School leadership
SCOTLAND
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
2.2. Selection and working conditions
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
1. Terminology
The 1980 Education (Scotland) Act uses the term ‘head teacher’ but does not define it. ‘Headteacher’ is also used in the 2021 Standard for Headship and the 2019 Head Teachers Education and Training Standards (Scotland) Regulations. The role of headteachers is defined in the SNCT (Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers) Handbook as “to promote high-quality learning and teaching to secure improved educational outcomes for the benefit of pupils and the community, under the direction of the local council. Headteachers have a corporate responsibility to contribute to an agenda of ongoing improvement in their school and across their council area.”
The 2021 Standard for Headship further distinguishes between ‘leadership’ and ‘management’. Leadership is defined as “the ability to develop a vision for change, which leads to improvements in outcomes for learners and is based on shared values and robust evaluation of evidence of current practice and outcomes; and mobilise, enable and support others to develop and follow through on strategies for achieving that change”. Management is understood as the “operational implementation and maintenance of the practices and systems required to achieve this change”.
2. School principals
2.1. Leadership standards and roles
Competency standards and leadership frameworks and guidelines
The 2021 Standard for Headship, prepared by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, is the current standard for teachers seeking employment or those permanently employed as a headteacher. It serves to support self-evaluation and reflection for teachers in, and aspiring to, formal leadership roles; informing the process of recruitment and selection; and contributing to dialogue about leadership and management. The Standard for Headship has been a mandatory requirement for all permanently employed headteachers in publicly-funded schools since August 2020, as per the 2019 Head Teachers Education and Training Standards (Scotland) Regulations. The Professional Standards are organised into interrelated categories with Professional Values and Professional Commitments that school heads must follow.
Roles
Setting expectations/objectives: According to standard 2.1.1 of the 2021 Standard for Headship, head teachers “fully understand how to develop and demonstrate a strategic vision.” They are responsible for leading “collegial practices and collaborative approaches to co-create a shared strategic vision, ethos and aims for the learning community, which inspires and motivates every learner, including colleagues, and all members of the learning community and its partners and sets high expectations for every learner.” This should be created with all colleagues, learners, parents/carers and families and the wider community.
Developing teaching and learning: Headteachers are expected to have an enhanced and critically informed understanding of the curriculum. The 2021 Standard for Headship states that this includes being able to develop and establish appropriate curriculum design and planning processes to meet the learning, health and wellbeing needs of all learners. The curriculum should ensure learners needs through appropriate personalisation and choice. Within the learning community, there should be a culture which promotes and sustains high-quality curriculum practices, including pedagogy and assessment. Finally, headteachers work with colleagues and the wider learning community to strategically manage and allocate resources in a fair, transparent and equitable manner in line with identified strategic and operational priorities.
Promoting collaboration: The school should be a safe, caring and purposeful learning environment which is welcoming and inclusive, well-managed and well-organised. Part of the 2021 Standard for Headship includes asking headteachers to “work co-operatively and strategically to develop trusting relationships with parents/carers and families and a wide range of partners to support partnerships in learning.” They should build a culture of learning and lead collegial practices and collaborative approaches to help support the curriculum and the learners. Head teachers are expected to actively encourage and seek views from across the learning community—including colleagues, parents/carers and families, children and young people, partners, other schools, and the Local Authority/employer-- to help inform their professional judgement and decision making. They should be able to communicate effectively and actively to build positive working relationships and inclusive practices within the school, and learning community, with colleagues, parents/carers/families and partners. Headteachers should support, encourage and facilitate learners’ participation in decisions about their learning and the life of the learning community and its environment.
Supporting staff development: A headteacher leads a culture which “promotes and sustains career-long professional learning across the school and learning community”. They set high expectations of career-long professional learning for themselves and colleagues and support a wide range of opportunities which enable this. The headteacher should also actively work to create and utilise opportunities for colleagues to develop leadership practices across and beyond the school and wider learning community. They help identify strengths and development needs of their staff while they also establish, enable and sustain coaching and mentoring principles and approaches. Furthermore, headteachers are expected to establish a culture of self-evaluation and improvement at every level in the school and learning community. The head teacher engages in professional dialogue and provides constructive feedback to their teachers.
Acting in accordance with the ethical principles of the profession: The first part of the 2021 Standard for Headship details the commitment of all teachers in Scotland to professional values of social justice, trust respect and integrity. Examples of professional values include: “committing to social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive, and sustainable policies and practices in relation to protected characteristics, (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation) and intersectionality; valuing, as well as respecting, social, ecological, cultural, religious, and racial diversity and promoting the principles and practices of sustainable development and local and global citizenship for all learners; demonstrating kindness, honesty, courage, and wisdom; and being truthful and trustworthy.” They should also build and sustain professional and personal credibility by modelling their commitment to integrity and ethical practice.
