Leadership, Empowerment & Improvement

The Leadership, Empowerment & Improvement Workstream is designed to promote connections across the eight local authorities and support collaborative improvement across the West Partnership.

This workstream has been designed in to grow an empowered learning system, supporting leaders in all parts of the West Partnership.

A range of opportunities are available for teachers, middle and senior leaders with a focus on enhancing practice and developing capacity for leading school improvement. These are laid out in the tiles below.

Alison Drever

WORKSTREAM LEAD OFFICER

Leadership, Empowerment & Improvement

Alison Drever

WORKSTREAM LEAD OFFICER

Sector background
Primary

Areas of responsibility:
Operational leadership of the Leadership, Empowerment & Improvement Workstream, including:
• Partnership work to deliver senior leadership coaching, mentoring and learning sets
• Thinking about Headship Programme development and delivery
• Strategic and operational lead for Improving our Classroom Programme

Email:Alison.Drever@eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk

IT AIMS TO:

support and develop leaders in school and ELC settings across the West Partnership
provide opportunities for leaders to connect and network
improve outcomes for all children and young people
make equity core to all aspects of the learning system

Outcomes:

Participants connect more with colleagues in other WP local authorities with a focus on improving experiences for children and young people by June 2022.
Participants demonstrate changes in their practice that lead to improved experiences for children and young people by June 2022.
Collaborative activities being taken forward by the specialist networks lead to increased sharing of approaches and practice that support continuous improvement by June 2022.

Leadership
Mentoring

Leadership Mentoring

This programme focuses on the support of Headteachers across the RIC area and the development and enhancement of leadership capacity within an empowered system.

Each Local Authority has the opportunity to recruit appropriate mentors from across sectors in order to offer coaching and mentoring to their Headteachers.

This programme will be delivered virtually as session 2020/21 commences.

For more information please contact the Lead Officer.

Virtual Leadership Networks (VLN)

This session the VLNs will focus on different aspects of inclusion and supporting learners with additional support needs. The areas each VLN focuses on are driven by feedback from participants. The VLNs are for leaders from any sector. In addition to providing specific input on a theme, they provide a forum to talk to leaders from other local authorities across the West Partnership. These sessions take place at the end of the school day on Microsoft Teams and usually last one and a quarter hours. A list of planned VLNs can be found on the calendar.

VLN 7 – Autism

For more information please contact the Lead Officer.

Thinking About
Headship (TAH)

Thinking About Headship (TAH)

What is Thinking About Headship?

Thinking About Headship (TAH) is a year-long programme that is a preparatory step for those on the journey towards headship. It is delivered by the West Partnership.

TAH supports participants to:

develop their knowledge and understanding of leadership and management
understand how to develop and demonstrate a shared strategic vision
understand and demonstrate self-awareness and political insight
critically engage with policy, research and practice to model, establish and promote a collaborative culture of professional learning; and
lead, model and support professional values and professional commitment.

Who is TAH for?

Thinking About Headship (TAH) is a programme for practitioners in any sector who are beginning their journey to being a headteacher but don’t feel quite ready to undertake Into Headship. It is aimed at effective deputy headteachers and principal teachers with at least two years of experience in a school-based leadership role. Working with colleagues in similar roles in other local authorities, the programme supports practitioners to develop their understanding of leadership from a strategic perspective. All participants are required to have the support of their headteacher before applying.

What does the programme look like?

The programme has a number of different elements that are described below.

1. Participant groups

Participants are placed in a small group and work together for the duration of the programme. Where at all possible, groups are set-up so that there are different local authorities and sectors represented. This allows for rich discussion and learning across the year, supports collaboration and gives the opportunity to develop cross-authority networks. There are also opportunities to work with other participants at different points too, including in sector-specific groups.

2. Headteacher supporters

Each group is allocated an experienced headteacher who works with them across the year. The headteacher supporters facilitate group discussions at TAH sessions. This provides an invaluable source of support, expertise and perspective.

3. Sessions one to ten, September to April

These sessions combine:

inputs from senior leaders in the education system and experienced headteachers across the West Partnership; and
professional dialogue focussed on the Standard for Headship in relation to participants own experience.

This provides participants with a range of perspectives across the Scottish education system and the opportunity to consider these in relation to their own leadership journey. Sessions take place both online and face-to-face and last between an hour and a half and two hours. Most take place at the end of the school day but a small number are run together during the school day. A pre-session task is also sent out. This usually involves either reading, listening or watching something.

4. The reflective log, September to May

A reflective log is completed by participants across sessions one to ten. The log is scaffolded to support participants in reflecting on:

developing their knowledge and understanding of leadership and management
understanding how to develop and demonstrate a shared strategic vision
understanding and demonstrating self-awareness and political insight
critically engaging with policy, research and practice to model, establish and promote a collaborative culture of professional learning; and
leading, modelling and supporting professional values and professional commitment.

