1. WHAT MATTERS TO ME? A Connecting Conversation
Warwickshire Headteachers’ Conference
Ettington Chase Hotel, Ettington
9 February 2009
What is good about leadership in Warwickshire schools?
• Flexibility
• Caring
• Networking
• Creativity
• Supportive autonomy
• Open minded
• Flexible thinking to respond to need of local community through a
range of services
• Establishing, sharing and living vision
• Positive response to change
• Flexible
• Hard-working
• Innovative, forward-thinking
• Networking/clusters
• Confident
• Supportive colleagues
• Flexible, and responsive to change
• Innovative leadership amongst headteachers and school leadership
• We have freedom to act locally within the overarching vision of
Warwickshire
• Ambitious vision
• Local networks, clusters and extended schools
• Commitment of school leaders, positive and aspirational
• Willingness to engage with the agenda

2. • Heads are supportive rather than competitive
• Generally, heads feel the Local Authority do try to provide support
• Team spirit and network amongst heads
• Commitment to make things work
• Dedicated
• Focused on children
• New Heads Induction
• Adaptable
• Questioning
• “Good” leadership
• Support for each other and networking
• Clear visions for our diverse communities / setting the direction
• Managing an “impossible” agenda and workload
• Commitment / dedication of headteachers
• Networking
• Governors/officer support mixed
• Dedicated and committed headteachers
• A good level of autonomy
• Breadth of training for leadership roles at all levels
• Strong cluster links
• Committed to change, forward-looking
• Creative within budget constraints
• Distributed leadership
• Networking opportunities valuable
• Dedication of the leadership teams
• Strong local clusters
• Good support from the authority
• Passion

3. • Resilience
• Perseverance!
• Making a difference
• Innovative approaches
• Commitment
• Dedication
• We are willing to share good practice
• Make the best we can for our children despite constraints
• Local networking and support initiatives
• Receptive and ambitious for children
• Commitment to change
• Personable
• Can do/ resilience/ drive
• Focussed
• Concentrate on getting the job done
• Mix of leadership styles
• Pulling together closely
• Open-minded and not frightened of change
• Strong heads
• Commitment
• Vocation
• Values shared—ECM
• Child at the centre of what we do
• Local Authority allows autonomy
• Commitment
• Resourceful and resilient
• Collaboration across schools
• Child-centredness—the child at the heart of school matters
• Positive about embracing change in principle
• Stability? +/-
• The work of some clusters

4. • Loyalty
• Commitment
• Individualism
• Head to head support network
• Good collaborative working between heads in clusters
• Headteachers bring their individuality, flexibility and ability to adapt to
change to meet the needs of their specific communities (i.e. diverse
leadership reflects Warwickshire’s diverse communities)
What really matters now? (The biggest challenges we face or what you
hold dear in your professional heart)
Children leading the curriculum
Enjoying learning—children and adults
Confidence
Preserving childhood
Developing leadership capacity and succession planning
What are the leadership roles of the future?
Starting with children first—personalised learning
Providing an outstanding service within a decreasing budget
Extended / multi-agency provision
The children
Holidays
Relationships
Children are always at the heart of what we do
Challenge—schools bear the brunt of responsibility for child’s welfare with few
resources and expertise
Class teachers having to cater for huge range of complex needs under
inclusion agenda
Education for the 21st
Century
Engaging the whole community / global community

5. Raising the profile of education as being central and valued
Lack of challenge from School Improvement Partners
Social and emotional aspects of learning
Social cohesion (family breakups, instability)
Supporting whole family
Quality, manageable curriculum which leads to life-long learning
Quality recruitment and retention of teachers
Heads as leaders of learning
Transforming attitudes
Joy of living
Joy of learning
Emotional and time demands made on schools by increasingly poor families
facing increasingly challenging social situations
Balancing above and learning with increasing bureaucracy for DCSF etc.
Preparing children for the 21st
Century
Preparing them to be adaptable to change/ transferable skills
Putting school at the heart of the community
(Surviving the ‘credit crunch’)
The challenge of providing a shared vision with the resources we have
The relevance of change and essential initiatives within schools
Shifting sands—political
Cohesion while balancing “competition” from other schools
Inter-agency working e.g. social care / CAMHS/ Health
Passionate about giving all children—especially vulnerable—a chance
Using our judgment in our schools, in our situations (e.g. snow closure)
Severe behaviour issues…we need to be listened to…inclusion sometimes
doesn’t work
Challenges:
Conflict between focus on standards and the wider ECM agenda
The size of the job—models for leadership and strategies as the head can’t do
it all

6. Funding and sustainability for initiatives/ flexibility
Securing appropriate resources, e.g. budget
Managing extended services and multi-agency links
Sustainability is a challenge
Clarity—managing national initiatives cohesively
Turning the vision into reality—practicalities
Leadership succession
The future of small schools (embedding extended services)
Leadership of learning
Challenges:
Developing other leaders
Harnessing technology and change
Keeping focussed
Hold dear:
Children—ensuring we meet their needs
Extended services
Governance
Funding / staffing structure
New roles, sustainability
Workload—retaining heads
Ambition to provide the best for all children
Pace of change too fast
Need for consolidation now
Focus on fewer top priorities—but Ofsted demands I all
What works best for children
Children at the heart of integrated services
Each individual reaching potential
The whole child—ensuring schools are skilled in range of areas to meet
needs
Succession and leadership
Pupil progress – academic and personal development
Life long learning / life skills
Global interconnectivity / responsibilities
Sustaining childhood

