You have opened the information package on Principal Professional Development project for NSW DEC principals and leadership associations.

Transcription

1 You have opened the information package on Principal Professional Development project for NSW DEC principals and leadership associations. This package should be viewed in conjunction with the Expression of Interest support document distributed with the package. This information package describes and explains the implementation strategy and gives you information you may wish to use in applying for funding for an innovative learning and improvement project. The projects should be planned and delivered in three ways: 1. collaboratively with principals, aspiring leaders and school teams who will then implement and evaluate the project/s in their schools 2. ensuring the inclusion of professional learning for principals, aspiring leaders and school teams involved in the projects 3. developing a professional learning module for principals and aspiring leaders featuring the learning gained from the project. 1

2 The Principal Professional Development project is informed by, and is designed to work within key national and state priorities. Critically, the Melbourne Declaration Educational Goals for Young Australians, the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and NSW DEC Local Schools, Local Decisions, will directly influence the proposed outcomes and design of the implementation strategy. In undertaking an innovative learning and improvement project principals and aspiring leaders should be guided by practices outlined in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals, the AITSL 360 Reflection Tool, the Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders, the Australian Standards for Teachers and the principles of the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework in the design, implementation and validation of the project. 2

3 As leaders in NSW public education, a shared responsibility is to create a self improving education system, built on the premise that principals and aspiring leaders learn effectively from one another and should play a key role in designing shared learning experiences, leading to sustainable and improved professional practices. This National Partnership project provides opportunities for alliances of schools to drive student, school and systems learning and innovation led by school leaders working together to create new capacity through new skills, new knowledge, and new practice. The strategy provides opportunities for learning alliances of principals to support the achievement of key government reforms to: create sustainable collaborative learning alliances underpinned by system wide communities of practices build instructional leadership capacity for school and systems improvement (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 1) lead improvement, innovation and change (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 3) develop the skills, capabilities, practices and pathways for emerging principals and aspiring leaders in NSW Public schools. (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 2) 3

4 Reviewing our NSW education system from Australian and global perspectives highlights the importance of a systems leadership approach to handle organisational complexity and to deliver quality education. Integrating Leadership and Organisational Development into a Systems based approach draws on research evidence from Peter Senge, Thomas Sergiovanni, Kenneth Leithwood, David Hargreaves, Michael Fullan, OECD Reports and a new field of educational research on Leadership Complexity in the 21 st Century. It is the way forward if principals are to lead innovative change and sustain quality school practices. Furthermore, as principals move towards implementing Local Schools, Local Decision, it encourages greater flexibility, engagement and broader approaches to school leadership. Systems Leadership involves: Developing and leading successful educational and organisational improvements as key priorities Acting as a curriculum innovator who develops and sustains best practice across the school system Building capabilities as a change agent to lead transformative change within the complex and rapidly changing local and global contexts of the 21C learning environment 4

5 Professor Emeritus, David Hopkins, defines System leaders as educators who: care about and work for the success of other schools as well as their own. They measure their success in terms of improving student learning and increasing achievement, and strive to both raise the bar and narrow the gap (s). They are willing to shoulder system leadership roles in the belief that in order to change the larger system, you have to engage with it in a meaningful way. 5

6 The Australian Professional Standard for Principals underpins this National Partnership and should be evident in the design of your proposed project and associated implementation strategy. In considering whether to apply for an innovative learning and improvement project, principals should be aware that Professional Practice 3 leading, improvement, innovation and change should be central in your planning and that the proposed project should develop new professional knowledge, skills and practice in one or more of the five professional practices. 6

7 The PPD project has four focus areas which are embedded into the design of the implementation strategy for NSW. The four elements are: 1. Learning Alliances creating sustainable collaborative learning alliances and system wide practices of enabling leadership that will ensure the learning of leaders and will contribute to student, school and systems learning and improvement. 2. Leadership Design designing quality professional learning and curriculum modules to build instructional leadership capacity for school and system wide improvement. (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 1) 3. Organisational Innovation leading futures focused organisational improvement, innovation and change (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 3) 4. Succession and Sustainability developing accreditation pathways to enhance the skills, capabilities and practices of emerging principals and aspiring leaders in schools. (Australian Professional Standard for Principals Professional Practice 2) These strategies will support and ensure the effective integration of the Australian Professional Standard for Principals in NSW into the work and professional accreditation of school leaders. This will be carried out through consultation with principals, resulting in the production, publication and sharing of high quality leadership learning modules. 7

