SOUTH AND SOUTH WEST ASSOCIATION OF LEADERS IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN SPECIAL SCHOOLS 2015 / 2016

Course Design (6 sessions): A Sailing Analogy

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Session 1

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Preparing for the journey: What is effective Leadership and Management?

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Leadership Agenda Management Agenda

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  • Course design and requirements – commitment with guidance will yield positive outcomes
  • Leadership and management – inter-dependent functions
  • Values and principles
  • Strategy, visionary and operational leadership
  • Project- evidence based enquiry exercise for presentation at the final session
  • Contextualheadship and the management game plan within a special school

Task: course members asked to investigate the line management and accountability framework within their school

Nick Hind

  • Team working, role definition, communication, accountability, mission and vision
  • Managing multi-professional teams in a large special school – leadership, middle managers, teachers, TAs, therapy, nursing, admin, governors and residential care

Chris Davies: Principal, Severndale Academy, Shrewsbury

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Session 2

Taking the Helm: Leading the Team

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  • Effective teamwork?

-assignment seminar (Session 1)

-what is a team, what do they do?

-team leader skills

-how can we build effective teams

-why work in teams

-barriers to effective teamwork

-role definition and utilizing team strengths

-accountability and vision

-empowerment

-commitment to quality

Task: course members asked to research the leadership infrastructure in their school for the group to compare and contrast in identifying communalities, trends and any emerging concerns

Nick Hind

  • Singing off the same hymn sheet!
  • Leading teams
  • Creating effective teams
  • Trip wires for team leaders
  • Team effectiveness
  • Running meetings
  • Difficult team members
  • Innovation and diversity
  • Conflict in teams
  • Within team support
  • What do organisations want from teams?
  • Personal resilience under pressure

Jonny Maxwell-Batten: Education Psychologist, DfE Adviser, School Management Consultant

Diana Denman: Headteacher, Fairmead School, Yeovil, Somerset

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Session 3

Setting Sail: Proactive Leadership: Hands on Deck!

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Leadership AgendaManagement Agenda

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  • assignment seminar (session 2)
  • Task evaluation of the content and focus of session 2 and any impact on subsequent professional practice
  • Qualities of the reflective leader – one step back, two steps forward!
  • Why, what and where are standards – who sets the standards in your school
  • Addressing sub-standard staff performance
  • Ensuring high quality teaching and learning and accountability systems, key contributory factors
  • Coaching and monitoring

Task: You are the Headteacher of a special school and a colleague whose performance in the classroom has significantly deteriorated. Explain how you would respond to the problem and what support and monitoring framework you would put in

place. Consultation with your Headteacher would be helpful

  • Performance management and appraisal processes and procedures
  • Lesson observations
  • Supporting under-performing members of staff
  • Competence and disciplinary awareness
  • What management expertise should a Headteacher provide in relation to the day-to-day running of a special school

Jacqui Warne: Headteacher, Ellen Tinkham School, Exeter

Ingrid Sidmouth: Headteacher, Rowdeford School, Devizes

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Nick Hind

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Session 4

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Charting our Progress: Evaluated Leadership

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  • Assignment seminar (session 3)
  • New models of planning
  • Systems management
  • Setting benchmarks for areas of improvement – evidence based judgements
  • School budgets – getting value for money

Task: course members asked to improve their knowledge and understanding of their annual school budget and to list any questions

Nick Hind

  • Financial management – cost centre analysis, income streams, setting priorities, responding to cuts to the budget, role of the Business Manager, audit and accountability, governors responsibilities, LA schools and academies

Chris Davies: Principal: Severndale Academy, Shrewsbury

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Session 5

Inspiring the Crew: Strategic Leadership

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  • Assignment seminar (session 4)
  • Monitoring and evaluation
  • Monitoring to improve
  • Evaluative vocabulary
  • School improvement planning
  • The SEF
  • Addressing the Ofsted inspection requirements to be assessed

Task 1: course members asked to investigate and identify Ofsted assessed areas of school performance requiring improvement

Task 2:course members asked to write a letter of application for a particular vacancy in a special school that has been recently advertised in the TES. The letter to be brought to next session

  • The Ofsted Inspection Framework – getting your act together to ensure a good result. Advice and guidance from practising Ofsted Inspector with extensive special school experience

Dr Bob Coburn:Ofsted Inspector, experienced special school Headteacher

Deirdre Fitzpatrick:Head of Education: Uplands School, Swindon

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Nick Hind

Session 6

Leadership Agenda: Heading Home: Checking the equipment: 9.15am – 7.00pm (lunch and tea provided)

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AM

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  • Task seminar (session 5 – Task 1)
  • School website requirements and information for parents and families
  • SEF – a progress and achievement catalyst, examples of good practice provided by some course members
  • School governors
  • Leadership inventory
  • Defining next steps

Nick Hind

  • Data management an integral part of school planning and accountability and performance measurement
  • Data Management – procedures, effective use, impact evaluation and measured outcomes to inform subsequent decisions in a range of contexts

Jon Lisle: Assistant Headteacher, Lampard School, Barnstaple

  • Sickness and Maternity - management of staff absence and attendance

Issy Johnson: Business Manager, Baytree School, Weston-super-Mare

  • Managing Critical Incidents and Complaints – where it can go wrong!

Chris Davies: Principal: Severndale Academy, Shrewsbury

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The Next Journey: Career Progression

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  • Task seminar (session 5 – Task 2)
  • ‘Choosing the right school’: personal and professional compatibility, job specification analysis, doing your research (Chris Davies, Nick Hind, Paul Holland)
  • Letter of application
  • Governors: choosing you! (Chair of Governors: Special School)

-what can influence decisions

-appoint or re-advertise

  • Simulated interviews (volunteers) (Chris Davies, Nick Hind, Paul Holland, Jacqui Warne, Ingrid Sidmouth, Michael Loveman)

-panel

-questions

-group evaluation

-debrief

-analyzing your performance

-preparing answers to key questions

  • School Based Research Project: Presentation of small scale research projects undertaken at each school for the duration of the course
  • Design, rationale, implementation and results. Each course member allocated a small amount of time for this purpose. Two projects chosen for workshops at the Deputies’ / Assistant Headteachers’ Conference
  • Work-life balance – what does this mean?

Venues

-Rowdeford School CPD Centre, Devizes, Wiltshire (15 minutes drive off J16 or J17: M4)

-The Globe Hotel, Topsham, Exeter (15 minutes drive from J30: M5)

Course Fee

£495.00 member schools, £590.00 non-member schools

Dates:

October: 19th / 20th

November: 18th / 19th

February: 10th / 11th

March: 23rd / 24th

April: 27th / 28th

June: 15th / 17th

Further reading sources will be recommended at each session

Session Times:

9.15am – 3.45pm

Session 6: 9.15am – 7.00pm

Lunch: 12.30pm

Course Presenters:

  • Nick Hind: Management Training Consultant, former Headteacher, LA Adviser
  • Headteachers and current members of Leadership Teams in successful special schools
  • Experienced and dynamic professionals working in the field of education
  • Paul Holland: Chief Executive, SWALSS (Course Co-ordinator)

The Association for Professionals in Special Education

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