Policy, leadershipand system-wide reform
SBD Phase 3 - Unit 1: Annotated bibliography
Official documents
DfE (2010a) The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010. Norwich: TSO.
This White Paper lays out the Coalition Government’s plans for whole-system reform of education, based on the premise that greater autonomy for schools will facilitate school-led improvement across the system. In this context, the document describes the Government’s aspirations for more academies and free schools, outlines their plans to raise the standards of teaching and introduces the pupil premium.
DfE (2010b) School Support Staff Topic Paper. London: DfE.
Following the Workforce Remodelling Agreement of 2003, the DFES commissioned research into the deployment, characteristics and impact of support staff. This document gathers together those research findings with the published findings of the Training and Development Agency and Ofsted, to provide a single coherent report on issues relating to support staff.
DfE (2011a) Extended Services in Practice: A summary of evaluation evidence for head teachers. London: DfE.
This report draws on the work of the extended services evaluation which ran from 2009-2011, to give an overview of the evidence on the value of extended school services.
DfE (2011b) Training our next generation of outstanding teachers: implementation plan. London: DfE.
The DfE published its Initial Teacher Training (ITT) paper ‘Training Our Next Generation of Outstanding Teachers’ in June 2011. Following consultation, this implementation plan was published, setting out the timetable for reform.
DfE (2012) Academies Annual Report 2010/11. London: DfE
The publication of an annual report into the performance of the academies sector was promised in the 2010 Academies Act. This is the first of the annual reports. It argues the case for increased autonomy, reports on the performance of academies and provides information on academy sponsors and partnership working.
DfE (2013)The Children and Families Bill 2013. Norwich:TSO.
This Bill proposes a number of reforms which affect education, including the creation of a virtual school head in each local authority to oversee the education of all looked after children and significant changes to the system for children and young people with special educational needs.
PricewaterhouseCooper (2007) Independent Study into School Leadership: main report.
May 2013]
In November 2005, the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) recommended an independent study to examine the roles, responsibilities, structures and reward systems for school leaders in England and Wales. Following this, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to undertake an independent research study on school leadership. The main aims of the study were to provide a comprehensive and independent account of existing, emerging and potential models of school headship and the wider leadership team that are effective in raising standards for all pupils.
School Teachers’ Review Body (2012) Twenty-First Report 2012. Norwich: TSO.
In December 2012, the School Teachers' Review Body (STRB) published its Twenty-First Report in which it laid out a number of recommendations to enable pay reform, notably linking pay to performance, with the aim of increasing school autonomy.
Teaching Agency (2012) A Guide to School Direct 2013-14. London: DfE.
School Direct is a new programme proposed in the DfE paper ‘Training Our Next Generation of Outstanding Teachers,’ with the aim of giving schools the opportunity to become involved in delivering ITT, increasing their influence and choice.This document explains the School Direct model and how it will work in practice.
National College resources
Chapman, C., Ainscow, M., Bragg, J., Gunter, H., Hull, J., Mongon, D., Muijs, D. and West, M.(2008)Emerging Patterns of School Leadership: Current practice and future directions, Nottingham: NCSL.
This research report outlines the key findings from a study examining emerging forms of school leadership. It highlights possible future directions in leadership, management and governance that may support the further development of the education system. The study involved a literature review plus original research in schools.
Chapman, C., Ainscow, M., Mongon, D., Muijs, D., West, M., Gallannaugh, F., Bragg, J. and Armstrong, P. (2009)Emerging patterns of school leadership 2: A deeper understanding, Nottingham: The National College.
This report examines how new structural arrangements for leadership, management andgovernance are standing up to the challenges being faced by schools today. Key findings are presented alongside examples to illustrate the points being made.
Coleman, A. (2006)Collaborative Leadership in Extended Schools: leading in a multi-agency environment. Nottingham: NCSL.
This report highlights the increased complexity that multi-agency working brings to school leaders and outlines a range of approaches which leaders may wish to adopt to support increased collaboration within their school. It draws upon the experiences and perspectives of a number of individuals in schools and their partner organisations and includes the main findings from a review of literature in this field.
Coleman, A. (2008)The Future of Leadership. Nottingham: NCSL.
This booklet sets out what some of the world’s leading thinkers have to say about leadership – past, present and into the future. Ideas such as: the importance of context; transformational leadership; followership; leaders’ personal qualities and authenticity; turnaround leadership; and leadership by consent.
Day, C., Sammons, P., Hopkins, D., Harris, A., Leithwood, K., Gu, Q. and Brown, E. (2010) 10 Strong Claims About Successful School Leadership. Nottingham: NCSL.
This report is based on a three-year research project examining the impact of leadership on pupil outcomes. The authors argue that whilst there is no single model for successful leadership, successful heads share some common approaches, including the gradual application of distributed leadership.
Hopkins, D. (2009)The Emergence of System Leadership. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership.
Recent years have seen significant increases in the amount of collaboration and mutual support in the schools system. The shift from competition to collaboration, from top-down control to organisational autonomy has been quite remarkable. So too has the emergence of the role of system leader: someone in a leadership capacity who is as concerned about the progress of another school, college or children’s centre as they are about their own. This pamphlet traces the emergence of this vitally important role.
National College, Distributed Leadership, [accessed March 2013]
This site discusses distributed leadership and provides links to a range of resources and publications.
NCSL (2011a) National Teaching Schools: Prospectus. Nottingham: NCSL.
The Schools White Paper 2010 proposed a national network of teaching schools to lead the training and professional development of all staff. This prospectus offers a description of the concept, the model and the process.
