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6th March 2017

Chief Executive Designate

We are seeking an exceptional, passionate, committed and motivated candidate who is an inspirational

leader. The Chief Executive will lead and develop our strategic objectives and generate income for

our organisation in this highly competitive environment, to make sure we achieve our goals.

About Us

Character Scotland has been advancing awareness of character education in Scotland through

programmes, partnerships and research since 2009. Our mission is the advancement of character

education and our purpose is to promote the development of character in young people and intentional

character education in schools.

About You

You will be a highly motivated, inspirational, dynamic leader experienced in working within

education. You will be ‘hands on’ with the ability to positively influence and work collaboratively

with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. You will be a confident communicator who will

be driven to achieve our goals and make a real difference to the lives of young people. Experience in

managing budgets and business acumen is essential. If you have what it takes to lead an exciting

national agenda and build on our success, then please apply.

About the role

Character Scotland is a small educational charity with no staff in direct employment. Both the

company administration and its core projects are presently outsourced to Career Studio (Scotland)

Ltd, a company of which current Chief Executive is a director. Our strategic plan provides for the

charity to progress its independent capacity and a new Chief Executive will work with all stakeholders

towards sustainable operating arrangements. The position is offered initially as an 14 month fixed

term contract with Career Studio (Scotland) Ltd although other arrangements will be considered. The

Chief Executive designate will report to the current Chief Executive through a period of leadership

transition until no later than 31st August 2017, reporting directly to the Chair of Trustees thereafter.

Responsibilities include:

Ensure that the day-today running of Character Scotland and its performance is in accordance

with the strategic goals.

Direct human and other resources and monitor the performance of those resources.

Implement policy and direct strategy towards the growth and operation of the company.

Provide the Trustees with adequate impartial information to enable decision making.

Develop and promote Character Scotland’s culture, values and behaviours through both your

own example and the day-to-day working environment of the organisation.

Develop and manage operational planning and financial control systems.

Maintain responsibility for the day-to-day running of Character Scotland’s business

administration.

Closely monitor the operating and financial results of the company against plans and budgets

to deliver the strategic goals of the company, within budget.

Represent Character Scotland to major stakeholders and key organisations.

Build and maintain an effective team and effective management within the organisation.

Ensure that effective reporting mechanisms exist within the organisation to provide feedback

at all levels and establish what action should be taken in respect of any area of improvement.

How to apply

If you are interested in applying for this post, please visit www.character.scot,

www.inspiringpurpose.org.uk and www.character-scotland.org.uk (archive) for further information

about the charity.

A cover letter and CV should be submitted by email to ronnie.davidson@character-scotland.org.uk by

31st March 2017. Interviews will take place in Glasgow on 28

th April with a view to starting as soon as

possible thereafter.

For an informal discussion please contact: Ronnie Davidson, Chief Executive on 01334 844900.

Vision

All young people have the opportunity to achieve their potential and flourish

Purpose To promote the development of character in young people and intentional character education in schools

Our ambition for Young People

Inspiring the discovery and development of character

Our ambition for Character Scotland

Building sustainability to realise our vision and achieve our goals

Goal 1: Inspire purpose and a way of being

in all young people through character

discovery activity

We will:

Refresh our core Inspire programme to be fit for purpose for 2016-

2020

Deliver the programme free for all schools in Scotland and actively

promote and grow nation-wide participation

Support the research and evaluation of the programme in 30

secondary schools

Goal 2: Develop a framework for

recognising ‘Intentional Character

Education’ in Schools

We will:

Formulate ‘Character Scotland Schools’ mark for those schools

directly engaged with the charity

Promote intentional character education in Schools

Goal 3: Influence policy to improve the

status of character education in Scotland

We will:

Promote coherent messages on character education and the fit to

national priorities.

Promote a coherent fit for Character Education within the Scottish

Curriculum

Undertake activities to promote the features and benefits of

character education to policy makers.

Goal 4: Launch and develop a

Character Development Fund

for Scotland

characterscotland Strategic Plan 2016-2020 v4

We will:

Create a new core fund to provide a

foundation for the charity and sustain its

long-term future.

Phase the development of the fund and build on

relationships with existing donors/sponsors and

stimulate new ones.

Use the development of the fund as a key driver

for the development of strategic objectives,

governance and management.

Our ambition for Education

All young people have access to and can benefit from character education

Character development is the foundation for improved attainment and human flourishing

characterscotland Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools

CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE

The opportunity to achieve potential. Flourishing individuals and society.

CIVIC VIRTUES

e.g service, citizenship, volunteering

Character virtues that are necessary for

engaged and EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTORS

MORAL VIRTUES

e.g courage, self-discipline, gratitude, integrity

Character virtues that enable us to respond as

RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

PERFORMANCE VIRTUES

e.g resilience, determination, creativity

Character virtues that help us to perform at

our best as CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS

INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES

e.g curiosity, critical thinking

Character virtues that are necessary for

SUCCESSFUL LEARNING

GOOD SENSE Making wise decisions when two or more virtues collide.