7. Budget cuts
Equal pay
Maintaining appropriate staffing levels
Changes to the curriculum
Unrealistic deadlines—new initiatives
Please agree on a (joint) three sentence statement of the moral purpose
you feel exemplifies why you are in this job.
Making a difference to the lives of children
Improving the life chances of children
Develop a welcoming learning community for all stakeholders where all feel
valued
Provide a safe and secure environment where they feel able to make
mistakes and learn from them
To ensure every child has the opportunity to fulfil their potential and become
resilient lifelong learners.
To ensure children are happy and safe
Our core purpose is to make a difference to children!
Making a difference to address the needs of each person so that they can be
well-rounded, confident individuals who have a commitment to lifelong
learning, community well-being and improving the lives of themselves and
those around them.
Supporting the development of children from birth to be happy, successful
adults in a global society
To make a difference to children and their families.
Access to rich and varied curriculum fit for the 21st
century
Safeguarding the emotional well-being of our communities to promote
cohesion
To make a difference to children and communities
To raise aspirations / expectations of children and their families
To contribute towards establishing strong moral values as good citizens

8. Defending childhood
Question how and why we do what we do
Nurturing and celebrating individuality of children and adults
Children having choice and equality of opportunity
We want to make a difference to life chances of children and families by
provision of relevant, high quality educational opportunities
To help our children make correct moral choices and to be fully human and
not animal
To eradicate inequalities and to build personal aspiration.
To make a difference to children’s lives
To share excitement and passion for learning
To equip them with opportunities for quality life chances
To make the difference to children, young people’s lives
One thing you put in that will break the inevitable cycle of their lives
To make a difference to the life chances of each child
To build a sense of worth and self-esteem
To develop aspirational, lifelong learners who are excited to learn
Obliged to provide the best for our children so they can be the best they can
be
Help children to grow and be a “complete” person in society
Promoting and developing learning in the community
Moral purpose:
Making a difference (positive!) to children’s futures, lives and education
Creating the right attitudes and an enthusiasm for learning
Supporting and developing children to contribute to others/ give back and
shaping society
Purpose of our job is to give every stakeholder the opportunity to succeed and
be the best that they can be.
We would attempt to achieve this by working together in partnership with all
interested parties to meet the needs of our communities
Ensuring opportunity for all-equity
Enabling pupils to make a difference in the world they inherit

9. Serving a community—ethically, worthwhile job
We aspire to create small, but outreaching communities which model equality,
fairness and other moral qualities which we believe will change individuals
and society for the better
The opportunity to make a difference to the lives of children and families.
The provision of a secure/ caring environment where children are valued
Providing a role model of moral choices and realising potential
Of paramount importance is our duty to children—nurturing their development
To know the whole child and their context (i.e. family circumstances etc.)
To develop future citizens
What should Warwickshire Local Authority be providing to build up
leadership capacity –what should/could we be providing?
Help headteachers to focus on the core aspects of the job
The LA should help grow future leaders…first step is to know schools more
We need to define the role of future leaders / system leaders
Enable future leaders to gain experience in a safe / supported context
Consultant HT to support people new in role and work alongside those newly
appointed. In school, for example, two days a week.
Building leadership:
Good coaching and support for leaders
Clear vision (LA)
Flexible funding to meet the varying needs of leadership roles
Re-designing the “headship” role
New headteachers’ induction—heads select their own mentoring
arrangements
Opportunity to learn from best practice and funding to ensure this happens

10. More opportunities for middle leaders to develop expertise through training
and shared practice—signposting
Better funding for courses etc. for aspiring leaders. Training should meet the
needs of the job, e.g. managing change.
Funding
Greater continuity of support
Fairness-equitable approach
Clear communication for all
Listen to parties but also take action
Investigate—what is “inclusiveness”
Flexibility of working and succession management e.g. job-sharing, heads’
secondments etc.
Human resource management
School governance—reclarify their roles and also their expectations of what
heads can manage
Headteacher secondment to inspire and be inspired by best practice
Provide models of leadership outside the “norm”—maybe virtual?
Deputy Headteachers to be paired with positive heads to inspire them to lead
Support for individuals (equitable)
People knowing people
High quality effective communication
Cluster collaboration with the Local Authority—are they working? How? Why?
Universal support for cutting edge practice—could be through clusters
Self initiated clusters appear to work well rather than enforced. All need to be
accountable to participate
Model policies etc. in one place
Giving heads the capacity to focus on learning and teaching
Subsidising leadership developments—NCSL
To provide funding/ support for NPQH students
Provide opportunities for secondments/mentoring/coaching
Trial models of leadership
Pathways to leadership for aspiring leaders—enabling this
Preparing heads for a new model of leadership
Strategic direction for future school leadership

