160,000 children set to benefit from talented primary school leaders
6 Jun 2014 12:55 PM
David Laws announces
£7.4 million to help develop primary school leaders of the
future.
More than a hundred thousand
children in challenging primary schools will receive extra help from specially
trained teachers after Schools Minister David Laws announced £7.4 million
to help develop primary school leaders of the future.
The scheme – called
Teaching Leaders Primary – sees primary teachers, or so called
‘middle leaders’, already working in challenging schools and with
the potential to become outstanding leaders, put through a rigorous 2-year
training programme which develops their skills and helps them get the most from
pupils.
A total of 160,000 children aged
from 5 to 11 from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit over the next 4 years.
In its first year, the programme will be open to 1,200 primary teachers in
London, Manchester and Birmingham, and also in specific areas of need –
like Hull, Norfolk and Blackpool.
Schools Minister David Laws
said:
We know there is a strong link
between school leadership, quality of teaching, and outcomes for pupils.
Outstanding leadership is crucial in getting the most from pupils, and we know
that this is increasingly important in primary schools.
This funding will allow Teaching
Leaders to expand their success with promising teachers in secondary schools to
those at primary level. Now primary teachers with the potential to be
outstanding heads will get the support they need to become the best school
leaders of tomorrow.
This forms part of the
government’s drive to deliver the best schools and skills for young
people so the next generation can succeed. In the growing diversity of the
school system middle leaders play a vital role in supporting disadvantaged
pupils and closing the attainment gap between them and their
peers.
James Toop, CEO of
Teaching Leaders, said:
High-quality middle leadership
is the essential element to ensuring consistently excellent teaching in every
classroom, which we know makes the greatest difference in closing the
achievement gap for our most disadvantaged pupils. This funding means that we
can work with middle leaders in the primary phase to address the achievement
gap earlier in a child’s education.
Alison Peacock DBE,
Headteacher at Wroxham School, said:
Teaching Leaders Primary is an
exciting opportunity for primary middle leaders. The innovative, bespoke model
designed specifically for and developed with school leaders in primary schools
shows that Teaching Leaders understands middle leadership in primary and will
bring real impact to schools in the most challenging contexts.
Notes to
editors
-
Applications for Teaching
Leaders Primary can be submitted until 19 June 2014 via the Teaching
Leaders website.
-
The programme begins in August
2014. Further information can be found on the Teaching
Leaders Primary webpage.
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Teaching Leaders is an
independent education charity which addresses educational disadvantage by
developing middle leaders in schools in challenging contexts (see below for
eligibility details).
-
Last year the government
announced extra funding to develop so-called ‘middle leaders’ in
secondary schools - more than doubling the number of secondary teaching leaders
from 766 currently to 1,706 by 2015. More information can be found in
the press release.
-
Set up in partnership with the
National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), Teach
First, ARK and Future Leaders in 2008, Teaching Leaders now works
with around 444 schools and 776 teachers.
-
The eligibility criteria for
schools are:
- Ever 6 FSM (children
who have been eligible for free school meals at any point over the last 6
years) of 50% or over
- Ever 6 FSM of 25% to
50% with fewer than 75% of these disadvantaged pupils achieving level 4 or
above in English and maths
- fewer than 60% of pupils
achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and
mathematics