ascl.org.uk

Leading the Way:From the Great Education debate towards

a self-improving system

Brian LightmanGeneral Secretary

Email:brian.lightman@ascl.org.uk@brianlightman @ASCL_UK

What the Great Education Debate sought to do.

• To enable school and college leaders and the teaching profession to be fully involved in shaping the future of our education service.

• To engage in serious, unbiased debate with all stakeholders in order to establish a coherent vision which can outlast the political cycle and ensure public confidence in our education system.

• To provide leadership and inspiration for ASCL members.• To take a constructive and proactive lead towards the

future development of our education service.

The focus

• Purpose of education; to cover philosophical questions such as what is education for, what the term 21st-century education means, curriculum and qualifications.

• Leadership, developing the best teachers, teaching and learning, assessment, CPD.

• Systems and structures; to include accountability and autonomy

From Propellers to Jets –Professor John West-Burnham

ascl.org.uk

Our blueprint sets out a vision for our education system -

…a system in which .

This will involve acts of , and

.

At its heart is capacity building - ,

and the capacity for creativity and

action.

ascl.org.uk

ascl.org.uk

Teaching schools – a dynamic school-led feature of the self-improving system

“The Teaching Schools Council would like to promote the school-led component of the [self-improving system] landscape.”

From: A discussion paper by the Teaching Schools Council

ascl.org.uk

What are teaching schools for?

Responsibility and accountability:

• Taking responsibility for the quality of education in their area

• Driving accountability into the system and away from outside agencies

Building system capacity:

• The next generation of system leaders;

• Dynamic professional learning; and

• Managing the supply and quality of teachers.

ascl.org.uk

ascl.org.uk

Some of the words used to describe the blueprint

ascl.org.uk

A more strategic role for government

ascl.org.uk

Teacher professionalism

“Teachers see themselves as contributing collectively to excellence in a world-class education system, the creation of a fair society and the common good. This renewed focus on the moral imperative of teaching and the purpose of education has brought a strong sense of energy, collective purpose and professionalism. “

ascl.org.uk

Curriculum, assessment, qualifications“A curriculum vision and strong pedagogical model are at the heart of improvement and innovation. Students gain the competencies and dispositions that prepare them to be creative, connected and collaborative as well has healthy holistic human beings who not only contribute to but also create the common good in today’s knowledge-based creative, interdependent world.”

ascl.org.uk

Funding and governance

• Sufficient, equitable and sustainable funding

• Formal partnerships – an explicit feature of the drive to subsidiarity

ascl.org.uk

The highest form of accountability is the individual’s professional accountability for the quality of their work and to the people who the profession serves. In a self-improving system, we believe that teachers and school leaders must be agents of their own accountability. The role of the state is to determine the accountability measures in the interests of the parents and the wider community.”

ascl.org.uk

System improvement

ascl.org.uk

The challenge for us: redistribute the future

ascl.org.uk

Questions?

Download the blueprint from the news and views section of our website: www.ascl.org.uk