East Sussex Succession Planning Policy

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1 Leadership Development and Succession Planning in East Sussex: A Governing Body Policy Statement Governing bodies are invited to adopt this policy statement as a way to maintain a focus on leadership development and succession planning for all staff within their school. Rationale: Great schools need great leaders East Sussex maintained schools and academies need great leaders who are highly effective working in a range of settings A diverse leadership workforce - one that draws from all the talents and experiences of people from different backgrounds - is a stronger and more effective workforce All schools and Local Authorities in England are facing a challenge in leadership recruitment given the numbers of highly experienced leaders due to retire over the next few years To meet this challenge, we will: At an individual level need to grow our own leaders developing talent means equipping staff with the leadership skills, knowledge and understanding to carry out their role effectively and apply for promoted positions. Putting in place strategies to identify and nurture new talent sends out a clear message that the leadership is committed to its workforce, to helping them to progress in their careers and achieve their aspirations. At a school level, support school improvement planning to increases leadership capacity and provide a set of home-grown leaders ready to step up to roles and promoted posts. At a system level, work collaboratively with other schools to create the right opportunities for our potential leaders of the future to create a pool of leadership talent able to fulfil leadership needs at local and national level. Our governing body is committed to developing the school workforce in ways which: distribute leadership throughout the school utilise the strengths of individual staff and enable them to contribute to their maximum potential enable continuing professional development opportunities which enable staff to progress within the school and beyond contribute to leadership capacity throughout East Sussex work with other schools to create and take advantage of leadership development opportunities which are of mutual benefit This policy rests on the underlying principles that: the development of leadership capacity is fundamental to the delivery of a child-focussed curriculum appropriate for the 21st century growing our own leaders will benefit our school as well as other schools that they may move on to East Sussex schools share a common challenge in leadership recruitment which can be addressed through an East Sussex strategy our school will benefit in turn by recruiting leaders who have gained experience in other East Sussex schools or academies or outside of East Sussex there is potential for partnership arrangements for leadership development opportunities 1

2 We recognise that the immediate benefits to the school of identifying and developing leadership potential is motivating to staff. This can have the following effect: raising the quality of subject and senior leadership establishing an ethos of responsibility and initiative through the school creating the space for the current senior team to be more strategic by raising the capacity for operational leadership at other levels attracting and retaining talented staff by offering progression and development In implementing this policy the governing body will: monitor on an annual basis, through the appropriate committee, leadership development within the school and links with other schools and maintain an overview of the school s staffing profile and implications arising ensure the allocation of sufficient funding from the school budget to support agreed priorities for leadership development ensure the school s involvement in appropriate local and national leadership development and succession planning initiatives seek to develop a school culture which is seen by all current and prospective staff to offer leadership development opportunities which benefit individual staff as well as the school delegate responsibility to the Headteacher and other senior leaders to explore the benefits of collaborative approaches with other schools Key questions which we will ask our Headteacher to consider: The questions come under three headings: - Leadership skills and requirements - Leadership potential - Leadership opportunities Leadership and skill requirements What are the leadership skills and experience needed to implement the School Improvement Plan (SIP) over the short, medium and long term? What additional leadership skills, experience and capacity might we need over the next few years? What posts do we know we have to fill to replace staff leaving in the next 2-3 years? Leadership potential How do we currently identify talent in our school? Is there a structured system? How do we know who aspires to leadership? How do we identify and nurture our potential leaders of the future? How do we use performance management and review processes to develop our future leaders? 2

3 Are we offering specific development opportunities to attract retain and develop those with the potential to be future leaders? Do potential future leaders know we want to invest in them? Do we see the promotion of talented staff to leadership roles in other schools as a success? Do our senior leaders devote significant time and care to nurture future leaders? Leadership opportunities What leadership development opportunities have been available to our staff and what has been the take -up? Do our senior leaders offer a positive role model of distributed leadership, and do they manage their work-life balance? What staffing do we need to implement the developments we have prioritised in our School Improvement Plan in the short, medium and longer term? Are we confident in our capacity to cope with the resignation or long-term absence of the Headteacher or others in the Senior Leadership team? What links do we have with other schools to share opportunities for leadership development? How can we use forthcoming recruitment opportunities to strengthen leadership capacity, particularly around our School Improvement Priorities? Can we improve marketing of vacancies to give a clear message about our commitment to leadership development? How do we integrate leadership development into the Performance Management/appraisal process 3

4 Making it Happen What we will do in our school through an appropriate committee or as part of governing body meetings, we will: Monitor, on an annual basis, leadership development opportunities available within and outside the school and their take-up Make clear links in our School Improvement Plan to leadership development Support the development of a school culture which is seen by all current and prospective staff to offer leadership development opportunities which benefit individual staff as well as the school Ensure that our Self Evaluation addresses workforce capacity and development Identify leadership potential and enable training and support for development Enable shadowing of headteachers and other Senior Leadership Team members Regularly review and evaluate the leadership structure and its effectiveness with an eye on development of new models of leadership such as federations, Executive Headship Head of School Consider innovative models of school leadership Judge it as a success when a member of staff moves on to a leadership position at another school Make appointments to leadership roles which meet the needs of the school but offer opportunities for candidates with potential Ensure that appropriate induction and support is in place for all staff, including leadership roles. Keep under review the work-life balance of staff Maintain an overview of the schools staffing profile by collecting data by age, ethnicity, gender and disability and implications arising Ensure the allocation of sufficient funding from the school budget to support agreed priorities for leadership development What we will do with other schools within our Education Improvement Partnership, we will: Work with other schools and academies to create and take advantage of leadership development opportunities which are of mutual benefit Enable shadowing of headteachers and other Senior Leadership Team members Contribute to and make use of leadership development programmes offered by the Local Authority, Teaching Schools Alliances and Education Improvement Partnerships Make use of mentorship and Induction support schemes Share leadership development programmes consider using leaders to support other schools as part of school to school support processes including Federation, shared appointments and secondment opportunities Explore opportunities to work with schools in neighbouring authorities Recruitment and Induction of Headteachers, we will: Consider new models of leadership before recruiting a Headteacher Be clear in our recruitment publicity that the school is committed to leadership development. Recognise the potential that less experienced candidates may offer Make clear the support that is available to new appointments Plan effectively to deliver support to new headteachers, taking advantage of support from the Local Authority 4

5 Support available to governing bodies: The National College for School Leadership provides a range of resources including an interactive guide for Governors on the importance of succession planning A recruitment administration support package for Headteacher and Senior Leadership appointments is provided, in addition to PT04 Recruitment and Retention through the Services to Schools menu, by Personnel and Training, Business Services Department within East Sussex County Council. For further information please contact Janet Bowen, Senior HR Officer by ing Janet.Bowen@eastsussex.gov.uk or by phone: or by contacting Leadership.Recruitment@eastsussex.gov.uk The East Sussex School Learning Effectiveness Service (SLES) will support and challenge governing bodies to make appointments which recognise potential and to embed effective induction. This includes advice on marketing the school, leadership development ethos and commitment to collaboration. The East Sussex School Learning Effectiveness Service (SLES) co-ordinates an induction programme for newly appointed headteachers which includes guidance for Chairs of governing bodies to take a lead role in supporting and monitoring the new headteacher. The East Sussex SLES provides support to Governing Bodies to explore other models of leadership including collaborations and federations. The Governor Support Service targets support at new Chair/Head partnerships through its governor training programme which includes the option of consultancy support to discuss models for effective working and best practice in governance 5