Are you new to middle or senior school leadership?
In July 2015, I shared our school plans to identity and develop potential school leaders in our school. I started off with this question:
If you were to appoint a number of teachers to join the (extended) senior leadership team, what questions would you ask them at interview? I then shared the interviews plans for our potential leaders; How To Unlock Senior Leadership Potential at Interview? This was followed up by this presentation (which you can download) I shared at two TeachMeets in the summer term; Grow Your Own School Leaders.
This post shares our CPD plans for our extended team for the academic year. The CPD on offer, provides a ‘in-house’ glimpse into the life of school leadership and provides middle leaders with the opportunity to become the next generation of school leaders. You can preview the documentation at the end of this post.
Welcome to (ELT) Extended Leadership Team:
This CPD experience is designed to develop aspiring senior leaders and work first-hand with senior leaders. This programme is a mixture of coaching and mentoring; personal CPD; leading on whole-school projects, as well as working behind the scenes at strategic meetings, on-call/duty and supporting senior colleagues around the school.
The Extended Leadership team programme consists of;
Training Programme: Published dates for personalised leadership CPD. This will take place 6 times a year and led by a senior member of staff. Every applicant will be expected to sign up and complete the NPQSL project alongside leading on a whole-school priority with their assigned senior leader ‘coach’. |
Projects and Budgets: As part of the ELT programme, ELT will work together with their coach on an agreed whole-school project/budget to support the priorities of the school. |
NPQML/SL Mentoring: This is an assigned group of staff allocated to senior leaders to help guide colleagues through NPQML/NPQSL projects over the 12-18 month period. It is expected that senior teachers will meet with their ‘coachee’ once a term and keep a coaching log.
ELT Mentoring: It is intended that the member of ELT is paired alongside a senior teacher, outside of their expertise to develop their leadership repertoire. It is supposed to be a closer relationship between senior teacher (the coach) and the ‘coachee’ and involve challenge discussions. |
Rotation Details: This table explains how the rotation will work to ensure members of ELT have a ‘continuous relationship’ with school leaders throughout the academic year. |
Duty Timetable: This is for information only and allows each ELT member to specify a period of time where they can commit to working with school leadership before/after the school day and whilst ‘on duty.’ |
Rota: This is designed to clarify what, where and when the Extended Leadership Team are to do, as part of their fulfilment to experience ‘life as a senior leader’. |
Training Programme:
- The cycle is designed into a 3-week rota to keep ELT exposure continuous and varied.
- There will be one training session per term except in Term 5. In Term 6, there will be two training sessions – one of which will be delivered by a consultant focussing on interview skills.
- The headteacher and each deputy headteacher will deliver a training session; training dates should take place during the following weeks.
Mentoring:
This is an assigned group of staff allocated to senior leaders to help guide colleagues through NPQML/NPQSL projects over the 12-18 month period. It is expected that senior teachers will meet with their ‘coachee’ once a term and keep a coaching log. Staff are assigned to a coach based on divergent skills and knowledge. The following image is explained below and is anonymised;
- SLT – assigned coach
- Orange cell – 2nd year member of staff nearing completion of NPQSL/ML. This includes former members of ELT.
- Green cell (centre): new member of ELT; beginning NPQSL.
- Green cell (right): 2nd year member of ELT; nearing completion of NQPSL projects.
Projects and Budgets:
Alongside assigned coaches, each member of the Extended Leadership Team will be allocated a whole-school project/responsibility with an agreed budget. This is documented and published here in the table below.
SLT | Identified School Project | Agreed budget | Notes | |
TT | (Example project: Displays) | £10,000 | Action plan needed | |
Hidden example … | ||||
Hidden example … | ||||
Hidden example … | ||||
Hidden example … |
Rotation Details:
To make everything pull together and to ensure exposure to leadership, based on the number of staff on the programme, we have divided staff into pairs and have created a 3-part cycle. This table explains how the rotation will work to ensure members of ELT have a ‘continuous relationship’ with school leaders throughout the academic year. It is explained below;
ROTA 1
(table not shared) |
SLT Detentions | Support SLT detention for the first 30 minutes on a Friday 3.30pm-4pm |
SLT On-Call | Shadow the On Call SLT duty lead one period for this rotation. This will happen once every three weeks on this rotation/cycle. | |
SLT Gate Duty | x1 AM gate duty and x1 PM gate duty. This will happen once every 3 weeks on this rotation.
Gate duty is from 8.35am – 8.50am and from 3.30pm-4pm. |
|
ROTA 2 | SLT Meeting | Attend SLT Monday meeting on the week after briefings (Rota 3)
SLT meetings are from 4pm until 6pm (ish). |
ROTA 3 | Briefings | Attend x4 SLT morning briefings in same week. (8.20-8.35am)
Mon-Fri (except Tuesday) |
Documentation:
Download
I wish I had similar plans in place for my new ML position. I envy your colleagues….