LEARNING LEADERSHIP MATTERS!

We need to develop passionate learning leadership throughout the system starting from the premise that everyone is a learner, including students, teachers, headteachers, the school as a community, the wider educational system and the community the school serves.


Learning leadership involves maintaining a focus on learning as the key activity a school is engaged in; where everyone is a learner, while recognising that learning is highly sensitive to context and that people learn in very different ways. Learning leadership also recognises that everyone can be a leader and that opportunities to exercise leadership enhance learning and that we can develop leadership abilities from any powerful learning experience. Learning leadership must be supported by intelligent accountability which preserves and enhances trust among the participants in any accountability process. It also involves participants in the process, offering them a strong sense of responsibility and initiative; promoting deep, high quality learning in whatever is to be assessed: the sort of learning that has a long-term impact on standards and outcomes. Importantly, intelligent accountability also provides effective feedback and promotes insight into performance and supports good decision making about what should be celebrated and what should be changed. We must constantly and consistently celebrate good performance and challenge poor performance providing support on what needs to be improved and how to go about it. We must also build beautiful systems, processes and procedures to support our culture and our work. Systems, processes and procedures that reinforce and support the way we do things around here and naturally fit and complement the vision, values, beliefs and behaviours we are developing and fostering. Systems, processes and procedures that link all our work through golden threads to a child, a family, a school and a community.
Chris