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EMPOWERING SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAMS Leading Together 2019programme guide

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Welcome to Leading Together.

Great leadership lies at the heart of great schools, enabling both teachers and children to thrive. Leading Together is aimed at helping your school build a strong senior leadership team through expert training, coaching and collaboration. The programme has been carefully designed to support sustainable change and improvements to your whole school by working with your entire leadership team.

We’re delighted that your school has chosen to join the programme and look forward to supporting you throughout the next two years.

We hope you’ll feel the benefits of it – as a school, as a leadership team, and personally as a senior leader. The programme combines several unique elements, including group and individual coaching from an experienced school leader, evidence-informed learning to help you implement the best ideas and practice from the sector, funding to access bespoke specialist training, and the opportunity to collaborate with other schools.

To help you get started, this guide contains a detailed overview of the programme as well as frequently asked questions on a range of topics. Whether you have a question about when you’ll meet your Achievement Partner, how many modules you’ll attend or the best way to access the online platform, you should find the answer here.

We look forward to meeting you at the Leading Together 2019 Kick Off Day!

Graihagh Crawshaw Bridget ClayDirector of Head of Programme, School Leadership Leading Together

WELCOME

Great leadership lies at the heart of great schools, enabling both teachers and children to thrive.

Welcome 2Contents 3About Teach First 4About Leading Together 5How it works 6Your questions answered 8Appendix 14

CONTENTS

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Our vision is a country where no child’s educational success is limited by their background – where every child, wherever they live, whatever the wealth of their parents, has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Our mission is to transform education with great teachers and leaders. There are three steps to unlock potential for all:

• We find inspirational people, some of whom may not have thought about teaching. We support them to get into teaching - more than 10,000 to date. And we place them in the schools where they’re needed most.

• We develop our schools’ current and future leaders to create the kind of schools in which teachers and pupils can thrive.

• We support schools with strong networks – of our alumni and supporters in business, charity, government and beyond – and a positive policy environment.

Our vision is a country where no child’s educational success is limited by their background. For more about what we do and the programmes we offer, visit www.teachfirst.org.uk

ABOUT TEACH FIRST

More great teachers where they’re needed

most

Support school leadership so

our teachers and pupils thrive

Networks and a positive policy environment to support schools

TRANSFORMING EDUCATION WITH GREAT TEACHERS

AND LEADERS

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Leading Together supports schools to build and sustain strong leadership teams. It’s a free, two-year programme aimed at schools in areas of greatest need.

Leading Together is unique in the education sector, providing bespoke support for a school’s entire senior leadership team over a sustained period. The programme works to support a school’s own improvement journey by building leadership capacity across the team and beyond. It also helps schools build a culture and environment in which all teachers and pupils can thrive.

Leading Together provides bespoke support for a school’s entire senior leadership team.

The Department for Education’s support allows us to offer the programme to schools free of charge.

ABOUT LEADING TOGETHER

Andrea St John, Deputy Headteacher, The Academy of St Francis of Assisi

Carolyn Warburton, Business Manager, De La Salle School

“One of the great benefits of Leading Together is not only the collaboration amongst your own team but the collaboration we’ve already had and will continue to have with other schools.”

“We’re starting to see a real culture change in school (…). Since September we’ve seen a really positive impact on behaviour in our school, and that’s because of what senior leaders have put in place as a result of the Leading Together programme and the learning that’s taken place.”

Linda Emmett, Headteacher, All Saints Catholic College

Nicky Kilvington, Executive Head, Stocks Lane and Carrwood Primary Schools

“The Leading Together programme has come at a fantastic time for us. We’re going to regroup and write a plan to take the school to outstanding as quickly as possible.”

“The fact that Leading Together is looking at those schools that have disadvantaged pupils, in those disadvantaged areas, is critical.”

Funded by

During each year of the programme, we’ll support your team to identify the school’s strategic goals that will then underpin every other part of the programme. This will look different for each school – the programme helps you focus on the things that are most important and urgent for your school.

You’ll be assigned an Achievement Partner – an objective pair of eyes, who can work shoulder-to-shoulder with you and your team to achieve the most important successes for your school.

The two-year journey is split into four phases:

DiagnoseYour senior leadership team, supported by the Achievement Partner, analyses your school’s priorities and strengths, planning ahead and identifying your strategic goals. This identifies a path to sustained progress for your school.

BuildYour team begins to identify, test and implement new approaches to address those priorities. Learning modules offered during this stage will support learning and development of key content areas.

