1. Leadership perspective
on planning and tackling
bureaucracy.
AHDS
March 2014

2. Challenges and tensions for
school leaders
• Gate Keeping
• Meeting Learning Needs
• Ensuring the Entitlements are met
• Providing evidence and confidence in the system to
and for all stakeholders
• Ensuring professional trust is embedded
• Moving from a written to a dialogue led approach

3. Gate Keeping
• Leaders need to ensure they make a well
considered judgement on any initiative, asking "will
this have a positive impact on the children in the
school?" If not say no!
• Ensuring you remain firm on your school priorities
and that you are prepared to negotiate more
realistic timescales and formats for returns etc.

4. Meeting Learner Needs
• Ensuring IEP/ASPs are in place and up dated- making sure these
are evaluated and that teachers are able to discuss and evidence
the progress and the planning. This should remain a priority to
meet legislative requirements. Ensure responsibilities are
understood by all, if necessary revisiting during CPD.
• Ensuring that all learning is based on the core Learning Intention
and that there is progress planned from these. Ensuring that there
are high quality learning experiences in all classes. Tailor feedback
to a more manageable and focused discussion with a short minute
for example.
• Focus and targeted use of resources, including deployment of
support staff.

5. Meeting the entitlements and providing
evidence which creates confidence for all
stakeholders
• Leaders need to be confident they are providing a coherent curriculum which is
broad, progressive, planned in partnership with others involved in learning and builds
on prior learning. What do you already have and what can you do to support?
• Increasing opportunity for dialogue will be key to teachers having the confidence to
articulate their plans and the children being able to describe their learning to others.
• Capturing this learning in sharing sessions for parents/carers, for example, and
having a focus on discussion with external and internal evaluators, rather than paper
based evidence.
• Creating an environment for dialogue, for example stage partners having NCCT
together.
• Meaningful transitions need to be focused on discussion about learners and their
needs and by using smart evidence- using everything which is already in place.

6. Ensuring professional trust is
embedded
• Working time agreements need to allow leaders to
participate in discussions during moderated planning and
evaluation sessions.
• Children should be able to articulate their learning, and
learning conversations in classes should also provide the
teachers with the evidence they need to build their own
confidence in learning and teaching.
• Leaders should take information from teachers and build
their understanding and knowledge about learning from this.
Agreeing a focus for learning conversations for example.

7. Learning how to have
effective dialogue
• Children- self and peer evaluation of learning based on good learning intentions,
feedback from teachers, support staff, SMT, understanding their personal targets, a
clear value placed on pupil voice and participation embedded in the school.
• Staff- understanding the learning within the Es and Os, learning conversations within
classes, ongoing assessment and evaluation of tasks and pupil's work, discussion
with colleagues and partner agencies around standards and targets, feedback and
professional discussions with SMT, self reflection.
• Parents/Carers - flexible approaches to giving parents information, open discussions
with teachers formally and informally, awareness of expectations and planned
learning, creative engagement around learning outcomes for example children
leading social events where they share learning.
• External Evaluation - based on the schools information, understanding the context of
the school can affect capacity to gather written evidence , accepting evidence in a
flexible/ varied format, seeking a holistic view of the school from a wide range of
audience,set the minority view in a realistic context.

8. ......and finally!
• Know the rationale for your own school improvement is about
improving outcomes for the children, and ensure it is not overtaken by
other agendas.
• Engage with others and ensure all partners take responsibility,
delegate when necessary.
• Retain a sense of humour and develop some key phrases to help you.
"Thank you for your request, we have considered this and will get
back to you at a time when we would find this useful." " I have added
this request to my priority list, you will appreciate the school must
focus on its own agreed priorities."
• Talk regularly to other leaders- know you are not alone in trying to
make this work.