Downe House teams up with Bradfield College and Winchester College to empower teachers aspiring for leadership roles, fostering collaboration and professional growth
Local independent boarding school for girls, Downe House, has launched an Aspiring Middle Leaders’ Programme in collaboration with Bradfield College and Winchester College as part of an ongoing strategy to support CPD (Continuing Professional Development) and meaningful career progression for its teachers, while sharing best practice via cross-school partnerships. The programme was launched this month at an event hosted by Bradfield College where delegates heard an address from Headmaster, Dr Christopher Stevens, on the topic of leadership and management in the education sector.
Dr Stevens encouraged all of the delegates to reflect on leaders they had worked with and the impact of educational initiatives they had witnessed. He spoke about the hugely positive impact that middle leaders have on pupils and colleagues within their schools.
The programme, which will cover topics such as building a team, supporting pupil progress and building a high-performing department, has been created to support academic staff who are looking to step into leadership roles within their schools. All three schools will co-host a range of specially themed interactive sessions that are set to run throughout the course of the year, with an opportunity for delegates to shadow their counterparts across the partner schools.
Matthew Godfrey, Deputy Head at Downe House School explained, “Programmes like these are vital in boosting career progression for teachers; they provide a terrific networking opportunity and set the tone for the future of teaching as a vibrant and dynamic profession. Working alongside our partner schools, the programme will cover many important aspects of leadership, from establishing yourself as a head of department and managing expectations with parents and pupils, to academic tracking and the use of data to plan intervention.”
As well as delivering a raft of skills-based training, the schools also plan to better equip aspiring education leaders on areas such as budgeting and finance as well as implementing change and managing workload. Participants will also be able to complete a short research-based task within their own workplace as part of the programme schedule.
“Building a highly successful department with pupil progress at its heart is what every school leader aspires to, whether that involves greater scrutiny around lesson observation, regular feedback and nurturing pupil voice or performance management, the programme will look to cover all of these areas and more. We are looking forward to the next session in March which will take place at Bradfield College and will focus on the importance of building a strong team,” added Mr Godfrey.
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