Learning to lead change: What I do matters!

Module 1 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Explore the need for change to bring about an improvement in educational outcomes
• Recognise that as a leader you can activate personal agency by focusing on the things you can change
• Understand the need to focus on the Instructional Core
• Reflect on and explore the distinction between leadership and management
• Understand what is meant by adaptive leadership and the key role of self-awareness and emotional intelligence within this.

Effective curriculum management: The core business of the SMT

Module 2 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Understand what is meant by curriculum coverage and its critical role in improving educational outcomes in schools.
• Understand a range of curriculum coverage challenges including those related to pedagogy and learning gaps; leadership and management; and psycho-social challenges in the wider context.
• Identify and explain schools as a system of professional relationships in which everyone has a role to play in supporting curriculum coverage.
• Understand the curriculum management cycle and the SMT’s role in supporting the cycle throughout.
• Be introduced to two tools that can be used to support the curriculum management cycle: Tool 1: Teacher’s Weekly Tracking, Reflecting and Responding Tool, and Tool 2: Departmental Head Scheduling Tool
• Recognise the role of the SMT in creating conditions for professional, supportive, collaborative and evidence-based conversations on curriculum, teaching and learning.

Instructional leadership: Leading change that matters

Module 3 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Further understand the role of the SMT in leading and managing change in schools (specifically, supporting the curriculum management cycle).
• Understand how John Kotter’s 8-Step Change Management Model can help you plan and implement change in your school.
• Understand some of the challenges and strategies that can be used to secure teachers’ support for change.
• Identify and be able to explain the role of internal and external accountability and how reciprocal accountability lies at the heart of change (at an individual school and systemic level).
• Understand the meaning and skills necessary to have ‘difficult conversations’ with members of your team.
• Be introduced to a tool that can be used to support professional, evidence-based conversations within the curriculum management cycle: Tool 3: Departmental Head Curriculum Coverage Conversation Tool.

Supervision: Enabling professional and supportive conversation based on evidence

Module 4 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Understand the SMTs responsibility to create the conditions for professional, supportive and collaborative conversations, based on evidence, throughout the school. These conversations will facilitate identifying and solving problems of curriculum coverage (and are also for professional learning).
• Recognise the critical role of these conversations in the supervision process.
• Recognise that supervision has both a professional and personal dimension – it is built on a foundation of internal as well as reciprocal accountability, and an attitude of ‘How can I help you?’.
• Understand the term ‘professional’ and ‘professionalism’ and what it means within the context of supportive conversations based on evidence.
• Understand what is meant by ‘active’ listening and the role it plays in establishing trust and collaboration within the safe space of supervision.
• Identify and be able to explain the importance of language and other factors, such as body language and withholding judgement, when giving or receiving feedback.
• Recognise some of the challenges to supervision.
• Understand the importance of teachers collaborating and establishing PLCs (both in response to time management constraints but also for professional development).

Instructional leadership: Leading by listening

Module 5 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Understand what is meant by the term ‘instructional leadership’ and what this means for supporting the Instructional Core in your school.
• Understand how proper time management is essential for strong leadership and school success. This includes protecting teaching time.
• Consolidate your understanding of supervision and the fact that it has both a professional and personal dimension – built on a foundation of internal as well as reciprocal accountability, and an attitude of ‘How can I help you?’
• Recognise some of the challenges to supervision.
• Reflect upon and recognise the curriculum management process as it involves teachers reflecting on their practice, having professional, supportive conversations with their DHs as well as conversations between DHs and Principals.
• Be introduced to a tool to further support the curriculum management cycle: TOOL 4: Principal’s Curriculum Management Conversation Tool.

Assessment: Learning from what learners are learning

Module 6 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Recognise formal and informal assessment as sources of information about what learners have learned (assessment of learning, i.e. summative vs. assessment for learning, i.e. formative).
• Understand the importance of effective management of assessment processes for trustworthy data.
• Deepen your ability to analyse assessment results so that you can:
  • identify patterns of achievement across subjects and grades, and over time
  • consider how the information is useful to you
  • consider how you might take follow up action based on the information.
• Recognise the role of the Circuit Manager and his/her relationship with the SMT.
• Understand the preparation required to better facilitate professional, supportive evidence-based conversations on curriculum management with Circuit Managers.

Community participation to support the instructional core

Module 7 provides the opportunity for participants to:

• Recognise formal and informal assessment as sources of information about what learners have learned (assessment of learning, i.e. summative vs. assessment for learning, i.e. formative).
• Understand the importance of effective management of assessment processes for trustworthy data.
• • Deepen your ability to analyse assessment results so that you can:

• • identify patterns of achievement across subjects and grades, and over time
  • consider how the information is useful to you
  • consider how you might take follow up action based on the information.

• Recognise the role of the Circuit Manager and his/her relationship with the SMT.
• Understand the preparation required to better facilitate professional, supportive evidence-based conversations on curriculum management with Circuit Managers.