Embed and driveDuring this phase, your leadership team is supported to consolidate and secure the school’s improvements. Further learning modules and coaching support these improvements and build sustained progress and skills that will last beyond the life of the programme.

SustainThrough further work with the Achievement Partner and significant reflection activities, your leadership team works to make approaches permanent, by weaving them into a thriving culture of ongoing development.

HOW IT WORKS

Year one Year two Summer term 2019 Autumn term 2019 Spring term 2020 Summer term 2020 Autumn term 2020 Spring term 2021

Diagnose

Phas

esEl

emen

ts

Build SustainEmbed and drive

< Coaching and support from Achievement Partner >

Learning modules (12 learning modules)• Kick off day • Second July

• First July residential residential

Bespoke school support • Access to £10k ‘learning pot’ • Business coaching and support

• Tailored interventions • Teach First NPQ accreditation

School-to-school collaboration

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Learning modulesYou’ll have access to a range of online and face-to-face learning opportunities designed specifically for school leadership teams.

There are twelve learning modules focused on key aspects of school leadership. The modules are distributed across the senior leadership team and matched to each team member’s remit. They’re designed to fit around a school’s schedule, using a blended learning approach so teams can work in a way that best suits their needs. Learning is tailored, relevant and applied in a practical way to maximise what a school is already doing and create lasting change.

Bespoke school supportThe programme gives you access to a range of additional expertise. This includes a ‘learning pot’ (worth £10,000) that you can use to achieve your strategic goals over the two-year period. The Achievement Partner works with the senior leadership team to use this fund, supporting them to find tailored, high-quality, specialist support. This new learning can then be applied in a practical way during the delivery of the key strategic goals.

Specialist support may be provided by teaching and learning specialists, business leaders, specialists from schools, and international experts. Your school will also have access to a range of resources and support from our wider community. For example, schools have access to pro-bono business advisers and coaches from our corporate supporters, and free access to our NPQ accreditation.

School-to-school supportThe programme helps your senior leadership team create enduring relationships and support networks with other schools in your local community and beyond.

This includes collaboration between schools on the Leading Together programme and opportunities for schools to visit others that have been on a similar journey. It also gives you access to other teaching schools, experts, the wider Teach First community – that’s over a thousand school leaders – and schools locally and nationally that demonstrate excellent practice. This is facilitated through events, networking opportunities, action learning sets and other collaborative learning structures.

There are four key elements which support the programme:

Achievement PartnerEach school is matched with an Achievement Partner who has a strong track record as an experienced and successful senior leader.

The Achievement Partner supports, guides and coaches the senior leadership team throughout the two-year programme. This includes facilitating the team to undertake a careful diagnosis of their school’s needs, identifying strategic goals and then implementing effective and sustainable improvements across the whole school. The Achievement Partner also helps schools access a wealth of additional external support tailored to the school’s needs.

The programme empowers schools to build an environment and culture that can transform outcomes for pupils.

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Here you’ll find answers to a whole range of frequently asked questions, organised by topic. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for here, please contact your Achievement Partner.

The Achievement Partner (AP) What does the Achievement Partner do?

The Achievement Partner’s role will be bespoke to your school. However, there are some key forms of support that all Achievement Partners provide:

• Group coaching. Working with your leadership team to identify your strategic goals and then coaching you through implementation of these.

• Individual coaching. Regular coaching for your school’s headteacher, plus some bespoke coaching for individuals, based on your school’s needs.

• Strategic support. The Achievement Partner’s focus will be on strategic and sustainable change. They’ll support you to focus on the big picture and give you space to reflect and achieve the things that are most important for your school.

• Learning pot. Working with you to identify external expertise or resource that will help you achieve your strategic goals. This will include spending the £10k ‘learning pot’.

• School-to-school support. Working with your cluster of schools to build a culture of collaborative learning. They can also help you find schools nationally that might be able to support you to reach your strategic goals.

• Point of contact for Leading Together. First port of call for queries or feedback about the programme.

Your Achievement Partner will guide, support and develop but they are not part of your leadership team, nor part of your accountability and governance structure. As such, they cannot play a leadership role within your school, nor perform any activities that would fall under that role.

Who is my Achievement Partner and when can I meet them?

Your Achievement Partner will be introduced to your leadership team via email. They’ll then arrange to come into school to meet you and the rest of

the team in person. The timing of this depends on several factors, e.g. when your school joins the programme, but it should be during the Spring term 2019.

