« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
foreword
High quality leadership is critical to a successful school. The headteacher is central in ensuring high standards of education for all children and young people in their care so that they can become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
We need headteachers with high expectations, clear vision, a strong ethos and excellent communication skills - qualities which were outlined clearly in the recently revised Standard for Headship ( SfH).
As from 1 August 2005 all teachers appointed to their first headteacher post must have met the SfH. One way of showing you have met this requirement is by successfully completing the Scottish Qualification for Headship ( SQH). The SQH has proved to be a successful and valuable way of preparing and developing aspiring headteachers. We continue to support aspirant headteachers who wish to pursue the SQH as a means of achieving the SfH.
Feedback from the profession, however, has been that teachers need to have a choice of routes to achieving the SfH, which take account of individual life styles and professional commitments. We need to ensure that flexibility and choice of development opportunities are available to aspirant headteachers.
For that reason, in Ambitious, Excellent Schools we undertook to establish new means of achieving the SfH, to provide choice and alternatives to the SQH. Our aim in developing these flexible approaches, is to expand the pool of teachers that are interested in and capable of successfully leading a school.
Clearly however, leadership development does not and cannot begin with preparation for headship - no matter how flexible or high quality that preparation is. If we are to achieve our aim of attracting more teachers into careers in educational leadership, and equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary for such vital roles, then we must recognise the need to provide leadership development opportunities at an early stage in teachers' professional development.
Such development provision is a key component of succession planning - and local authorities need to think imaginatively about how they identify and nurture teachers with leadership aspirations and potential from an early stage in their career. The 2003 publication Continuing Professional Development for Educational Leaders provides a framework for progression and development in leadership skills for teachers at all stages.
This consultation, however, focuses more specifically upon preparation for headship. I welcome your views on the details of our proposals, and I encourage you to contribute to the discussion on how we can best provide aspirant headteachers with credible and valuable alternative approaches to achieving the SfH.
PETER J PEACOCK
Minister for Education and Young People
« Previous | Contents | Next »