According to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring report, “Leadership is at the heart of quality education,” and there is a growing belief that educational leadership contributes to educational outcomes. The report reminded me of Ted Sundquist’s quote that “good teams incorporate teamwork into their culture, creating the building blocks for success.” Excellent leaders are not excellent at everything. They are excellent at building teams to propel the school forward, whether that is HR and Operations, SLT, or subject leaders—the right people bring excellence each day. They also recognise that leadership does not exclusively belong to them—it belongs to the whole school and is a servant of that community not just during term time but beyond the school gate. On the desk of every school leader is the improvement of the learning and teaching experiences in their schools and the positive outcomes for students at the examination level. Leaders need to synergise the school, promote the values of the school and lead it with confidence, knowledge, authority and drive. Their vision drives the culture and if a leader has high expectations and outcomes, then the whole school community will come to know what is expected of them and rise to meet the […]