Developing Leadership through a School Improvement Project

The Developing Leadership through Leading a School Improvement Project is designed for principal teachers (PTs) and aspiring principal teachers (APTs).  Participants will lead a whole school project that enables them to “develop a vision for change, which leads to improvements in outcomes for learners and is based on shared values and robust evaluation of evidence of current practice and outcome”. (GTCS, 2021, Standards for Middle Leadership – SfML).  The project is vehicle that enables participants to develop their knowledge, understanding, skills and practice as a leader. This aligns to the SCQF level 11 (Masters) framework and the Professional Learning Model in relation to SCQF Level 11:

Characteristic 1 Knowledge and Understanding; the programme challenges the participants thinking and understanding of various specialised theories, concepts and principles.

Characteristic 2 Practice Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding; participants demonstrate via the written report and professional conversation that they have used a significant range of professional skills, techniques, practices and/or materials associated with leading a school improvement project.

Characteristic 3 Generic Cognitive Skills; through the use of the success wheel, the written report, learning log/reflective journal, participants can critically review, consolidate and extend their knowledge, skills, practices and thinking in relation to leadership.

Characteristic 4 Communication, ICT and Numeracy Skills; the school improvement project and professional conversation are vehicles that enable participants to develop their written and oral communication skills using appropriate methods, to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge/expertise.

Characteristic 5 Autonomy, Accountability and Working with Others; the six month follow up from the programme gives participants an opportunity to demonstrate through a learning conversation how their behaviour as a leader has developed and how they have made an identifiable contribution to change.

Contact

Staff Development staffdevecs@eastlothian.gov.uk