Exemplary Leadership Programme: Why every senior leader and school can benefit from this ground-breaking course

This is a programme that every school across the country can greatly benefit from, no matter the starting point. I am really looking forward to working on it again this year with the second cohort.

I have used the Leverage Leadership approach to instructional leadership for nearly a decade — ever since Paul Bambrick-Santoyo published his book in 2012 — and have experienced the transformation that can happen in schools when using this approach. It is focused on rapid and sustained school improvement that is easily replicable across school settings, and it ensures that every minute in school is leveraged for optimum school performance.

I was therefore thrilled to be part of the team which brought first-hand training of these techniques to 120 English schools for the first time last year.

Putting it into practice

The vast majority of school leaders who joined the first Exemplary Leadership Programme cohort in October were unfamiliar with Leverage Leadership and, many, with instructional leadership as an approach. Yet, by the course’s conclusion this summer, I had learnt just as much as they. At the heart of the course is the understanding that, by ensuring school culture is strong and there is a drive for everyone to get better every day, both students and staff can hugely benefit.

Research over the last 20 years has shown that one-to-one coaching can have a huge impact on ongoing teacher development. This course gives leaders the opportunity to not only see how to deliver this, but to experience it; to see it in action in a real setting and then to practice it themselves with expert guidance.

The second cohort of this ground-breaking programme starts in October and I cannot wait to learn more alongside senior leaders from across the country. I really hope as many of you can join us as possible and benefit from this so allow me to explain how it works.

See It, Name It, Do It

The course runs across the academic year, mostly in twilight sessions, and is all delivered online (more on that later). It is divided into three learning sets: Pupil Culture, Observation and Feedback and Leading Planning.

First, we are trained on the techniques in sessions delivered by expert facilitators often based in the US. Then, we see the approach and techniques in action during a virtual school visit. We then have the chance to practise the techniques with guidance. Finally, we are given the opportunity to apply what we have learnt in our own school in a practical way through a Gap Task with feedback given from course coaches.

So, in fidelity to the Leverage Leadership ethos, we See exemplary teaching, we Name what makes it high quality and then we Do It ourselves.

‘Deliberate practice’ runs throughout the course and it very soon becomes evident just how much impact practicing as a team and with your own staff can have on school improvement and teacher development.

I had the pleasure of evaluating some of the Gap Tasks throughout the programme. It was so rewarding to witness the tangible impact the course had on the participating schools. By halfway through the year, I could see how much senior leaders’ thinking had shifted and the benefits they had reaped. By the end of year, the participants were seeing tangible improvements in school culture and student outcomes.

As a leader who has been working in this way for a decade, I feel like I learnt a huge amount. Whatever your focus or starting point within your individual school, this course will help you to move forward.

All online

This course is all online and I wouldn’t want it any other way. How else could we get 240 senior leaders, from across the country, into the same room so frequently? We certainly could not take them on a school visit — without bringing the school to a standstill!

The remote live school visits were less intrusive, slicker and allowed participants to witness real life in the classroom in a way that would never have been possible in-person. Visits bring the course learning to life; we see the school in real time, not edited, whilst leaders can narrate and explain exactly what is happening, how and why. This has been really powerful; enabling participants to see everything that has been learnt being applied in a real setting.

We use breakout rooms to facilitate training, in which there is opportunity to discuss and share ideas, practise in real time, and receive feedback from peers and coaches.

Online delivery gives the participants flexibility and frees up diary space. It has brought together an absolute wealth of expertise at just a click of a button. We have had headteachers from their office in Torquay in breakout rooms with executive principals from central Bradford. The power of the shared learning was evident in every session.

Make the time to save time

This course is a big commitment, I understand that. There is no doubt, however, that it is an investment worth making. By using an instructional leadership approach, every minute in school is used effectively. The focus on modelling clarity and purpose for every key leadership action leads to rapid and systematic improvement.

The biggest testament to the course is, perhaps, the fact that so many schools are returning to send more staff second time around. After all, this course has school culture at its heart, and no one person can change school culture alone. The more leaders that are well-versed in this approach, the more impact it can have.

I’m really excited to be involved again with cohort 2, I know I will learn more. I really hope you can join us also in October. You will not only experience high quality training and begin to lead with more purpose and structure, you will make lasting professional relationships to serve you well in the future.

---

Justine Oldham is Associate Executive Principal for the primary phase at Dixons Academies Trust