LEADERSHIP


The London Leadership Strategy – born out of the


London Challenge – is working to spread best practice across the capital and beyond. Dorothy Lepkowska explains


across the capital. So it was probably for reasons of ideology and the climate of austerity, rather than any other, that funding to the project was withdrawn by the coalition government last March. However, now reformed as the London Leadership


I


Strategy (LLS), the organisation is looking not only to continue its work, but to move beyond the capital. As Dame Sue John, the LLS’s director of secondary,


explained: “The London Challenge started out as a relatively small group of secondary heads who were outstanding practitioners and leaders with a commitment to raising standards for all children. “It grew over the years and now more than 1,000


primary, secondary and special schools are involved, which is a quarter of all schools in the capital. The challenge, in the real sense, for us now is to maintain and expand on that work, and to continue to harness that expertise so that it and the relationships that have been forged are not lost.” It is easy to see why there is a moral will to keep


this initiative alive. When it began in 2003, London had the lowest proportion of pupils achieving five A* to C grades at GCSEs out of England’s nine regions. But by 2010, it was at the top of the table – the only capital city in the developed world where academic performance outstripped that of the rest of the country. While the LLS does not claim to have all the


answers, or even to be the main contributor to London’s surge in performance, there is sufficient evidence – verified by Ofsted – to show it has played a major role. Dame Sue continued: “In the past the approach


may have come from the local authority of the school requesting support and we would broker that support, and be engaged with matching up National Leaders of Education (NLE) or Local Leaders of Education (LLE) with the school concerned. “This was crucial to the success of the scheme.


Between us, over the years, we have learned all about the heads and know their strengths, the type of school they lead and even their personalities. “We do not use a one-size-fits-all approach. What


we are offering is bespoke with the right match for the right context. “You have to have a global intelligence to do this


effectively and our concern was that, if (the London Challenge) broke up because the funding had ended, then we would lose all that knowledge and expertise.” These levels of support do not begin and end with


school leaders, however. The LLS has developed a wide range of programmes which are offered at whole- school level or can be aimed at individual teachers or departments needing some additional input. David Bartram, director of the LLS’s Inclusion


Support Programme, said there were six primary, eight secondary as well as a number of programmes aimed at supporting schools with challenges around special needs and behaviour. He said: “Aspirational schools will examine the


work of every department and the service we offer may include heads of departments working directly with their counterparts in other schools, or leading practitioners from pupil referral units passing on their expertise to mainstream schools. Heads of department are often plunged into a position of responsibility they may not be prepared for so they need to get the context right. “In some cases, they are working with SENCOs or


teaching assistant on an alternative curriculum. What we aim to do is to move that knowledge and expertise about. And it is not the case that schools are matched with neighbouring schools. Sometimes they will be linked with those from the other side of the capital if that is the most appropriate partner.” Previously funded by the government, via the


National College for School Leadership, the LLS now aims to become a self-funding, not-for-profit organisation. In the past few months, it has managed to keep going through some transitional funding but it will soon have to strike out alone. While the early recipients of support were often


referred by the local authority, intervention now often comes in the form of word of mouth recommendation with schools coming forward themselves – indicating its work is far from done. Dame Sue continued: “Some schools get private


consultants in but the issues often remain when they leave. We are outcomes-focused. We want to keep this level of progress for young people in the capital and we don’t want to lose the fact that there has been a cultural shift to school improvement. “Our model is not a quick-fix sticking plaster but a


means of working with colleagues to create sustainable improvement. They need to know they can complete the journey by themselves rather than becoming dependent on someone else. We want our partners to care for the success of every single child in London and not just those in their own school.”


Some of the bespoke courses offered by the LLS


Securing Good Aimed at secondary schools judged to be “good”. It is designed to match schools with successful, high-achieving partner schools who will act as consultant, coach and partner.


Good to Great Focuses support at secondary headteachers and senior leaders through mentoring, conferences, teacher improvement support, training and knowledge sharing, and free educational texts.


Going for Great Created for secondaries rated “outstanding” to support them on their journey to becoming world class. This programme allows schools to share and build on outstanding practice and what is currently working well in schools.


NLE/LLE Support Support programme for special schools and pupil referral units that will be tailored to the needs of the institution. Outstanding leaders from these institutions are matched to schools to increase capacity and improve achievement.