-NCSL (2011b) Stepping up to system leadership. Nottingham: NCSL. [accessed March 2013]
This case study considers two primary schools working in collaboration as an example of system leadership being applied in practice to raise standards.
NCSL (2012) School leadership for a self-improving system: seminar report. Nottingham: NCSL.
In November 2012, the National College held a seminar to consider the following questions:
- How is the school landscape evolving today, in England and abroad?
- How far are we on the road to ensuring all leaders have the skills and confidence to make the best of autonomy and lead a self-improving system?
- What are the challenges and opportunities for leaders and leadership?
- What are the implications for the College and wider system?
This report summarises the conclusions reached and makes recommendations for action.
O'Leary, D. and Craig, J.(2007)System Leadership: lessons from the literature. Nottingham: NCSL.
This paper combines a rigorous understanding of systems theory with a practical explanation of how this applies to school leadership. It argues that system leaders recognise the importance of connections between issues, individuals and institutions and see schools as systems within their own right, operating within the wider education system, public services and local communities. In recognising the importance of these relationships, system leaders seek to build the capacity of whole systems to sustain their own high performance, improve and adapt to new challenges.
West-Burnham, J. and Otero, G.(2004)Leading Together to Build Social Capital. Nottingham: NCSL.
This think piece describes how school leaders can contribute to the creation of social capital. It argues for a larger role for school leaders in building social capital as opposed to a narrow emphasis on improving classroom practice.
West-Burnham, J. (2011) Building sustainable school improvement through systems leadership and collaboration.Nottingham: NCSL.
This think-piece explores the nature of systems leadership and collaboration, the potential benefits for schools, and the characteristics needed for leaders to become systems leaders.
Wood, E., O’Sullivan, F., Rix, S. and al-Bahrani-Peacock, D. (2007) The Baseline Study of School Business Managers: final report. Nottingham: NCSL.
This research report discusses how school business management has been developing and evolving during the noughties.
Academic writing
Barber, M., Whelan, F. and Clark, M. (2010) Capturing the Leadership Premium. McKinsey and Company.
This report summarises the findings from an international research project comparing school leaders from eight high-performing school systems. The writers identify a number of common attributes among good head teachers. They also argue that national policy can be a powerful tool for improvement, and that an effective intermediate tier is essential to drive improvement through every school.
Bates, A. (2012) “Transcending systems thinking in education reform: implications for policy-makers and school leaders.”Journal of Education Policy, Vol. 28, 38-54.
The author of this paper questions the effectiveness of large-scale educational reforms over the last 20 years. She argues that policy-makers systemic approach may result in eroding educational quality.
Bush, T. and Glover, D. (2012) “Distributed leadership in action: leading high-performing leadership teams in English schools.” School Leadership & Management, Vol 32:1, 21-36.
This report, based on research into high-performing schools conducted for the National College, explores the relationship between distributed leadership model and leadership teams in education. The authors identify a number of characteristics common to the teams they examine.
Collarbone, P. and West-Burnham, J.(2008)Understanding Systems Leadership: securing excellence and equity in education. London: Network Continuum.
This book provides an insight into 'Systems Leadership' and 'leadership beyond the school'. Systems leadership involves school leaders in: advising on the formulation of national policies and projects; working with local authorities; collaborating and cooperating with leaders of other public services; leading a cluster or federation of schools; leading extended services; working on community initiatives; and, acting as executive headteachers. This book explores in detail, the rationale for, and the implications of, systems leadership.
Higham, R., Hopkins, D. and Matthews, P.(2009)System Leadership in Practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
In this book, the authors offer new perspectives, support and guidance on system leadership and show how working collaboratively and leading networks can bring about positive change. They encourage school leaders to innovate, develop rigorous partnerships, take managed risks and deploy resources creatively in order to build sustained improvements in student learning and well-being.
Hopkins, D.(2007)Every School a Great School: realizing the potential of system leadership. Buckingham: Open University Press.
This book argues that, for 'every school a great school' to become a reality, requires a move from individual school improvement efforts and short term objectives to a sustainable system-wide response. Achieving this goal requires strategies that not only continue to raise standards, but also build capacity within the system. Hopkins discusses the responsibility of system leaders to mould four drivers to fit individual school contexts suggesting it is this leadership that enables systemic reform to be generic in terms of overall strategy and specific in adapting to individual and particular situations.
Leadbeater, C. & Mongon, D. (2012) Leadership for Public Value: Understanding Valuable Outcomes for Children, Families and Communities. London: Institute of Education.
This bookuses the work of ten schools to reflect on the role of education in creating 'public value'. The authors show how the schools added ecological, political, economic, social and cultural values to their core activity and identifies the five tasks which underpin leadership for public value.
Senge, P. (2006)The Fifth Discipline: the art & practice of the learning organization. London: Doubleday.
In The Fifth Discipline, Senge describes the designs for an organisation where people expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning together. This edition contains more than 100 pages of new material about how companies are using and benefiting from Fifth Discipline practices, as well as a new foreword from Peter Senge about his work with the Fifth Discipline over the last 15 years.
Wallace, M., Tomlinson, M. and O’Reilly, D. (2011) “The Mediation of Acculturation: Orchestrating School Leadership Development in England.” Educational Management Administration & Leadership, Vol 39:3, 261-282.
The authors of this paper argue that the government and the National College work to acculturate school leaders into transformational and distributed leadership models, leading to some innovative practice, but they also suggest that the retention of national expectations and accountability is likely to limit the potential for improvement.
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