NPQs

Reforms to National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) Mel Hooson and Tom Rees

About us > Tom Rees, Executive Director of School Leadership > Mel Hooson, Director - Programmes

Professional Qualifications and Standards

The disadvantage gap (EPI 2017)

Recruitment and retention • More than 20% of new teachers leave the profession within two years of teaching, and 33% leave within five years.

• Three in 10 new school leaders quit within 5 years.

The quality of teaching is by far the biggest factor within schools that can make a difference to the achievement of children and young people.

Robert Coe, Cesare Aloisi, Steve Higgins and Lee Elliot Major (2018)

3 things about teachers and school leaders 1. Teachers have the greatest impact on pupil outcomes: their impact is three times that of any other school-based factor (RAND, 2019).

2. Improving the performance of serving teachers is three times more effective in raising standards than the combined effect of all the attempts to improve teaching through replacement (Sutton Trust, 2011).

3. School leaders create the professional environments where teachers can keep getting better (Kraft & Papay, 2014). The most successful school leaders are those that focus on leading improvements in curriculum and pedagogy (Robinson, Lloyd & Rowe, K. 2008).

Professional Development Professional Development is likely to be the most impactful tool at our disposal for improving teacher quality and increasing pupils’ learning.

(Fletcher-Wood & Zuccollo, 2020)

School-based professional development often fails to have the impact we want it to.

(NCEE, 2016; IES, 2019) 40% of secondary school [teachers] feel that CPD has little or NO impact on their classroom practice.

(Allen 2019)

Leadership development – a shifting consensus?

Reforms to NPQs

Changes to leadership programmes

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Leadership development – a shifting consensus?

Reforms to NPQs

Changes to leadership programmes

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It is important to be clear from the outset that what has been learned about leadership in schools over the century has not depended on any clear, agreed-upon definition of the concept, as essential as this would seem at first glance.

Leithwood and Duke, 1999

RESEARCH INTO MODELS OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Gummus et al (2018) > 1980-2014 > 1000 papers > 14 different leadership models Gumus et al (2018)

How we describe our school leaders… > > > > > > >

Dynamic, innovative, strong Enthusiastic, inspirational, motivational Dynamic, inspirational, enthusiastic Sensitive, imaginative, motivational & innovative Inspirational, warm and charismatic Visionary and interpersonal Dynamic, motivational, inspiring, determined

Outgoing NPQ Frameworks NPQML • ‘adopt different leadership styles to ensure the team meets its objectives.’

NPQH • ‘be an inspiring leader in a range of different situations.’

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Viviane Robinson (2017) “School leaders ‘need to be increasingly knowledgeable about the core business of teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum’.”

1. Use educational knowledge 2. Solve complex problems 3. Build trust

CST Seminar

GENERIC LEADERSHIP

DOMAIN-SPECIFIC EXPERTISE

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Knowledge and skills relevant to a specific field.

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‘Expert knowledge’.

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Leadership of education.

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Ideas and concepts from the field of leadership. Often described through traits or characteristics attributed to individuals or general competencies.

Leadership as a generic construct.

7 Core Leadership Challenges SCHOOL CULTURE: Establish a professional and supportive environment, enlisting staff contribution PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Ensure effective professional development CURRICULUM: Organise the curriculum and establish effective teaching BEHAVIOUR: Attend to pupil behaviour and wider circumstances IMPROVEMENT: Analyse problems, plan and implement strategies for sustained improvement ADMINISTRATION: Manage an efficient and effective organisation SELF: Develop personal expertise, self-efficacy and self-regulation 7 CORE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES

A curriculum for leadership development 7 Persistent Problems

10 NPQ Domains 1. School Culture

1. School Culture 2. Professional Development 3. Curriculum and Teaching 4. Behaviour 5. Improvement 6. Administration 7. Self development

2. Teaching 3. Curriculum & Assessment 4. Behaviour 5. Additional & Special Educational Needs 6. Professional Development

7. Organisational Management 8. Implementation 9. Working in Partnership

10. Governance and Accountability

Leadership development – a shifting consensus?

Reforms to NPQs

Changes to leadership programmes

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Changes to both curriculum and delivery

Frameworks & Standards

Delivery Infrastructure

Evidence base, programme content & qualifications

National infrastructure for Professional Development: Lead Providers, Delivery Partners, Teaching School Hubs

NPQs: part of ‘the golden thread’

New national professional qualifications (NPQs)

The intention of new NPQ frameworks

Underpinned by evidence

Core body of professional knowledge and practices

Greater coherence ‘Golden Thread’

NPQs: learn that, learn how to

Specialist NPQs

Leadership NPQs

Leadership development – a shifting consensus?

Reforms to NPQs

Changes to leadership programmes

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What we do know about effective PD?

1. Teacher learning is similar to pupil learning

2. Start with the purpose

3. Behaviour change is hard

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4. Conditions are key

5 changes to leadership programmes 1.

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3.

4.

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A focus on domain knowledge A ‘little and often’ approach An instructional framework Technology and utilising asynchronous content A shift from the individual leader to the impact in the classroom

Explainer articles > ‘How the new NPQs will make professional development work for your school’ > ‘Six opportunities to develop your teaching and leading with the new specialist NPQs’

> ‘New leadership NPQs: six reasons to get excited’ > ‘How flexible are the new NPQs?’ ambition.org.uk/blog