8 Following a Systems Leadership approach allows principals to focus on the enablers that create a Dynamic Learning System the aim of every school within the NSW Department of Education and Communities. These 5 enablers are: 1. Evolving leadership 2. Organisational innovation and agility 3. Culture of collaboration and connectedness 4. Evidence seeking knowledge generation 5. Engaged and accomplished community of learners Each of these 5 enablers are linked to quality leadership practices within the 3 leadership levels of Administrative, Adaptive and Enabling. The process of principals making the shift from Administrative styles of leadership, towards the Adaptive and Enabling perspectives, is an important component in developing the knowledge, skills and practices of current and future principals to transform and sustain the educational quality and cultures of their schools. The focus of the Principal Professional Development project is to support principals in developing an understanding of these enablers and to support their personal and professional growth in their leadership and organisational knowledge and skills. 8

9 In a self improving school system, schools and their leaders work together Schools in Learning Alliances work collaboratively to Develop quality educational goals and practices for school and system wide improvements Design organisational learning and innovations to achieve high performing measures of success Build landscapes of professional trust and leadership development across all levels of the learning alliance There is evidence from a number of educational jurisdictions and reports that, when principals and schools work together, improvement, innovation and change is more likely to succeed. In particular, in public education, a strength of the sector is the access to system wide policies, practices and programs. Consistency and fairness, with the ability to deliver programs across the state to a wide range of schools has underpinned much policy development. The implementation strategy for this project is designed to do more it will provide funding for a group of principals (working as an alliance) to explore one or more new ideas in their schools which will be evaluated and then shared across the system through the development of learning modules (programs, activities, learning objects). Collaboration matters in creating school and system wide change. 9

10 As part of developing quality leadership pathways and curriculum design, an understanding of the 3 key levels of leadership for organisational learning is the foundation for providing principals with the knowledge and skills to become effective Systems Leaders. It also provides a useful scaffold to support quality principal professional learning across the leadership continuum. These 3 levels are Administrative Leadership, Adaptive Leadership and Enabling Leadership. They support the development of core leadership practices and the progression towards leadership mastery. Administrative Leadership focuses on: Principals developing self motivation to build personal leadership capacities and support the achievement of operational school targets. Adaptive Leadership supports the: Sharing and exchanging of knowledge to help build the leadership capacities of others to improve school practices and achievement. Enabling Leadership is about: Working collaboratively within and across the school or Communities of Schools to lead and sustain the achievement of school goals. Incorporating these 3 leadership perspectives will be the foundation of all leadership professional learning in the National Partnership project. 10

11 Why new designs for learning and leadership? The purpose of the joint innovative learning and improvement projects is to create new capacity through new knowledge, new skills and new practices. Helen Timperley s seminal work on professional learning & leadership for teachers and principals (especially in literacy & numeracy) has influenced the current design of new professional practice in many NSW National Partnership schools. The design of the implementation strategy for this National Partnership and its focus on joint innovative learning and improvement projects recognises that ongoing inquiry will be critical to new Learning & Leadership Design. The diagram presents one template for inquiry (and professional learning) that principals should consider in their project design. What we know: The members of Learning Alliances will have different starting points. It is important to establish starting points, to recognise prior learning, complete the AITSL 360 Reflection Tool and share knowledge at the start of the project and as the project develops. What is known: Expert knowledge and research will be available within Learning Alliances. Beyond that, in NSW DEC schools, principals and aspiring leaders have access to an excellent set of professional learning and leadership programs, products and modules. The NP Implementation Team and Learning Alliance Coaches will also support the joint innovative learning & improvement projects by seeking and sharing additional expert knowledge and research relevant to the projects. New knowledge: Having undertaken the project and the associated professional learning (both through expert research and project based learning), the Learning Alliances will design and publish a professional practice module for principals, aspiring principals and aspiring leaders. 11