The aim of this Framework is to provide a rationale for the centrality of character education in the Scottish context of the Curriculum for Excellence underpinned as it is by a rich evolutionary history, the moral virtues of the Scottish Parliamentary Mace – wisdom, compassion, integrity, justice – and articulated in the four capacities of successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. The Framework also highlights the pivotal role of character education to Scotland’s national improvement agenda of achieving excellence and equity in our educational system, to developing the young workforce and especially to closing the attainment gap. Importantly, there is a strong and supportive research evidence basis on which to drive this agenda forward.

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s SchoolsAdapted by Character Scotland from “A Framework for Character Education in Schools” developed at The Jubilee Centre

“Good character is the foundation for improved attainment and human flourishing.”

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 01

The development of character is a process that engages the efforts of both the developing individual and of the family, society and schools. Questions about the kinds of people children will become, the contributions of good character to a flourishing life, and how to balance various virtues and values in this educational process are therefore salient concerns for all schools. Interest is now being shown in character across a variety of UK schools.

No one doubts that belonging to a school community is a deeply formative experience that helps make students the kinds of people they become. Schooling is centrally concerned with the formation of character and schools should empower students to become good people and responsible citizens, able to lead purposeful as well as successful lives.

Character education is nothing new. If we look at the history of schooling from ancient times to the 20th century, the cultivation of character was typically given pride of place – for instance by Robert Owen - with the exception of a few decades towards the end of the 20th century when, for a variety of different reasons, this aim disappeared from the curricula of many Western democracies.

Contemporary character education, however, is better grounded academically than its predecessors, with firm support both from the currently popular virtue ethics in moral philosophy and recent trends in social science, such as positive psychology, that have revived the concepts of character and virtue. Finally, a growing general public-policy consensus, across political parties and industry, suggests that the role of moral and civic character is pivotal in sustaining healthy economies and democracies.

CHARACTER EDUCATIONCharacter is a set of personal traits or dispositions that produce specific moral emotions, inform motivation and guide conduct. Character education is an umbrella term for all explicit and implicit educational activities that help young people develop positive personal strengths called virtues. Character education is about helping students grasp what is ethically important in situations and to act for the right reasons, so that they become more autonomous and reflective.

‘[...] the ultimate aim of character education is the development of goodsense or practical wisdom: the capacity to choose intelligently between alternatives.’

WHICH VIRTUES CONSTITUTE GOOD CHARACTER?Individuals can respond well or less well to the challenges they face in everyday life, and the moral virtues are those character traits that enable human beings to respond ethically to situations in any area of experience. Displaying moral and other virtues in admirable activity over the course of a life - and enjoying the inherent satisfaction that ensues - is what it means to live a flourishing life.

No definitive list of relevant areas of human experience and the respective virtues can be given, as the virtues will to

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 02

a certain extent be relative to individual constitution, developmental stage and social circumstance. It is neither possible nor desirable to provide an exhaustive list of the moral virtues that should be promoted in all schools.

Nevertheless, a list of prototypical moral virtues – that will be recognised and

embraced by representatives of all cultures and religions – can be suggested and drawn upon in character education. The list below contains examples of such virtues that have been highlighted in some of the most influential philosophical and religious systems of morality – and that also resonate well with current efforts at character education in schools:

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 03

VIRTUE DEFINITIONCourage Acting with bravery in fearful situationsJustice Acting with fairness towards others by honouring rights and responsibilitiesHonesty Being truthful and sincereCompassion Exhibiting care and concernSelf-discipline Making yourself do the things that should be doneGratitude Feeling and expressing thanks for benefitsHumility/Modesty Estimating oneself within reasonable limits

In addition to those prototypical moral virtues, schools need to promote specific civic virtues of responsible citizenship such as service and volunteering.

Furthermore, in developing successful learners, they will be concerned with intellectual virtues such as curiosity and critical thinking, that guide the quest for knowledge. Among the intellectual virtues one deserves a special mention here. That is the virtue which the ancient Greeks called phronesis, which can also be called good sense or practical wisdom – the overall quality of discerning and choosing the right course of action in difficult situations.

Good sense arises gradually out of the experience of making such choices and the corresponding growth of ethical insight.

In addition, all human beings need personal traits that enable them to manage their lives effectively. These traits are sometimes called performance virtues and enabling virtues, to distinguish them from the specifically moral ones. In contemporary school- policy discourse, they are commonly referred to as ‘soft skills’. One of the most significant of those is resilience– the ability to bounce back from negative experiences. Others include determination, confidence, creativity and teamwork. All

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 04

good programmes of character education will include the cultivation of performance virtues, but they will also explain to students that those virtues derive their ultimate value from serving morally acceptable ends.

Although virtues can be divided up into different categories, they form a coherent, mutually supportive whole in a well-rounded life, and character education is all about their integration, guided by the overarching intellectual virtue of good sense.