The log is used to support professional dialogue across the sessions. This allows participants to reflect both on their own experience and others in relation to the Standard for Headship. At the end of the programme participants engage in a reflective professional discussion with a small number of senior education staff. The purpose of this is to support participants to critically reflect on what they have learned and consider what their next steps are.

Where can I find out more?

Please speak to your headteacher in the first instance and share this information with them so you can discuss whether this is the right opportunity for you. Direct any questions and send completed application forms to, Alison Drever, West Partnership workstream lead officer by 5pm on Friday 17^th June 2022.

Application Form

Programme Information PDF

Email Alison

Participant Testimonials

‘Thinking about Headship has provided me with the fantastic opportunity to learn from a range of inspiring Head Teachers and other leaders, as well as the space and support to reflect on my role as a leader and the role of Head Teacher. I would highly recommend this course to other aspiring Head Teachers.’

Improving Our
Classrooms

Leadership Learning Sets

The West Partnership is delighted to be collaborating with The Mudd Partnership again in session 2021-22. The two successful programmes that ran in 2020-21, Executive Coaching and Leadership Learning Sets, will be running again and a new programme, called #ThinkHexagon© 2021 Coaching, is being introduced. These programmes are designed for headteachers and centre leaders. There is a limited number of places available on each programme.

What is a Learning Set?
Who is it for?
What is the commitment from participants?

Leadership learning sets provide a unique opportunity to network and learn collaboratively in a confidential space, with groups of peers. Each session will focus on a different theme. In advance of the session, you will be asked to access a small amount of professional learning e.g. articles, podcasts and films to inform the discussion. At the session you will each have the chance to share an issue or challenge that you are experiencing/can foresee that is related to the theme. Then, using an action learning methodology (which will be fully explained) the group members work with each other to consider the challenge from different perspectives and identify possible solutions and mitigating factors.

Participants will also be able to use the action learning methodology in their own contexts to support improvement. It provides an alternative approach to collaborative problem-solving.

The learning sets are designed for headteachers and centre leaders. There will be two headteacher learning sets and one early years learning set. Each learning set will have a maximum of eight participants.

Participants are required to commit to meeting as a group every c. 4-6weeks over a period of seven months. Meetings will last no longer than half a day and will take place on Microsoft Teams. There will be some reading and preparation to be done prior to Learning Set group sessions. Participants are also required to contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the programme.

There will be three Leadership Learning Sets running in session 2021-22.

• Early years – November to April

• Headteacher 1 – January to June

• Headteacher 2 – January to June

Hexagon Coaching

#ThinkHexagon© 2021 Coaching

What is #ThinkHexagon© 2021Coaching?
Who is it for?
What is the commitment required from participants?

This innovative new approach to group and individual leadership coaching gives a group of six experienced HTs the opportunity to consider their leadership from six points of intersection (personal, professional, individual, team, organisation, system). In addition to participation in the six organised and facilitated sessions there is an expectation that you self-organise to work with your Hexagon colleagues to support and challenge each other using Hexagon thinking between the sessions. You may also find it helpful to view this short film about the approach on YouTube.

Headteachers with more than five years of experience.

Headteachers are brought together in groups of six. Over a period of six months, there are six facilitated sessions, three of these take place in the group and three are individual. Further opportunities to connect and work together are organised and facilitated by members of the Hexagon. Participants are also required to contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the programme.

Hexagon coaching will be run in two blocks.

• Cohort one October to April

• Cohort two January to June

Executive Coaching

What is Executive Coaching?
Who is it for?
What is the commitment required from participants?

Executive coaching is recognised as one of the most effective personal development interventions. Working on a 1:1 basis with your coach, this confidential space enables pausing, reflection, sharing of thoughts, worries, concerns and challenges as well as the chance to explore opportunities. The coach works alongside you to develop ideas and strategies which will enhance your ability to step back and consider situations and options from a range of angles, as well as how you might move forward.

Amongst themes which are commonly explored are:

• Building resilience in yourself and your team

• Leading in an increasingly complex context

• Leading change

• Increasing confidence

• Managing difficult situations and conversations

Headteachers and centre leaders with less than five years of experience.

Participants are asked to commit to 5 x 1 hour sessions.

In 2021-22 the Executive Coaching will be running in two blocks.

• Cohort one - October to April

• Cohort two – January to June

The sessions are confidential and take place at times agreed between the participant and coach using an online platform such as Microsoft Teams. Participants are also required to contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the programme.

Download The West Partnership Improvement Plan 2021–22

Specialist Networks