Leading practice

Leading Practice in the Early Years.

Whitaker (1993:74) offers a concise, realistic definition of the complexity of a leaders’ work: Leadership is concerned with creating the conditions in which all members of the organisation can give of their best in a climate of commitment and challenge. Leadership helps an organisation to work well. The importance of collaboration and organisational goals are clear.

The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project Main finding from this research: There is a significant relationship between the quality of a pre-school centre and improved child outcomes. Staff qualifications impact on ratings of quality. Children made more progress settings where staff had higher qualifications, particularly if the manager was highly qualified.

EPPE: Research findings Having trained teachers working with children in pre-school settings (for a substantial proportion of time, and most importantly as the curriculum leader) had the greatest impact on quality, and was linked specifically with better outcomes in pre-reading and social development at age 5.

EPPE: Research findings Quality indicators include warm interactive relationships with children, having a trained teacher as manager and a good proportion of trained teachers on the staff. Where settings view educational and social development as complementary and equal in importance, children make better all round progress. Effective pedagogy includes interaction traditionally associated with the term “teaching”, the provision of instructive learning environments and ‘sustained shared thinking’ to extend children’s learning.

Importance of strong leadership EPPE also found that individual pre-schools varied in their ‘effectiveness’ for influencing a child’s development, and that children made better all round progress in settings where: There was strong leadership and relatively little staff turnover. Beare (1989) stated that ‘outstanding leadership has invariably emerged as a key characteristic of outstanding schools.’

Reflection In pairs consider a time when you have been well led. What qualities/ attributes did the leader possess that made this a positive experience? Join with another pair to compare notes. Group feedback.

Effective Leadership in the Early Years Sector (ELEYS). Key leadership skills include the ability to: Identify and articulate a collective vision Ensure shared understandings, meanings and goals Communicate effectively Encourage reflection Monitor and assess practice Demonstrate a commitment to on-going, professional development Build a learning community and team culture Encourage and facilitate parent and community partnerships

Relationships in early years leadership It is through relationships that people develop an attachment and a feeling of responsibility, rather than an obligation, towards common goals and objectives (Lewin and Regine, 2000) Inclusive leadership Caring leadership Distributed and shared leadership

Effective early childhood leadership Leadership ThemesLeadership Practices Directional leadership Developing a shared vision Effective communication Collaborative leadership Promoting a team culture Promoting parental collaboration Empowering leadership Promoting agency The process of change Pedagogical leadership Leading learning Reflective learning

Developing a shared vision For existing leaders What are the influences upon your vision? How do you articulate this vision and ensure this becomes a collective vision? How is your vision integrated within your leadership style and practice? For aspiring leaders Reflect on your own vision for your work with children and families What are the influences upon your vision? How is your vision integrated within your vision and practice? Do you articulate your vision to other, if so how?

Reflection What positives have you noticed about leadership in your setting? What areas would you like to develop?

Getting it Right - Leadership and Difference. Good and outstanding settings make a stronger and more positive difference to children’s learning and development than those that are not yet good. Excellent early education and care are underpinned by strong leadership; this is what counts most and makes the greatest difference. Getting it right first time - Achieving and maintaining high-quality early years provision (Ofsted July 2013)

Effective Leadership Effective leaders have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve. They are absolutely determined to ‘get it right first time’ and to give children in their settings the very best start. They have high expectations of children and adults alike; this is a hallmark of their work. They are highly qualified and experienced, with very good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They know exactly what good and outstanding teaching looks like and how much young children are capable of achieving, and they also understand how children learn best. They know what they need to do to bring about improvement and they communicate convincingly, leading by example. They expect and encourage staff to be fully involved in the setting and they move at the right pace to keep them engaged.

Quality and impact. Strong leaders identify accurately what works and what needs to change. They never lose sight of the link between the quality of the provision and its impact on children’s learning and development. They involve staff, parents and children in the process of self-evaluation and they welcome challenge from other professionals.

Team building and management Effective leaders build teams of well-qualified and skilled practitioners who see themselves as educators. They put regular, rigorous performance management in place, and they hold staff to account for the quality of their teaching and children’s progress. They ensure that their staff receive the right professional development and training at the right time and that they seek out, and share, good practice locally, nationally and, occasionally, internationally. What sets these leaders apart is that they are not afraid to challenge poor performance and are prepared to lose staff who are unwilling or unable to improve.

What is at stake? Developing a strong and well-qualified staff team involves significant investment of time, energy and resources. The best leaders don’t baulk at this because, for the young children involved, this investment reaps huge dividends, now and into the future.

Challenges and skills development. As a future leader consider the challenges you currently face. In pairs discuss skills you might need to develop to address these challenges.

References Beare, H., Caldwell, B. & Millikan, R. (1989) Creating an Excellent School. London: Routledge Lewin, R. & Regine, B. (2000). The Soul at Work. New York: Simon and Schuster Ofsted (2013) Getting it right first time - Achieving and maintaining high-quality early years provision Siraj-Blatchford, I and Manni, L (2007) Effective Leadership in the Early Years Sector (ELEYS) Study

References (contd) Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Sum, C.W. (2013)Understanding and Advancing Systems Leadership in the Early Years Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj- Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B. (2004) The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project