Black Country Local Leaders of Education

An important part of the leadership strategy will be to support school leadership through a new Black Country Local Leaders of Education (BCLLE) Programme, whereby excellent headteachers will support other schools in the region through coaching, mentoring and facilitation with the headteacher and senior leadership team via a client-centred consultancy model.

For the first year NCSL is looking to identify, recruit and train a number of serving headteachers (primary, secondary and special) from within the Black Country to create a team of BCLLEs who will be deployed to work with other schools in the region following a careful matching process. We hope we will be able to offer this opportunity to other school leaders in the future.

The role will involve up to one day per week during the deployment. The length of each deployment will be negotiated and may be from six months to three years, depending on the context and needs of the school.

BCLLEs will be contracted to NCSL for the agreed length of each deployment and supported in their role by an NCSL support consultant.

Essential criteria

A minimum of three years successful experience as a headteacher
A proven track record of excellent leadership – including a 1 or 2 in Leadership and Management from the school’s most recent Ofsted report
Experience of working with schools in challenging contexts
A proven track record of sustained school improvement
Knowledge of schools and their partners in the Black Country, including an understanding of the issues affecting leadership in the region
A commitment to support system-wide leadership through the sharing of best practice and school-to-school support
Experience of client-based consultancy and coaching practices

Applications

We are currently recruiting for BCLLEs. Application details. To request an application pack, or if you have any queries about the programme, please contact the team by emailing [email protected].

Forms should be emailed to [email protected] or posted to Michelle Holmes at NCSL, Mere Way, Ruddington, Nottingham, NG11 6JW. Please quote reference BCLLEAP.

Successful applicants will need to attend a three and a half day development programme, prior to deployment. Deployments will start between September 2008 and January 2009 based on need.

Black Country Local Leaders in Education Conference

The Leadership Strategy held the first conference for Black Country Local Leaders in Education (BCLLEs) on 3 July 2008 at the Village Hotel in Walsall.

Speakers included:

– Sir Geoff Hampton, Black Country Challenge Chief Advisor

– Andy McDowall, Challenge Advisor

– Linda Bamford, Lead Consultant for the Leadership Strategy. Read Linda Bamford’s presentation – Overview of the Black Country Leadership Strategy (280kb, 16 pages)

The talks were followed by two lively group discussion sessions led by Leadership Strategy Directors, Tom Johnston and Paul Hough. The sessions provided a good opportunity to gain clarity around the role of a BCLLE within the context of the Challenge and a real sense of excitement and enthusiasm for the work was generated.