Others: The 2021 Standard for Headship integrates the Learning for Sustainability approach, which “weaves together global citizenship, sustainable development education and outdoor learning to create coherent, rewarding and transformative learning experiences;” and is a critical part of the Curriculum for Excellence. Ensuring the safety of learners is also important. Headteachers must understand and implement national and local child protection policies and procedures. They are also expected to take into account Health and Safety legislation to ensure the safety and welfare of all; and fully understand and demonstrate political insight.
2.2. Selection and working conditions
Degree requirements and prior teaching experience
The 1980 Education (Scotland) Act gives the Scottish Ministers the power to prescribe regulations for the appointment of headteachers. In 2015, the First Minister announced that the Scottish Government would make it a legal requirement that all new headteachers hold the Standard for Headship. This was again reiterated in the 2016 “Delivering Excellence and Equity in Scottish Education – A Delivery Plan for Scotland.” Finally, the 2019 Head Teachers Education and Training Standards (Scotland) Regulations, which came into effect in 2020, mandated that a person may only be appointed as head teacher of schools if they have achieved the Standard for Headship awarded by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). According to the 2015 General Teaching Council for Scotland Registration and Standards Rules, requirements to receive the Standard for Headship include successfully completing the Into Headship Programme.
Appointment decision
The appointment of headteachers is conducted by the education authority and must involve the parent council in accordance with 2006 Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act. and the 2007 Parental Involvement in Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher Appointments (Scotland) Regulations. Details on the appointment process are decided by the local education authority. For example, the Highland Council together with the Parent Council create the job specifications for the headteacher post. The Highland Council chair along with an Education and Learning Officer (or a headteacher with substantial experience) make up a list of potential candidates, after which there will be activities and an interview. Activities may include management of resources to promote equity, parental engagement scenario/task, safeguarding scenario/task, analysis of data scenario/task, or other case studies. Unsuccessful candidates are offered the opportunity to receive feedback from the Chair.
Employment equity measures
The 2010 Equality Act prohibits all discrimination in schools and education authorities. According to the Highland Council, to ensure that appointments are fair and objective and adhere to Equalities Policies which prohibit unlawful discrimination, no eligible applicant to the positions of headteacher or deputy headteacher should receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of: gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender re-assignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity or national origin, religion or similar philosophical belief, age, or disability.
Working conditions
The Standard for Headship regulations provide for the appointment of teachers to headship posts for a period not exceeding 30 months to allow the teacher to undertake the professional learning required to achieve the Standard for Headship and obtain a permanent headship position.
Teachers' Conditions of Service are outlined in the SNCT (Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers) Handbook. The handbook provides the salary of headteachers in Appendix 2.1. Deputy Headteachers and Headteachers earn from £59,994 up to £110,808. It also guarantees annual leave, sickness allowance, family leave, and disciplinary and grievance procedures. It is also possible for councils to appoint teachers to permanent contracts, though this can only be given to teachers who have met the Standard for Full Registration, required by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS).
2.3. Leadership preparation and training
Pre-service training
Scotland’s national professional learning programme for aspiring headteachers is the Into Headship programme, designed in consultation with universities, local authorities, Education Scotland, and GTC Scotland. The course takes between 12-18 months and needs 60 master’s-level credits to be completed. The course supports experienced teachers meet the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s 2021 Standard for Headship, which is a mandatory requirement for all permanently appointed headteachers in publicly-funded schools in Scotland. Candidates learn to develop their strategic leadership and management skills in practice. They are also provided with a headteacher mentor and a local authority coordinator. The GTCS can award the Standard for Headship to teachers who have not completed the Into Headship qualification but can demonstrate, through the submission of appropriate evidence or an interview process, that they meet the requirements of the Standard.
There is currently no requirement by the Scottish government for headteachers in independent schools to hold the Standard for Headship.
Induction and in-service training
According to the 2021 Standard for Headship, headteachers are expected to continually develop themselves and regularly challenge their thinking and practice through critical reflection and enquiry. They model their commitment to ongoing professional learning. Education Scotland offers several programmes for headteachers at various levels of service. The In Headship Programme targets new headteachers (those within two years of taking up post) and is designed to “facilitate and support headteachers in the transition through the early stages of headship, to enable them to develop as effective strategic leaders who contribute to system leadership”. New headteachers engage in critical reflection; recognise, understand, and adapt to the complex challenges and opportunities of headship; and build on their understanding of a core set of professional and academic literacies. The Excellence in Headship Programme is for more seasoned head teachers. The programme aims to strengthen and expand the school and system leadership skills of headteachers, with a strong focus on delivering excellence, building capacity and leading complex change. Furthermore, the programme provides opportunities for collaborative learning, cross-system learning, network development, issue exploration and international research. Excellence in Headship includes three sequential core leadership learning sessions: Leadership of and for Learning, Leadership of and for Complex Change, and Leadership of and For System. Each learning session lasts one full day with online sessions split over two days.
