Development Planning And School Improvement For Middle Managers

Classroom teachers moving to positions of increased responsibility often have very little formal training for their new role. This book provides guidelines for best practice in the necessary skills for success - planning, management and accountability.

This text represents the experiences from six English speaking countries in the field of school development planning. There are chapters discussing staff development, quality reviews and school organization and effectiveness.

Learning to Lead in the Secondary School is designed to meet the needs of subject leaders and heads of department in secondary schools, offering practical advice and guidance to teachers taking on these demanding roles. This highly informative book is structured around six sections that address all of the key areas in leading a department including: * becoming a subject leader * managing effective teaching and learning * leading and managing people * the strategic direction and development of a department * the deployment of staff and resources * managing personal performance and development. This guide will be invaluable to middle managers in schools, subject leaders and heads of departments. It will be of interest to teachers and managers at all levels and will also be useful to those undertaking research or further qualifications in educational leadership and management.

Curriculum and subject leadership in schools has recently gained substantial attention from both researchers and policy-makers. The Teacher Training Agency (TTA) has reinforced the importance of subject leadership in school improvement, proposing a new measure of such leadership competence through the creation of national subject leader standards (NPQSL). Subject Leadership and School Improvement reflects critically on the work of subject and curriculum leaders especially in schools in England and Wales, that is, those within the policy framework of The National Curriculum and the Teacher Training Agency. The book debates the functions of subject leaders in primary and secondary schools, using current research-based conceptual frameworks, and considers how they can bring about improvement and change with their colleagues in their subject areas. It emphasizes what is particular about leading and managing the middle realm of education organizations, showing how structural, cultural and individual imperatives and perspectives interact with each other in the professional practice of being a subject leader. The book is of interest not only to subject leaders and curriculum co-ordinators, to help them reflect rigorously on their practice, but also to those responsible for supervising them, such as headteachers and school governors, as well as for those accountable to them. It will be a useful text for serving teachers undertaking higher degrees programmes or programmes for gaining national standards qualifications, the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers (NPQH) as much as for the NPQSL (National Professional Qualification for Subject Leaders) when it is implemented.

Like its predecessor on secondary middle management, this book uses a succinct and accessible style. The authors; highlight the special challenge of middle management; cover the full range of middle management activities in primary schools; link to the Teacher Training Agency's National Standards for Subject Leadership; and use self-assessment questions and case studies to bring management theory to life. A chapter is devoted to the performance management framework that was introduced in September 2000. Throughout, the focus is on improving the quality of education for pupils through the creation of a positive team ethos.

`This is a useful book and well written reflecting the author's considerable experience in the field' - National School Improvement Network News `Management Skills in Schools is a terrific digest of many important issues, built around a clear structure that helps the reader absorb information quickly. For the sheers scale of the references to educational gurus, it's worth the cover price: here is everything you need to quote' - Geoff Barton, Friday Magazine, Times Educational Supplement `This book provides an invaluable resource for everyone who is concerned with leadership and management in schools. As well as dealing with key issues and concepts it gives practical advice on strategies and techniques which can be deployed. It will enhance and complement existing skills as well as importing new ideas which will provide professional stimulus for the reader' - Sir Geoff Hampton, Dean of Education, Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre, University of Wolverhampton `For the discerning leader wanting to develop their personal management skills this is a "must have" resource. Whether working through Personal Management Skills independently or used as a professional development tool with a group of middle managers in a school this book will make a difference to how leaders work in schools' - Coleen R Jackson, Director, Roehampton Education Leadership Centre University of Surrey Roehampton `This is a timely collection of resources for those in middle management positions in schools. It brings together ideas on self management in addition to a comprehensive collection of materials on leading teams of staff. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on strategic decision making, action research in school improvement, and dealing effectively with conflict' - Brian Fidler, Professor of Education Management, The University of Reading Team leadership is vital element of school success, whether at the level of department, the curriculum area, the key stage, the phase, or in relation to pastoral and leadership teams. The Team leader must be skillful in creating cultures of success, and personal management skills are at the heart of getting the best from team members. In this book Jeff Jones shows how managers in education can contribute to school improvement, and focuses on the essential personal and practical management skills needed to instill a positive team culture, and support colleagues effectively. This book is an essential resource for those who lead and manage teams, at all levels within schools. Dr Jeff Jones has been a senior consultant and head of training and consultancy unit at the Centre for British Teachers CfBT in Reading since 1998, and is the well known author of such books as Monitoring and Evaluation for School Improvement, (2000), and Performance Management for School Improvement (2001)

Departmental improvement is the key to whole school improvement. This book complements existing programs of professional development and training on both national and local levels. Heads of department and subject leaders in secondary schools will find this professional handbook essential for planning in-service training, improving the effectiveness of the department, and developing personal leadership abilities. This book combines well-founded professional development theory with practical suggestions. It has been written in an open and accessible way with photocopiable inset activities that have been tried and tested in training situations.