Programme definitionsWhat is a cluster in the context of this programme?

Where possible, we organise schools on the Leading Together programme into a ‘cluster’ – this is a group of maximum six schools that are supported by the same AP and roughly in the same geographical location. You’ll collaborate regularly throughout the programme with the schools in your cluster.

What is a programme member in the context of this programme?

Everyone on your school’s leadership who’s enrolled on the programme is a ‘programme member’, including the headteacher of the school.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

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You’ll also be expected to take part in events, school-to-school collaboration and learning modules, as agreed between your team (see below). And you’ll have access to school-to-school support and external expertise, as suits you and your team. This will be agreed between you and your Achievement Partner.

How many face-to-face weekend or evening sessions/twilights will I attend?

The face-to-face elements of the programme are a critical part of the programme and module delivery. Table 1 should help you plan your attendance, though please note that not every programme member has to attend all twilight sessions – your Achievement Partner will discuss this with you and the rest of your team. Where dates are not yet available, your Achievement Partner will communicate them to you at the earliest opportunity.

Other face-to-face collaboration meetings may be organised on an ad hoc cluster basis by your Achievement Partner and/or at your or another school’s requests.

Learning modulesHow is each module structured? How long does each module take?

Each module is divided into two levels: Foundation and Mastery. Both include some online pre-work or post-work in connection with the face-to-face session (see table 2). However, the entire module is split over multiple weeks / months making it easy to fit around your schedule. And, of course, not every programme member completes every module.

Time commitmentHow much time do I need to commit to the programme per term?

Leading Together will support and reinforce the work you’re already doing. The programme is built around your current leadership meetings and supports your existing work, helping you achieve these key improvements and succeed in your role.

Though the time commitment will vary by programme member and phase, take the following as a guide to what you can expect.

During one half term, your Achievement Partner will visit your school every couple of weeks (on average) and complete at least one meeting (with the headteacher) and one group coaching session (that every programme member must attend). These meetings should be planned to replace a leadership team meeting where possible, so that they do not add to your workload.

In addition, Achievement Partners also provide bespoke guidance and small group or individual coaching, which will vary by programme member.

What When

Leading Together Kick Off Day One day: 23 March or 30 March 2019

Residential (Summer term 2019) Two days including overnight stay: either 6-7 or 13-14 July 2019

Autumn 2019 - Summer 2020 2 x 2-hour sessions per half term

Residential (Summer term 2020) Two days including overnight stay, July 2020 (dates tbc)

Table 1 Face-to-face learning sessions

Foundation level:

Pre-work

Foundation level:

Face-to-face session

Mastery level:

Pre-work

Mastery level:

Face-to-face session

Mastery level:

Post-work

Table 2 Learning module structure

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Kick Off Day and Residentials. These modules are:

• Strategic Planning and Implementing Change

• Using Research and Evidence• The Science of Learning• Professional Development of

Teachers and Leaders

As well as this, programme members from your team will attend one or more of the remaining modules, depending on their area(s) of responsibility. Each school must send a minimum of two programme members to each module delivered at the twilight sessions.

The sequence of the modules is shown in table 3.

Where can I see an overview of the 12 learning modules?

Please see the appendix on page 14.

Which modules are compulsory for every programme member?

The only mandatory modules for every programme member take place at our

Spring pre-Kick Off

Spring at Kick Off

Summer online

Summer Twilights

Summer Residential

Autumn Twilights

Autumn online

Spring Twilights

Summer Twilights

Summer Residential

Strategic Planning

Implementing Change

Using Research and Evidence

The Science of Learning

Prof. Dev. of Teachers/Leaders

Budgeting and Finance

Curriculum Planning/Design

HR and Performance Mgt

Governance, Legal and Compliance

Assessment

Optimising Behaviour

Supporting Pupil Transitions

Data-Driven Decision Making

F

M

F M

F M

MF

F M

F M

F M

F M

MF

F M

F M

M

F M

2019 2020

F Foundation level M Mastery level

F

Table 3 Sequence of learning modules

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Do I have to take all the modules?

No. While there are some modules which are recommended for the entire school leadership team, the others are optional for you to attend depending on your role. However, every school is required to send at least two programme members to each twilight session to ensure that the school benefits from the module.

Where can I find out more about the programme curriculum?

If you’d like to learn more about specific modules, please reach out to your Achievement Partner.

Other programme elementsWhat are the NPQs and can I apply?

