WORLD-FIRST LEADERSHIP COLLEGE SET TO OPEN

19 Aug 2002 10:16 AM

In just two weeks time the world's first national leadership centre for schools opens its doors. From September the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) will start welcoming headteachers and aspiring heads to its £28 million Learning and Conference Centre in Nottingham.

The centre will offer a wide range of programmes, seminars and other professional development opportunities designed to promote and develop leadership skills in schools. These will be available not just to heads but also to deputy heads, department heads, year heads and others with leadership responsibilities in schools. It's anticipated more than 20,000 delegates will come to the purpose-built residential centre in its first year.

"This is a landmark moment in educational leadership" said Heather Du Quesnay, Director and Chief Executive of NCSL. "Leading and managing a school is a rewarding but at the same time challenging and complex business. This wonderful new learning and conference facility will enable us to offer valuable knowledge, support and inspiration to school leaders. In doing so we will go a long way to ensuring schools can deliver the high quality education our children deserve."

A four month programme of events beginning in September has been organised to celebrate the launch of the College. The official opening will take place on October 24 and will involve some of the top names in education and leadership as well as a number of senior government representatives, including Secretary of State for Education and Skills Estelle Morris.

Other events in the launch programme include:

- E-learning: Transforming tomorrow's education today (October 2) - chaired by David Puttnam, this conference will show how e-learning is transforming teaching and learning. It will also include a video address by Baroness Ashton.

- An International Future: Learning from best practice worldwide (October 16 to 18) - bringing together school leaders and policy makers from this country and abroad, this event will explore examples of innovative school leadership practice from around the world

- Practitioner Voices: Using enquiry to influence change (November 14) - a workshop-based event to showcase the work of headteachers who are carrying out research into leadership through NCSL's Research Associates programme

- Leading the Creative School (22 November) - a seminar to explore some of the key issues surrounding the use of creativity in classrooms

- Transformation and the Leadership of Complex Change (29 November) - a seminar exploring the processes of change in schools led by world renowned experts in the field, Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves.

- Student Leadership (2 December) - a series of seminars on how students can affect leadership in schools for example as lesson observers

The National College for School Leadership already runs the three national headteacher training programmes, including the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). It is also developing a fourth national programme for subject and specialist leaders.

In addition the College has piloted and is continuing to develop a wide range of more specialist and niche training programmes, for example for ethnic minority teachers aspiring to headship and for headteachers wanting to improve their knowledge of how to use ICT strategically in schools.

The College is also committed to the principle of networked learning and has established nearly 50 "innovation" networks across the country, involving more than 500 schools.

All the College's work is built on the foundations of extensive and ongoing research into school leadership, much of which is shaped and carried out by serving headteachers.

For more information on NCSL visit our web site at www.ncsl.org.uk or phone 08701 0011155.

Press contact: Claire Gould, NCSL Media Relations Manager - 0115 872 2094

A full press information pack is available on request.

Editors' notes:

The National College for School Leadership was launched in November 2000 by the Prime Minister. For the last eighteen months it has been operating temporarily in accommodation on the Jubilee Campus, Nottingham and delivering training programmes, seminars and other leadership development activities regionally around the country and through NCSL's online arm www.ncsl.org.uk .

It's hoped that all school leaders will visit NCSL's Learning and Conference centre at least once in their career. However to ensure that school leaders across the country can be involved with and benefit from the College many of our programmes and activities will still be made available regionally and online.