New leadership support

The Ministry of Education has three new supports for leaders for 2017.

The new initiatives are part of the Ministry’s interim support package for leaders which will be in place for the next two years while the Education Council develops a leadership strategy and establishes its Centre for Leadership Excellence. The responsibility for leadership support, including any leadership PLD, moves to the council from 2018.

“Effective leadership is crucial to successful student outcomes. In conjunction with the Education Council, we’ve reviewed our current centrally funded support for leaders and designed supports based on feedback from the sector, what’s working now, and what could work better,” says Karl Le Quesne, Ministry of Education’s acting deputy secretary, student achievement."

“What has been developed is a leadership package that’s more tailored to the individual needs of leaders at all levels of the system. The changes reflect a shift in the education system with the establishment of the Education Council, Investing in Educational Success and the new leadership roles of Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako. Additional to this support, a large amount of leadership for learning PLD continues to be accessed through centrally funded PLD.”

The new supports for leadership are Leadership Advisors, Emerging Leaders, and Expert Partners.

Leadership advisors

Leadership advisors will provide one-on-one responsive support and guidance to beginning principals, acting principals and principals experiencing challenges.
Karl said each beginning principal will be able to work with a leadership advisor who is a credible and experienced sector leader.

“Leadership advisors will work with beginning principals to provide just-in-time support and advice for the management and leadership needs of principals. While their role is focused on professional support, it also focuses on working with principals to strengthen relationships and provide advice and guidance. Mentors will also be available to help beginning principals with any day-to-day issues they may be facing or to celebrate the things that are working well.”

Leadership advisors will also support beginning principals to lift outcomes for all their students, achieve quality strategic planning and self-evaluation skills and establish good working relationships with their BOT chair and board, staff and community.

Feedback from previous PLD initiatives have highlighted the value of forming professional networks so beginning principals will also be able to attend a national hui that provides an opportunity for them to focus on leading teaching and learning for outcomes and developing professional support networks.

Beginning principals can contact their local area office to access the support, which will be in place from term 1, 2017.

Emerging leaders

PLD targeted at emerging leaders is being developed to identify and nurture emerging leaders and talent within Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako.

Emerging Leaders is for all potential leaders across a Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako, not just those in a formal leadership position or those aspiring to be principals. Potential leaders will be identified and helped to build their leadership capabilities as they lead aspects of their community’s change and improvement actions.

“This initiative will stimulate teachers and school leaders to think differently about their work by using evidence to undertake professional inquiry to develop local solutions for their learners,” says Karl.

The Ministry is developing the Emerging Leaders initiative with a small number of providers. The initiative will then be trialled with up to 12 Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako from April 2017. During this trial we expect up to 200 emerging, middle and senior leaders will be supported. If you are interested in being involved in this work, please register your interest through the Ministry’s PLD mailbox at PLD.2016@education.govt.nz

Expert partners

Expert partners will work with the leaders of Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako as they build collaborative practices and take action to meet their achievement challenges.

“The partners will effectively act as critical friends to strengthen evidence-gathering practices, critical data analysis skills, problem definition, and evidence-informed action planning."

Their support will help to keep Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako on track for developing robust and quality achievement challenges and associated plans that will accelerate student achievement.

“At the same time, expert partners will be able to provide external critique to Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako as they form and they will support them through to the point where they become self-sufficient,” Karl said.

Expert partners will agree on a work programme with the leaders of Communities of Learning | Kāhui Ako and will be available to support them for up to two years.

There will be 109 expert partners available nationwide from December 2016. Community of Learning | Kāhui Ako leaders will be able to choose who they’d like to work with from a list of expert partners listed on the PLD website(external link)  

The Ministry’s CoL lead advisors will be able to support this process.