Peter Earley

Continuing Professional Development of Teachers

The ongoing or continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers is crucial for organizational growth and school improvement. One of the hallmarks of being identified as a professional is to continue to learn throughout a career and the teachers’ CPD is a key component of developing children’s learning and also for the implementation of policy, be it government or school policy. This article draws from the wide-ranging literature on teacher development and considers the nature of CPD, teacher entitlements and responsibilities, what we know about what works, and how we evaluate the impact of teachers’ CPD.

New heads, OFSTED inspections and the prospects for school improvement

Summary Headteachers who regard themselves as ‘new’ do not feel as threatened by inspection as established heads and are more open to its possibilities. This paper reports these differences and examines their consequences for teaching staff. Its main purpose is to discuss whether OFSTED inspections can act effectively as catalysts for school improvement and as instruments of public accountability.

A Day in the Life of New Headteachers: Learning from Observation

It is known that the work of headteachers is demanding. Observation, diaries and logs completed by headteachers show a relentless, complex and emotionally demanding workload. What can be learned about headship from how new headteachers spend their time, and perhaps as importantly, what can new headteachers themselves learn? This article draws upon data, including that derived from observation, from a small-scale qualitative study of new headteachers in large cities, funded by the English National College for School Leadership. It examines how headteachers spend their days, the challenges faced and the value of being observed. It argues that the learning about leaders and leadership from observation has been considerable. A new observational classification is outlined. An analysis of the headteachers’ day provided insights into the things that mattered most, the challenges currently faced and how they were acting as learning-centred leaders. The other main form of learning from observation was for the research participants themselves. Gaining feedback and reflecting on their actions and use of time as school leaders was deemed to be very helpful. The article concludes by suggesting that being observed has the potential to be a powerful form of leadership development.

Ensuring Staff Development Impacts on Learning

This chapter draws on recent research to explore staff development and its impact on students. Emphasis is also given to how time is used for staff development. Recent research has found that development time is often under-used by schools, so staff development leaders need to ensure this time is used well for staff learning and that it impacts positively on student outcomes. The evaluation of staff development, if undertaken in a systematic way, can lead to improved outcomes for both students and staff, but a key obstacle to a better appreciation of the impact of staff development lies in the way that it is conventionally conceived: in terms of inputs and not as the changes effected in individuals’ thinking and practice. There is little reference to outcomes – what will happen as a result of development activity. The authors develop Guskey’s (Evaluating Professional Development. New York: Corwin, 2000) model of professional development to consider different levels of impact, including the learning and experience of students.

Governing bodies, headteacher performance and pay: the role of external advisers

This article reports on the role of the external adviser to school governing bodies in relation to headteacher performance management (HTPM) in England. School leaders are crucially important for the effective functioning of schools and there is an ever-growing body of inspection and research evidence which shows this to be the case – leadership matters, in particular principal or headteacher leadership. Oversight of the performance of school leaders is therefore crucial in the English educational system due to current initiatives promoting school autonomy coupled with tight, centralised accountability. Researchers in other countries have noted the lack of systematic understanding of the performance management of senior school leaders. The same applies to England; however, current changes to the educational system, including increased school autonomy and the centrality of school improvement, linked to inspection, make the stakes much higher than elsewhere. Understanding HTPM, especially the role of the external adviser or school improvement partner, is crucial given the evolving structure of the educational system and the shifting relationship between the state and schools. The role of the external adviser is especially pronounced in helping the governing body set objectives for its headteacher and make decisions about remuneration and salary increases. The article considers the degree to which outside assistance enables governing bodies to complete their key role in relation to managing the performance of headteachers and it outlines the main constraints under which external assistance and support operates. The article considers the role of external advisers as critical friends and concludes that good governing is at the heart of effective HTPM; the two are complementary. Governing bodies and boards of trustees will play a key role in the future, a role which can be made easier with the help of effective external advisers.

Headteacher performance management in England: Balancing internal and external accountability through performance leadership

This article reports on research into headteacher performance management in England. The English school system couples organisational autonomy with close scrutiny of educational outcomes. The management of the performance of headteachers is a central aspect of such a system. The research involved a systematic literature review and the collection of data via national surveys, expert interviews and case studies. The findings point to three overarching conditions essential for what we identify as ‘performance leadership’: relational trust between the headteacher and the governing body; situational awareness by the governing body of the school’s circumstances and the headteacher’s lived experience of the role; and a systems perspective shared by the headteacher and governing body of performance management as one aspect of a comprehensive, interactive system of internal accountability, not merely an annual rite of passage. The study found that capacity in any two conditions offers a foundation for developing capability in the third. It also revealed the dominant role played by middle-tier structures in defining what constitutes ‘effective’ performance for any school or group of schools. The article offers insight into the changing landscape of performance expectations, for school leaders as well as for those who oversee their work.

Improvement through inspection: a better system?

University of Reading, into the impact of Ofsted inspections on schools. The latest phase of that research began in January 1998 with the aim of investigating how Ofsted inspections help and hinder primary schools to develop and improve. The project, like its secondary school counterpart (Ouston et a2. 1998), wished to investigate, the main factors associated with school development. The research is based on the