Leadership standards should feature more strongly in headteachers’ performance reviews
The national leadership standards that are intended to cultivate leadership skills are not being used effectively enough in how headteachers’ performance is managed or recorded, according to a report published today by Estyn. Inspectors visiting a sample of schools found that while headteachers keep appropriate records of what they have achieved during the year, only a few use the leadership standards to evaluate how well their objectives were achieved.
Headteachers must demonstrate that they meet the Welsh Government’s leadership standards, published in 2011. The standards are designed to improve leadership and consist of six themes which professionals should use to identify areas for improving their skills. The standards form part of a headteacher’s annual performance management that is carried out by a panel comprising of governors and local authority staff.
Meilyr Rowlands, Chief Inspector, says,
Fostering and developing current and future school leaders is vital if we are to improve Welsh education. The leadership standards provide a framework for skills development as well as underpinning the effective performance management of school leaders. However, the standards do not convey high enough expectations of leaders nor set out clearly enough how leaders should behave.
Welsh Government needs to sharpen the focus of the leadership standards and headteachers need to reflect more deeply during their performance reviews on how they apply the standards. These improvements will also help governors hold headteachers to account more effectively.”
It is intended that headteachers use the leadership standards to help identify and develop leadership skills that are relevant to their stage of development in their career and to their roles and responsibilities. However, only a few headteachers use the leadership standards to challenge themselves robustly in this way.
In nearly all the schools visited, headteachers identify their own professional development needs accurately in broad terms. However, most headteachers say that finding suitable professional development opportunities to address these needs is challenging and time-consuming. Most often, they work in local headteacher networks to share effective practice. Headteachers who are peer inspectors found that the training helps them to develop analytic and evaluation skills.
The report contains a number of recommendations for headteachers and encourages them to reflect in writing on how well they have met the leadership standards, as well as their performance management objectives. Local authorities and regional consortia should also challenge headteachers and governing bodies to ensure that there are opportunities for all staff to develop their leadership skills.
Note to Editors:
About the report
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Estyn’s report ‘Statutory use of leadership standards in the performance management of headteachers’ was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government and is available in full at https://www.estyn.gov.wales/thematic-reports
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The evidence base of the report included visits to a random sample of 20 English-medium and Welsh-medium primary, secondary and special schools