11. Concerns over lack of support for new heads
More support for headteachers
Streamline access to CPD
Value your headteachers
More consistent and clear messages
Better quality of services and systems which headteachers depend on
And clarity and honesty!
Training for governors
Networking schools purchase services e.g. H&S guru, business managers
etc.
Clear leadership on new initiatives
To help headteachers feel that they are contributing to the wider policy of the
local authority
Training and provision of professional development opportunities for middle
managers and deputies
Programme of practice / acting headships alongside mentoring and support
Future sustainability--a more global view of leadership roles to ensure people
coming through are prepared to take on leadership roles
Succession planning
Stronger networking / support / pastoral care
Leaders concentrating in the crucial issues and having structures in place
Signposting—other models
Broadening the definition of leadership
Leadership development at all levels with enables strong, sustainable
networking
Investment in studying a range of models of leadership
Knowledge of areas of skill—further development and training
Pastoral support for heads with one point of contact at the Local Authority for
everyday issues
Finance for succession planning not to come out of school budget

12. Part-time opportunities for headteachers with deputy job-sharing/ training on
the job which also prepares head for retirement
Support for heads
Positive promotion of headship
Removing tasks not linked to learning
Encourage teachers to take leadership roles and resource them
What changes would be required to achieve these new ways of
working?
Complete transparency in all departments
Clearer communication
User-friendly website—well organised
Model policies etc.
More integrated work with social services, who need more manpower
Budget
Passionate and charismatic leadership and staff in school etc.
Improved opportunities for two-way influence through better communication
Better relationship between headteachers and the local authority
Money
New leadership structure
Overview of performance management
Warwickshire more proactive on the “shop floor” / more pride in Warwickshire
Resource/skill management—knowledge of where we can see good practice
in a range of areas
Quality and consistency across all agencies
Improved level of funding to support initiatives
Changes needed:
Clearer leadership (local authority)
Separate out challenge and support so heads can raise issues openly and
honestly
Flexible funding

13. More partnership between schools-a greater promotion of “leadership” and
the importance of it
Local Authority to take a stronger coordinated lead
More support and training
Succession management
HR issues
Better leadership training
Consult more with leaders
Funding
Terms and conditions
Governance
Continuing professional development
Programme “Leadership of the Future”
Streamline and improve quality of systems and services
Less fragmentation of support
ASCOs need more school knowledge and clarity of role
Pastoral support
Conference
Discussion
Schools working together
Support cluster participation (e.g. shared CPD)
Admin/ICT support, financial roles shared among cluster schools
Commitment to change
Passion!
Financial support
Colleagues with expertise that you can trust
More local authority input into headship appointments
Shift of emphasis away from governing bodies so that local authority can
strategically plan, with their overview of skill base and profile of experience
Business manager—per cluster
Within clusters

14. A change in attitudes towards the way we work and how rewards are
structured
What changes would be required to make Warwickshire’s schools lead
schools in practice for a new form of public service provision in
localities?
Collaborative working with other schools
Strengthening of clusters
Use of buildings
Integrated working with services
Shared practice between schools with different but shared issues
Effective parent support worker at schools (each school)
Multi-agency working in the locality
Closed door policy—ECM—sharing information, answering phone calls
Make practice in multi-agency working effective (working with schools)
Having all the pieces of the jigsaw fitting together to make the ultimate vision
for lifelong learning
Meet individual priorities
Bureaucratic overload
Harnessing energies within communities
Link-inspector model—single point of contact for the network/ community:
someone with relevant school leadership experience

15. What is the best thing that happened in your professional life in 2008?
Taking a school out of Local Authority special measures
Achieving International School status
Achieving NPQH
Achieving an outdoor classroom for the school
Achieving Healthy Schools status
Getting funding to create a new role to support 5-hour offer for Olympics
Survived!
Achieved FMSiS
Achieved Healthy Schools status eventually
Enrolling for the Leading from the Middle programme
Took up new headship post
Chair of governors of a secondary school
Developing a younger member of staff
Engagement of clusters with the School Improvement Planning Framework
toolkit
Surviving Ofsted
Secondment to Extended Services
Formation of a collaborative group of headteachers
Visiting Uganda and having Uganda visit
Successful Ofsted
Good Ofsted outcome—reassurance
Headship appointment
Survived my first year of headship with “happy” stakeholders
Ofsted
Achievement of getting a business director in post
Headships
House of Commons
Mandarin
Successfully supporting schools to come out of Ofsted categories
Getting a consistent head!

16. A child began to read
Decision to retire!
Good Ofsted
“Dorothy Rikarby”
Funding agreed for extended services
Sustainability in headship
Trust—vulnerable parent
Good Ofsted
Victorian market
Young teachers taking schools forward
Coming out of the category of special measures—capacity to move forward
under own steam
Going to a four-day week—reenergising, deputy headteacher empowered and
equal partner
Governors extended ISR beyond range to retain Head
New headship—leaving previous school—pupils showed how much she was
valued
Employment of dynamic teachers—made such a difference
A bus-full of children shouting “I love you, Mrs Edmonds”
Coming out of “notice to improve”