Flourishing Individualsand SocietyTHE GOALS OF CHARACTER EDUCATIONBecause of their foundational role in human flourishing, schools have a responsibility to cultivate the virtues, define and list those they want to prioritise and integrate them into all teaching and learning in and out

of school. Students therefore need to learn their meanings and identify appropriate practices in which to apply them in their lives, respecting themselves (as persons of character) and being of service to others. It is common for a school to outline the goals of education in its mission statement, and a school that seeks to strengthen the character of its students should explicitly affirm its commitment to doing so.

Each school needs to describe the kinds of

CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCEThe opportunity to achieve potential. Flourishing individuals and society.

CIVIC VIRTUES

PERFORMANCE VIRTUES

GOOD SENSE

MORAL VIRTUES

INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES

e.g service, citizenship, volunteering

Character virtues that are necessary for engaged and EFFECTIVE CONTRIBUTES

Character virtues that help us to perform at our best as CONFIDENT INDIVIDUALS

Character virtues that enable us to respond as RESPONSIBLE CITIZENS

Character virtues that are necessary for SUCCESSFUL LEARNING

Making wise decisions when two or more virtues collide

e.g resilience, determination, creativity

e.g courage, self-discipline, gratitude, intergrity

e.g curiosity, critical thinking

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 05

future citizens it wants to help develop and then outline the philosophy that underlies its approach. The philosophy and approach should involve clear ethical expectations of students and teachers and modelling by teachers to guide the development of individual virtues in students. Schools should provide opportunities for students not just for thinking and action, but also for understanding what it means to become a mature, reflective person. They should help prepare students for the tests of life, rather than simply a life of tests.

‘Character virtues should be reinforced everywhere: on the playing fields, in classrooms, corridors, interactions between teachers and students, in assemblies, posters, head teacher messages and communications, staff training, and in relations with parents’

SCHOOL ETHOS IS BASED ON CHARACTER

The research evidence is clear: schools that are values- driven have high expectations and demonstrate academic, professional and social success. They are committed and determined to develop the character of their students through the articulation of, demonstration of and commitment to core ethical virtues and to the cultivation of meaningful personal relationships.

Because the ethos of a school is the expression of its collective character, it is important for every member of a school community

to have some basic understanding of what character is. Students and teachers therefore need to learn not only the names and meanings of character virtues, but display them in the school’s thinking, attitudes and actions.

Character virtues should be reinforced everywhere: on the playing fields, in classrooms, corridors, interactions between teachers and students, in assemblies, posters, head teacher messages and communications, staff training, and in relations with parents. They are critical in extra- curricular activities and employability, and should translate into positive feelings and behaviour. The process of character education is not only one of acquiring ideas. It is about belonging and living within a community – for schools are, together with the family, one of the principal means by which students grow in virtue.

TEACHERS AS CHARACTER EDUCATORS

Character education builds on what already happens in schools, and most teachers see character cultivation as a core part of their role. Considerations of character, of the kind of person students hope to become, should be at the heart of teaching and education. The virtues acquired through experience by students are initially under the guidance of parents and teachers who serve as role models and moral exemplars.

In order to be a good teacher, one needs to be or become a certain kind of person: a person of good character who also exemplifies commitment to the value of what they teach. The character and integrity of the teacher is more fundamental than personality or personal style in class, and it is no less important than mastery of subject

A Framework for Character Education in Scotland’s Schools 06

content and techniques of instruction. Good teaching models commitment to the forms of excellence or goodness inherent in the subject matter such as the qualities of craftsmanship, artistry, careful reasoning and investigation.

Although many teachers possess a strong interest in moral issues, they are not always adequately trained to reflect critically upon and convey moral views to their students in a sophisticated way. Contemporary policy discourse, with its amoral, instrumentalist, competence-driven vocabulary, often seems to shy away from value-driven perspectives. The lack of teacher education programmes with a coherent approach to character education seems a lost opportunity, however, given the commonly expressed desire among trainee teachers to make a moral difference.

‘Good teaching is underpinned by an ethos and language that enables a public discussion of character within the school community so that good character permeates all subject teaching and learning.’

Character Scotland has been supporting schools and teachers to explore their development of intentional character education since 2009. We encourage all schools and teachers to register with us and take advantage of research and learning materials which will help to implement the framework in their school or teaching practice.

www.character-scotland.org.uk/signup

Why Character Education is Important

• Character is fundamental: it is the basis for human and societal flourishing;

• Character is largely caught through role-modelling and emotional contagion: school culture and ethos are therefore central;

• Character should also be taught: direct teaching of character provides the rationale, language and tools to use in developing character elsewhere in and out of school;

• Character is educable: it is not fixed, and the virtues can be developed. Its progress can be measured holistically, not only through self-reports but also more objective research methods;

• Good character is the foundation for improved attainment, better behaviour and increased employability, but most importantly, healthier societies;

• Character should be developed in partnership with parents, employers and other community organisations;

• Good character results in academic gains for students, such as higher grades;

• Each child has a right to character education;

• The development of character empowers students and is liberating;

• Character demonstrates a readiness to learn from others;