3. Teachers, parents and students
3.1. School management committees and boards
The 1988 School Boards Act mandated that school boards be set up in education authority schools in Scotland. The 2000 Scotland’s Schools Act changed the running of the school board by allowing parents to take on a stronger role in the school board. However, the 2006 Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act abolished school boards (18.1) and replaced them with the system of Parent Forums and Parent Councils (see 3.3 Parents). Instead, schools are managed by local councils.
3.2. Middle leaders
Middle leaders in Scotland may include lead teachers, principal teachers, heads of faculty, and deputy headteachers. Descriptions of the roles of principal teachers can be found in the SNCT (Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers) Handbook. Principal teachers, in addition to any duties of a teacher, “(a) lead, manage and support the work of colleagues providing strategic direction and guidance as necessary; (b) lead curriculum development and quality assurance; (c) contribute to the development of school policy in relation to the behaviour management of pupils; (d) review and support professional needs, and performance of colleagues through continuous professional development; (e) where required, lead, implement and manage whole school policies including, where appropriate, guidance, pastoral care and behaviour support.”
The 2021 Standard for Middle Leadership provides the framework for teachers in/ or considering leadership roles within the school. According to this standard, middle leaders “have different areas of responsibility in addition to enhanced pedagogical skills, which may include curriculum leadership, departmental or faculty leadership, pastoral leadership, leadership in additional support provision, leadership of interdisciplinary teams or projects or leadership of school improvement priorities. They may have line management responsibility for a team, lead a team delivering a specific area of provision, or a team involved in development activities.” These standards hold many similarities with the one for headship. For example, middle leaders contribute to the strategic vision, engage critically with the curriculum, communicate effectively with the greater learning community, and support their colleagues.
Education Scotland provides multiple opportunities for middle leaders and those aspiring to be middle leaders. Middle Leadership+ is a set of webinars which explore topics such as diversity, curriculum design, difficult conversations and distributed leadership. Middle Leaders Leading Change is a programme designed for middle leaders who have a whole school responsibility or area of focus but do not formally hold a leadership position. The programme has several focus areas, including self-awareness, diversity, leadership of change, and coaching as a model of practice.
3.3. Parents
The 2006 Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Act modernizes and strengthens the framework for supporting parental involvement in school education. Under this act, parents of the pupils in attendance at the public school constitute the “parent forum.” A parent forum may be represented by a Parent Council, which is promoted and supported by the education authority. The functions of the Parent Council established for a school are “to support the endeavours of those managing the school,” such as working towards raising the standards of education in the school; “to make representation” of parents to the school’s headteacher and the education authority; “to promote contact” between the school, the parents, the pupils, the community, and more; and “to report on the council’s activities” to the other parents; to ascertain the view of the parents in regards to the quality and standards of the education in the school and report them to headteacher and education authority. The parent council may raise funds and receive gifts for the school. The headteacher is required to advise the parent council.
3.4. Students
The second part of the 1994 Education Act, which governs England, Wales, and Scotland, defines student unions and sets out the rules and regulations regarding their establishment and maintenance. A student union is an association of the generality of students whose principal purposes include promoting the general interests of its members as students or in academic, disciplinary or other matters relating to the government of the establishment. Student unions must have a written constitution and a code of practice. Appointment to major union offices is by election in a secret ballot. The 2021 Standard for Headship also encourages headteachers to ensure learners' rights to participate meaningfully in decisions related to their learning, their school and the wider learning community.
4. Governance
4.1. Autonomy of school leaders
While headteachers cannot chose the curriculum, they can ensure the curriculum meets the needs of their learners by adjusting the design and encouraging new teaching methods backed by research. According to the 2021 Standard for Headship, the headteacher is also accountable for budget and resource management. The Headteachers’ Charter for School Empowerment states that head teachers manage and deploy the school’s delegated budget in a fair, equitable and transparent way, supported by the Local Authority. They also take an active role in designing and reviewing recruitment and staffing approaches. Likewise, they participate in the recruitment and appointment process, ensuring a highly professional school team is built and sustained to meet the needs of the learning community.
4.2. Assessment and accountability of school leaders
The Standard for Headship is “designed to support individual self-evaluation and reflection as an integral part of leadership development”. It is to be used in conjunction with effective and systematic Professional Review and Development (PRD) and Professional Update processes. The Professional Update is an ongoing process, including: “self-evaluation using the Professional Standards; Professional Learning; and Professional Review and Development.” To remain registered with GTC, educators must confirm the Professional Update every five years.
4.3. Teacher assessment by school leaders
According to the Professional Review and Development (PRD) and Professional Update process, teachers are assessed by a “reviewer” who could be the school’s head teacher or a middle leader.
