1. Broadmeadow Special School
Music –
Slide 4 – it aint what you do…
Slide 8 – We’re all in this together – High School Musical
Slide 10 – superman theme
Slide 17 – the future from meet the Robinsons

2. Specialist Leaders in Education
ConnectEd Partnership TSA is committed to school improvement through a system of partnerships that will draw upon the wide expertise of system leaders within our partnership of schools. It is part of the TSA’s key purpose to appoint and deploy SLEs to ensure that the best leaders are working to improve the quality of teaching and leadership where it is most needed.
The TSA is offering the nationally accredited Leadership Development Programme NPQSL. Information is in your pack. Please bring to the attention of your senior leaders in school or middle leaders aspiring to senior leader positions.
The programme is facilitated by Lisa Walker – DHT at Broadmeadow; Rob Rolfe DHT at Penn Fields; and Julie Humphries DHT at St Andrews. If you have any potential facilitators in your schools – then please complete the form in your pack.
Future plans - audit and understand the future leadership needs of our alliance and provide talent development opportunities across the alliance that are specifically designed to move these people to next stage promotion.

3. Background The white paper (2010)
As we create the national network of teaching schools, we will also designate ‘specialist leaders of education’ – excellent professionals in leadership positions below the head teacher (such as deputies, bursars, heads of department) who will support others in similar positions in other schools.

4. The vision The SLE role should be about:
improving outcomes for children
leaders supporting leaders
drawing on specialist knowledge and areas of expertise
being flexible to meet the needs of supported schools
sustainability – helping schools improve their own leadership capacity
The SLE concept is closely linked to the vision for teaching
schools, since teaching schools are responsible for the recruitment, designation, brokerage and quality assurance of SLEs.

5. The role
An SLE is a middle or senior leader in a position below the headteacher with a particular area of expertise, who will support middle or senior leaders in other schools.
Deployment is based on need and demand. Deployment types will vary.
There are many benefits for SLEs and their schools, eg:
opportunities to work independently, to be creative and try out new ideas
development of coaching and facilitation skills
opportunity to network with peers
experience of different school environments
the chance to learn from ideas and approaches used in other schools
development of skills and knowledge that can benefit their own school
the knowledge that they are helping others to improve and having a positive impact on outcomes for children

6. Views of SLEs
“The SLE role allows me to widen my experience outside of my own school, enabling me to offer support, guidance and help to colleagues working in different contexts. It also enhances my own school, as I pick up golden nuggets of experience along the way.”
“It developed my range of leadership styles, as you must be sensitive as an SLE, and empathy with your partner school and colleagues is vital.”
“My SLE role has been a fantastic learning experience for all involved, but especially for me!”
“To me, the role of an SLE is to help improve outcomes for all young people, not just those at your own school. An SLE must see themselves as a leader of education, not as a leader of an institution.”
“An SLE must be multiskilled and able to coach, mentor, demonstrate, train and facilitate... Most importantly, like any good leader, they need to have the emotional intelligence to know which approach and style to adopt, depending on the context or situation.”

7. Eligibility
SLEs can come from any school, not just outstanding schools.
The eligibility criteria focus on:
experience
track record
capacity and commitment
skills
Full details can be found on the NCTL website, along with an agreed list of areas of specialism for SLEs.
Teaching schools will also set their own prioritisation criteria, according to need and demand in a given area.

8. To be successful in your application, you should have:
a successful track record of working effectively within your own school and/or across a group of schools, or working with a range of leaders within a single school
evidence of successfully using coaching and/or facilitation skills to bring about sustainable improvements
excellent communication and interpersonal skills
an understanding of what constitutes ‘outstanding’ in your field of expertise and the ability and confidence to communicate this
an understanding of how your specialism and skills can contribute to wider school improvement goals
an analytical approach in identifying and prioritising needs
the ability to set and establish new and innovative working practices
the ability to grow leadership capacity in others

9. The designation process
Teaching School Alliance determines areas of specialism to recruit to and notify NCTL when they are recruiting. Details of those teaching schools recruiting are promoted on NCTL website
during the application round, applicant would obtain an application form (word document) from the teaching school
Applicant and headteacher referee complete the application and return to teaching school (guidance available on the NCTL website)
applications will be sifted and assessed by a panel from the teaching school alliance
teaching schools will invite successful applicants to an assessment exercise
teaching schools will notify applicants of the outcome

10. Specialist Areas
You must have at least 1 specialism from the following areas of expertise, which are based on the 4 areas of focus for Ofsted.
Ofsted focus
Areas of expertise
Leadership and management
Academies and academy transition; assessment; leadership of continuing professional development; school business management and financial management; leadership of curriculum
Pupil achievement
Art; closing the gap; drama; design and technology; early years; English; geography; history; information and communication technology; maths; modern foreign languages; music; phonics; physical education; personal, social and health education; religious education; science; special educational needs; support for the most able pupils
Quality of teaching
Initial teacher training and newly qualified teacher development
Behaviour and safety
Behaviour and discipline; attendance

11. SLE deployment Commissioning
SLE support could be commissioned (and potentially funded) by schools, local authorities, diocesan bodies, academy trusts, the Department for Education.
Brokerage
Teaching schools are responsible for brokering SLE support within their alliance or area. They will receive requests for SLE expertise, and allocate the right SLEs to the schools needing support.
Deployment
Models and types of deployment will vary, depending on need, for example:
a two-day diagnostic exercise
half a day’s support each week for two terms
a three-month full-time support role

12. Quality assurance and impact monitoring
Teaching schools are responsible for the quality assurance of SLEs and will need to demonstrate the impact of SLE deployments on outcomes for children.
For each deployment, the SLE’s school, the supported school and the teaching school will agree the scope of the work, objectives and impact measures, which will be reviewed and monitored at the end.
The SLE’s designation may be reviewed if there is a lack of evidence to demonstrate the impact of his or her work.

13. Write Our Future Formalise Partnership Agreements
Promotional video and marketing strategy
Schoolbusplus goes live – November 1st 2015
Recruit for School Direct (2016/17 start)
Identify Partner Schools for School Direct
Provide School Experience Programme for trainee ‘wannabees’
Recruit SLEs and NLEs
Roll out Leadership Programmes
Importance of communication- between schools, TSA, ConnectEd Partnership and LA. There will be a lot of information coming out to schools.
School busplus, web site (currently under construction) and social media will be the vehicles for this.
Final thought – we will be ‘Better Together’ in order to write our own future.

14. Lisa Walker- SLE for ITT and NQT Development
Becoming an sle
Lisa Walker- SLE for ITT and NQT Development

15. The application Demonstrate a proven track record using real examples
Use examples from your own setting
Focus on developing skills leadership in others
Examples of how you have made an impact- in any way
Discussion of system leadership

16. The assessment Led by ConnectEd Presentation of your chosen area
Interview by HT’s in the alliance
Demonstrate that you have the skills and confidence required
People skills

17. Being an SLE Status Training Contracted tasks through TSA
Supply and demand
Supporting others to lead improvement