Headteacher standards review
17 Apr 2014 01:16 PM
Standards for
headteachers will be updated for the first time in a
decade.
New standards for headteachers
to reflect the growing diversity of the school system will be drawn up under a
review announced today by the Department for Education.
Many governing bodies use the
current standards - last reviewed in 2004 - to inform headteacher recruitment
and performance assessment.
The updated standards will be
designed by a small group of respected professionals, including headteachers,
middle leaders and a chair of governors, and will take into account the
changing nature of school leadership, such as executive heads or those
responsible for multiple schools under academy trusts.
The review will be chaired by
Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski, executive headteacher of Altrincham Grammar School
for Girls and CEO of the Bright Futures Educational Trust.
Schools Minister David Laws
said:
We know there is a strong link
between school leadership, quality of teaching, and outcomes for pupils. It is
a decade since the headteacher standards were last reviewed, and it is right we
establish new standards which consider the many different types of school
leaders there now are.
Dame Dana Ross-Wawrzynski
said:
I am delighted to be part of a
process which enables headteachers a genuine opportunity to review and set
their own professional standards. This review must be one of the most
significant steps towards a self-regulatory system within
education.
The review will consider best
practice internationally, call for expert advice and evidence, and engage with
teachers and leaders. It will aim to establish a set of standards for
headteachers that:
- are unequivocal, clear and easy
to understand
- can be used to assess the
performance of headteachers
- steer the professional
development of both existing and aspiring headteachers
- are designed to inspire
confidence in headteachers
- focus primarily on the key
elements of high-quality school and system leadership
The review, including draft
revised standards, will report to the Secretary of State for Education in the
summer, with the intention of publishing standards in the
autumn.
Notes to
editors
-
The focus of the review is the
existing set of national standards for headteachers. It will take account of
wider leadership reforms, including the revised National Professional
Qualification for Headship (2012), and the revised Teachers’ Standards
(2011).
-
Other members of the review team
include:
- Ian Bauckham - Headteacher of
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, Kent
- Roy Blatchford - Director of the
National Education Trust
- Anika Collins - Specialist
Leader of Education at Samworth Enterprise Academy,
Leicestershire
- Joan Deslandes - Headteacher of
Kingsford Community School, Newham
- Kay Dimelow - Headteacher of
Huntingdon Nursery School, Cambridgeshire
- Tony Draper - Headteacher of
Water Hall Primary in Bletchley, Milton Keynes
- Susan Douglas - Senior Schools
Adviser at British Council and CEO of The Eden Academy
- Duncan Hawarth - National Leader
of Governance and Chair of Governors at Woodfall Primary School in Neston,
Cheshire
- Helen Morgan - Specialist Leader
of Education at Harton Technology College, South Shields
- Sir Michael Wilkins - Chief
Executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust
- Venessa Willms - Director of
Primary at ARK Schools