Teach First is a provider of the Department for Education (DfE)’s National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for Middle Leadership (NPQML), Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

and Headship (NPQH). As a Leading Together school, these are available to you, fully funded.

We strongly recommend that programme members begin any NPQ in 2020, to effectively balance the workload commitments of Leading Together and an NPQ. The learning that you complete as part of the modules will reinforce and support you in completing your NPQ.

What is the ‘learning pot’ and what should it be used for? When can we start using the funding?

Each school on Leading Together can access a £5k ‘learning pot’ around it during each year of the programme (£10k in total). This funding becomes available once you’ve identified your key strategic goals. Your Achievement Partner will then work with you to identify external expertise or resources that can support you to achieve your initiatives in an evidence-informed and sustainable way.

Who is our corporate delivery partner?

This programme provides access to strategies for evidence-informed leadership from the education sector and beyond. Deloitte are contributing their expertise by designing four modules for our Leading Together programme members: Strategic Planning and Implementing Change; HR and Performance Management; Governance, Legal and Compliance; and Budgeting and Finance.

What is the difference between Foundation and Mastery levels for each module?

The Foundation level is aimed at knowledge building, i.e. exposing you to the current research and evidence around the topic. The Mastery level focuses on implementation, i.e. what aspects would your school benefit from putting in place and how you can go about doing this strategically.

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As part of the evaluations, both NFER and Teach First will request information about participating schools and senior leadership teams. Where possible, some information will be shared between the two organisations to minimise overlap. In signing the Programme Agreement for Leading Together, you’ve agreed to contribute to both evaluations.

It’s important for the future development and success of the Leading Together programme that schools and programme members take part in the evaluations as far as possible. Both Teach First and NFER greatly appreciate your contributions and will make all reasonable efforts to minimise the workload and time costs associated.

The following evaluation activities are planned throughout the programme:

• Annual interviews and case studies with a selected group of leaders

• Culture survey (all staff)

• Annual programme member survey

• Publicly available school data

• NFER survey of programme members at the beginning and end of the programme

• Short module surveys embedded into our online content.

Will I have the opportunity to provide feedback on the programme?

Yes, there will be many opportunities for you to provide feedback at different stages of the programme, including:

• After all face-to-face events and through online surveys after every module

• Through our programme evaluation, which includes a number of surveys, as well as interviews and case studies

• Ongoing via your Achievement Partner, your local Teach First School Partnerships Manager (if your school is a Teach First partner school), or through the Head of Programme.

What have schools already on the programme said about Leading Together?

Take a look at this video of current programme members attending a twilight learning module and talking about the benefits and impact of the programme.

Programme evaluationHow is the programme evaluated?

It’s really important to us that we evaluate and adapt the programme so that it works best for you. We’ll conduct our own evaluation with participating schools, focusing both on the programme’s impact and process.

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has been commissioned as the lead external evaluator by the Department for Education for this programme. NFER will conduct an independent evaluation of the delivery, short-term outcomes and impact of the Leading Together programme based on qualitative and quantitative data from participating schools and analysis of secondary data on students, teachers and schools.

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• Discussion panels, supporting your ability to network and collaborate with other programme members. You can post a question, provide an answer or contribute to discussions on various programme-related topics.

• Other useful tools to help you through the programme. For example, you’ll find all correspondence and documents related to the programme in a single, handy location. There’s also a useful “What’s next” planner, allowing you to see what’s coming up in terms of meetings, deadlines or learning opportunities – once completed, you can tick them off.

How do I log onto the portal?

Once your school has joined the programme, you’ll get an email with a personalised link to set your password and activate your account. You should activate your account as soon as possible after receiving the password reset link. Once you’ve done this you’ll be able to access the site anytime, anywhere.

To access the portal go to my.teachfirst.org.uk/leading. If you’ve lost your welcome email, you can request a new one here.

How can I get support when using the portal?

If you have any technical or other issues related to the portal, please email leadingtogether@teachfirst. org.uk.

If I have any questions and can’t find the answer in this document or on the Leading Together portal, who can I contact?

Your Achievement Partner should be your first port of call with any questions. If you don’t yet know who your AP is, please speak to your headteacher.

Leading Together programme portal What is the Leading Together portal?

As a programme member, you’ll access the online content for the learning modules and other programme information using the bespoke Leading Together portal. You can do this via a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone or other device. You can find more instructions on the portal itself.

What should I use the portal for?

