School Leadership - A Scottish Perspective

High-impact and effective leadership is not easy. Having said that, it should be recognised that leadership is crucial to the success of schools and education systems. Here in Scotland the government's current proposals for system reform, no matter what you think about a lot of the detail contained in their ongoing 'consultation', does recognise the crucial importance of leadership to the success of our schools. So much so that a Headteachers' Charter is part of their proposals. I suppose there should be no surprise in the primacy identified in leadership given the composition of the government's own panel of international education advisors, including as it does Andy Hargreaves, Alma Harris, Carol Campbell, Chris Chapman, Graham Donaldson, Pasi Sahlberg and Pak Tee Ng, all of whom have written and researched about the importance of leadership, at all levels, in schools and systems. Of course, as with most government policy, there is another agenda that is to yet re

As I write this, the annual International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) is taking place in Singapore. This event brings together researchers, writers and policy makers from education systems across the planet to look at and consider what is happening, and what is working, across those systems, as well as where we should focus next. The theme for this year's congress is 'Deepening School Change for Scaling: Principles, Pathways and Partnerships'. Whilst not being able to attend this year, though I did manage an appearance two years ago, I have been an interested follower of keynotes and workshops via Twitter and social media. This is one of the joys of such technology, that you can still observe what is happening and being discussed at an event like this, even though you might not be there in person. The various keynotes are also made available online so that you can see and hear these yourself, especially if you want to refer or think more abou

If you are reading this, dear reader, then I am extremely grateful to you, and wish you to know this is the 200th post of my Blog. When I started this blog in 2013 I had little understanding or idea of how it might develop over time. Originally, my intention was to share some of my journey as a headteacher/principal in Scotland. I wrote then, and still do now, to help develop and clarify my own thinking around various issues related to my leadership role and learning. Over time this original purpose has grown and developed as more people engaged with my Blog and I recognised the potential to share, collaborate and reach new understandings, that could impact on my thinking, practice and learners in the schools I led. What I also discovered was that the blog was another way for me to have a 'voice' in the wider discourse around education, schools and leadership, one which was not restricted to Scotland, and my immediate physical location, but which easily crossed international bo