12 The AITSL 360 Reflection Tool is the self analysis tool we will use from the start of 2013 The Australian Professional Standard for Principals was endorsed in July The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has now developed a 360 Reflection Tool for principals and school leaders. The 360 Reflection Tool describes 15 attributes that are evident in the behaviours and actions of high performing principals and school leaders. Using the 360 Reflection Tool provides principals and school leaders with the opportunity to connect with the Principal Standard and gather formative feedback on the leadership behaviours they exhibit in their daily work. As part of involvement in the learning & innovation project, every principal will commit to completing the AITSL 360 Reflection Tool based on the Australian Professional Standard for Principals as part of the professional learning component of the project. Principals can register to complete the tool at any time from the start of Principals do not have to wait fro project approval to make an individual registration. 12

13 In designing a joint innovative learning and improvement project, principals should consider categories of learning innovation and determine into which category or categories the proposed project will focus. Projects that improve focus on developing better learning environments, including learning for teachers and leaders. Projects that supplement focus on working with families, community and external agencies to sustain change and improvement. Projects that reinvent focus on creating new educational practices that are a better fit for the times. Projects that transform focus on making learning for students, teachers, principals and the system available in new (and radical) ways. To assist principals participating in the National Partnership an initial paper and a learning module on innovation will be available in second term. 13

14 Why organisational innovation? For over 20 years the NSW DEC has had a strong focus on school improvement and on the use of data and evidence to inform that improvement. Throughout this time, while there have been examples of innovation and positive change in particular schools and some system practices, the overall approach has been essentially conservative. In the next decade this will not be enough to ensure that schools, principals and communities can respond to the challenges posed by changing demography, technology, resource allocations and new learning. Change and innovation that leads to better student, staff and principal learning and outcomes is a reported feature of the most improved jurisdictions, schools and groups of schools. Innovation generates energy and, where successful, creates an ongoing culture of yes. It is not uncontrolled. It is disciplined. It has purpose and it adds value in terms of new knowledge, skills and practice. According to John Kao (aka Mr Creativity) the most important characteristic of an innovative firm is that it has an explicit system of innovation which pervades the whole organisation, which is visible, known about, generates a stream of new ideas, and is seen as vital to creating new value. A particular approach to innovation that can be used by Learning Alliances in designing projects is called the split screen approach (please see diagram above) in this approach, schools and systems continue to focus on improvement while designing and testing new ideas. It allows a group of schools and principals to take a risk on behalf of others. This is why the joint innovative learning and improvement projects need to design, test and evaluate the innovation, then, where successful, share it with other principals, schools and the system. 14

15 Why succession & sustainability? As the slide above explains, this National Partnership initiative is designed to fund new ways of working and learning for principals and aspiring principals and aspiring leaders. As principals decide what they will do in their innovative learning & improvement projects they need to consider potential designs for involving aspiring leaders and school teams in the learning and delivery of the project. It is critical that the products developed as part of the NP can be used after 2014 and that the new knowledge, skills and practices developed and shared through the project and the learning module produced ensure succession. Principals should consider how the project will address both succession (especially the development of aspiring principals) and sustainability (embedding new knowledge, skills and practices). 15

16 Each project will be supported by a range of NP project initiatives. These include: The Steering Committee which has responsibility for the overall governance of the implementation of the National Partnership. The steering committee is chaired by the Director, High Performance and the membership includes representatives of principals associations, the implementation team and DEC representatives. The Terms of Reference include: Monitoring progress against National Partnership reporting timelines and milestones. Providing a mechanism for advice to the Public Education Senior Executive Group about progress and delivery of outcomes against the National Partnership Agreement and any risks associated with this. Developing specific criteria, innovative projects, programs, products and practices funded under the National Partnership. Recommending to the Deputy Director General, Public Schools, budget allocations to each component of the strategy and specific strategic and project expenditures. Recommending policy and procedural documents to be disseminated under the National Partnership. Providing advice to the Deputy Director General, Public Schools, Director General, Department of Education and Communities and the Minister of Education on a professional leadership credential based on the Australian Professional Standard for Principals. Contributing to and ratifying the April and October 2013 progress reports and the October 2014 final report for government schools. An Implementation team which will support the ongoing implementation of the NP strategy. 16

17 Now that you have viewed the presentation and read the EOI, it is over to you: Do you have an idea you could turn into an innovative learning and improvement project? Why this project? Can you identify principal colleagues who will work with you on this project and/or can you access principal communication networks to find colleagues with a similar professional interest? Would this project make a difference to your school planning and improvement, student learning and/or school, principal and aspiring leader learning? Will your proposed project address the criteria? What information and evidence will your provide in support of the application? The NP team looks forward to receiving your EOI. 17

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