The Leading Together portal will support your learning in several ways:

• All online content for the programme learning modules will be available to you through the portal. This will usually be in the form of pre- or post- work for face-to-face modules. Learning module content on the portal will be a mix of: videos featuring subject matter experts; course text; resources and links to further reading; targeted activities; and surveys to capture feedback on the module content.

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AssessmentAlongside the Data-driven Decision Making module, this module will allow programme members to explore the research around the very best practices in assessment. Programme members will consider the implications of the research on their own practice and whole-school approaches. The content will also explore the effects that approaches to assessment and tracking can have on teacher workload, testing and data-driven decision-making.

Data-driven Decision MakingAlongside the Assessment module, this module will provide programme members with the knowledge and skills to consider underlying principles, evaluate current approaches and explore new approaches based on robust research evidence – all with the aim of ensuring that assessment data has an impact. The module will focus on equipping leadership teams to create a culture and structure of using data to positively affect curriculum, teaching and learning with the overarching objective of maintaining high levels of pupil achievement.

Curriculum Planning and DesignProgramme members will consider the principles and philosophy that underpin the curriculum in their school context, and compare it with the research base underpinning learning. They’ll then consider and refine the curriculum that they’re designing and delivering, and examine how best to evaluate it with the goal of nimble and effective change and improvement. Programme members will also explore how to design a broad and balanced curriculum that ensures pupils develop mastery through deep knowledge.

Supporting Pupil TransitionsThis module will focus on how programme members can lead seamless and effective transitions between key phases and institutions in a pupil’s learning journey. Content will cover the phase-specific elements of pupil preparation required, including the successful move to secondary education, access to further education, and post-school progression.

Professional Development of Teachers and LeadersThis focusses on the leadership team’s ability to create and sustain a culture of professional development within their school environment. Programme members will learn what makes high-quality professional development, how to ‘make it stick’, what often stands in the way and how to overcome these challenges. Drawing on analysis of the research and learning from the HR and Performance Management module, this content will allow programme members to consider and implement a high-quality programme of learning for all staff.

Strategic Planning and Implementing ChangeAn opportunity to consider areas for development within a school’s context and how best to design, implement and evaluate changes to address these. By developing an understanding of where the greatest impact can be had, leadership teams will take a strategic approach to prioritisation and planning, and access tools and techniques that support this process. What’s more, programme members will also consider effective change management scenarios from across a range of contexts and apply these to their own context where appropriate.

Using Research and EvidenceEvidence plays a vital role in the education sector. This module will discuss this role and provide programme members with a platform from which to explore and utilise that evidence base. Programme members will learn how to identify high-impact interventions and use this understanding to inform school improvement. The principles covered in this module will underpin the approaches taken throughout the programme.

The Science of LearningThis seminal module explores the literature underpinning the implications of cognitive science on education and how pupils learn. Covering a broad range of research, the content will help programme members understand a range of theoretical perspectives and evidence about pupil learning, thinking and understanding. We’ll investigate a range of misconceptions and misunderstandings that can impede pupil learning, ultimately ensuring that best practice is fully embedded into teaching and learning across the school.

Optimising BehaviourThis module focuses on the importance – and challenge – of designing, establishing and maintaining an approach to whole-school behaviour management. With an emphasis on research and case studies, the content will enable programme members to implement or refine their own approach, and work to address challenging areas at a whole-school and classroom level.

APPENDIX – OVERVIEW OF LEARNING MODULES

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Governance, Legal and ComplianceThe module will look at how to leverage governance and manage risk to accelerate school progress. It will take an in-depth look at the requirements a school needs to meet in terms of its compliance obligations, with approaches specific to the structure of the school. By considering other contexts and sector-specific insights, programme members will become confident in making sure they are positioned to identify and manage risk, comply with all frameworks and requirements, and work effectively with their governing bodies to maximise, not distract from, pupil outcomes.

HR and Performance ManagementAppropriate systems are needed to enable effective management of human resources as appropriate to their school and governance context, including managing staff retention and reduction, and building career progression. Through discussion and analysis of models, programme members will be well-positioned to apply the theory and embed their refocused strategic approach and vision to the performance management of their staff.

Budgeting and FinanceThis module will review the implications of effective financial planning, including the tools and frameworks required. Programme members will consider the effective deployment of resources across the whole school, identifying how to create efficiencies and where additional income can be generated. As a result, leadership teams will be well positioned to make strategic decisions that improve schools while meeting budgetary constraints and being sensitive to operational contexts.

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teachfirst.org.uk/LeadingTogether Teach First is a registered charity (1098294)