For more information, go to http://londonleadershipstrategy.com/ The LLS can rightly claim to have played its part


in the rise in pupil achievement and attainment in the capital. It has survived while other higher profile initiatives, such as Fresh Start, Education Action Zones and Excellence in Cities, are long forgotten. The fact there is a will to continue the work it has started is testament to its success. The next step will be casting its net further afield.


Already there have been approaches from schools and local authorities in South East England and other parts of the country, wanting to know if the LLS will work


with them to set up a similar network of support. Dame Sue added: “One way we may be able to help them is to support the development of some sort of infrastructure in those regions and then pull out when these are comfortably in place. “There is still a lot of work to be done. Good


teachers can be great teachers. Great teachers can be outstanding. And the work of headteachers is never done. They need always to be one step ahead.” SecEd


• Dorothy Lepkowska is a freelance education journalist. Taking the lead: Future Leaders New year, new aspiration


Heath Monk reports from a recent visit to


inner city America where he saw the power of aspiration


AT THE end of last year, I read a piece in The Guardian arguing that given the increasing levels of youth unemployment and the fact that those jobs that existed were often low-level and temporary “McJobs”, it was wrong of Messrs Cameron and Gove to talk about the importance of building aspiration in schools. I’m sure that the article was as much party


political as anything else, but it was almost enough to prompt me to take a few faltering steps into the dreaded world of the Guardian’s “Comment is Free” section. Let’s consider the implications of this argument –


it’s a tough economy, so you’re better off “settling” for a life of routine employment/benefits, rather than setting your sights on something which you may not achieve. Every year, I’m fortunate to visit some of the


best schools in the United States as part of our annual study tour. This October, I went to Mastery High School in Philadelphia, which, in my opinion, ranks alongside the very best. During the visit, every student that I spoke to had a clear idea of what they wanted to do after school – which ranged from ER nurses to lawyers to commercial pilots (and more than a few teachers) – and how they would get there. They knew which colleges they would apply for – and precisely what those colleges expected in terms of grades and progress. Most of the students came from the poorest parts


of one of the poorest cities in the United States. They came from (often single-parent) families suffering from unemployment, struggling to make ends meet in communities torn apart by crime. And yet, they had a vision of themselves as empowered learners


who could break that cycle of underachievement, not through some misplaced sense of entitlement, but because they believed that hard work and commitment unleashes talent. The lessons that I saw at Mastery High were


not particularly exciting in terms of pedagogy. However, I have never seen such an efficient use of teaching time. Every child was on task for 100 per cent of every lesson. It wasn’t that the students were beaten down by excessive discipline – the changeovers were as boisterous as you’d expect for a large group of teenagers – but there was a clear understanding that lesson time was sacred if the students’ aspirations were to be achieved. The New Year is the perfect time to consider


aspirations, for ourselves and for our students. After all, what is a New Year’s resolution but an aspiration to change something. It’s a time when many teachers, recovering


from the long autumn term and the excesses of the Christmas holidays, think about their next career move. Obviously, we’d like as many of them as possible to apply to become Future Leaders and make a lasting commitment to lead the most challenging schools in England. But, for others, it may be about improving part of their practice, securing a middle leadership position, or just finally getting on top of the marking and that difficult year 9 class. Whatever their individual goals, I believe all


teachers should consider this New Year how they can actively nurture the aspirations of every student they teach. Where are those sparks of interest and engagement that can be turned into defined opportunities and pathways for success? Every child has potential; every child should have a dream. Achieving those aspirations will be difficult –


it’s true, as the Guardian article makes clear, that opportunities are limited given the recession. Tuition fees are high; debt (both individual and national) is a constant worry – but, to quote Oscar Wilde: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”


• Heath Monk is CEO of Future Leaders – an education charity founded on the belief that every child can succeed regardless of background, and that effective, inspirational school leadership can tackle underachievement in the most challenging schools. Visit: www.future-leaders.org.uk


T COMES as no great surprise when a government initiative is quietly closed down and forgotten. Usually this is because it has failed. But the London Challenge was an


exception. Far from failing, the Labour-led scheme had resulted in spectacular results


Leading London


SecEd • January 5 2012


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