using clear assessment criteria to identify
  current performance and to set personal targets.

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The context the state of school leadership in
England
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• We have the best set of school leaders this
  country has ever had. Leadership is good or
  better in over 75 of schools, very good or
  excellent in over 40, and becoming stronger
  every year.

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Q Which, if any, of the following professions
do you think provide particularly good examples
of leadership?
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• The two significant issues that stand in the way
  of consistent improvement across the whole
  education system are
• the impact of social class on educational
  achievement
• the variability in performance and lack of
  progress made by a substantial minority of
  schools.
• HMCI Annual Report 2003/04

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The HMCI Annual Report says
few schools have a convincing, systematic
programme for developing middle managers. Without
such a programme, schools find it difficult to
improve the consistency of leadership and
management and to support career
development. HMCI Annual Report 2003/04
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The four challenges
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Challenge One
The implications of the Children Act - the
balance between the standards agenda and the
whole child agenda
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In terms of attainment in school, if a child
had a choice between moving from having a bottom
quartile parent to having a top quartile parent
or moving from a bottom quartile school to a top
quartile school, the child should change the
parent every time. Charles Desforges
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Challenge Two
System leadership developing capacity within
the school and leadership beyond the school
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Challenge Three
Sustainability, succession planning and growing
tomorrows leaders
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Challenge Four
Ensuring clear leadership in a time of
uncertainty and in a context that will continue
to be complex, relentless and accountable.
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And its best if you know a good thing is going
to happen, like an eclipse or getting a
microscope for Christmas. And its bad if you
know a bad thing is going to happen, like having
a filling or going to France. But I think it is
worst if you dont know whether it is a good
thing or a bad thing which is going to
happen Mark Haddon The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-Time
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Every Child Matters Focusing outward towards
the community and other agencies
System Leadership Focusing outward to other
schools
New opportunities for school leaders
Developing Capacity
Succession Planning Focusing forward
developing others
Relentlessness Complexity Accountability Focusin
g inward developing yourself
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The Role of the National College for School
Leadership
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NCSL aims (September 2000)

• to provide a single national focus for school
  leadership development and research
• to be a driving force for world class leadership
  in our schools
• to be a provider and promoter of excellence a
  major resource for schools a catalyst for
  innovation and a focus for national and
  international debate on leadership issues

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The distinct College Focuses on core business.
Clear moral purpose. Everyone knows what it
stands for.
The self-evaluating College Focusing on outcomes
and welcoming external challenge.
Our College Much greater school ownership.
Inclusive. Collaborative in style.
Overall vision for the College
The responsive College Flexible in approach.
Commissioning. Connecting theory with practical
realities. Personalisation.
The National College Leading edge and informing
future policy and practice.
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Michelangelo once said Sculpture is a
wonderful thing. Inside every piece of stone is a
beautiful statue all you have to do is to get
rid of all the stuff that is in the way.