National College for Teaching & Leadership Specialist leaders of education (SLEs) Teaching schools WebEx – 1 st October

Aims of this session: To provide cohort three teaching schools with an overview of the SLE programme, highlighting the process, guidance documentation and timelines for October 2013 application round.

Who are specialist leaders of education? SLEs are outstanding middle and senior leaders in positions below the headteacher - Although they must be outstanding at what they do, they do not have to come from outstanding schools SLEs have at least two years’ experience in and excellent knowledge of a particular field of expertise SLEs have a minimum of two years’ experience in a leadership role within a school or an academy SLEs must have the necessary skills, experience, track record and capacity Hold a specialism included within the SLE directory of expertise

What will SLEs do? SLEs will be deployed as ‘system leaders’ SLEs contribute significantly to improving the outcomes for children through developing the capacity of peer leaders in other schools Support other individuals or teams, in similar positions in other schools Be flexible to meet the needs of supported schools Help schools to improve their own leadership capacity

SLE programme – key facts There are currently just over 2500 SLEs designated from three recruitment rounds Target is to designate a 1,500 SLEs in in line with the teaching schools model Cohort 4 is open 2 – 23 October teaching schools recruiting SLEs Application information for applicants is available on the NCTL website

SLE stats

SLE training model SLE core training is mandatory (one day ) Option for SLEs to attend two enrichment modules within a 12month period Ashton on Mersey School lead training school 16 training schools designated around the country to deliver training– details on the SLE webpages Training model rated very highly – 97% of cohort 2 SLEs rated the training a Good or Excellent

SLE deployment There is no pre-defined time commitment for a deployment, as models and types of deployments will vary A ‘commission’ will be negotiated before a deployment commences. This will outline objectives, intended outcomes, timescale and expected time commitment Teaching schools will quality assure deployments and evaluate their impact Funding arrangements for SLE deployments are a matter of local agreement within the teaching school alliance

Role of the teaching school Teaching schools are responsible for: Recruiting SLEs (priorities of teaching school alliance) Sifting applications, assessing and designating SLEs Brokering SLE deployments Quality assuring SLE deployments

Application process The SLE application form consists of two parts, and is accessible from 2 nd October Part 1 of the application is completed online via the NCTL website. Applicants need to be registered as a member of the College in order to complete the form. Part 2 of the application form is a downloadable Word document and is completed by both the applicant and their headteacher referee. Part 2 is uploaded to part 1 by the referee. We highly recommend application guidance is read before beginning an application. It is available on the weblink above.

Before applying, applicants should: check they meet the eligibility criteria, available here.here check their specialism is listed on the area of expertisearea of expertise speak to their headteacher who is required to provide a reference for their application identify which teaching school alliance they are applying to read the application guidance and all the information in the ‘how to apply’ section of the website download part 2 of the application form

Next steps for applicant Applicant will receive automatic confirmation of submission once part 2 is successfully uploaded to part 1. At the end of the application window, applications will be batched and sent to relevant teaching school alliances by 4 November. Applicants to be contacted by their teaching school alliance after 28 November. Successful applicants to attend core training Jan to March 2014 (certificate to be handed to them at the core training day)

Appeals and review of designation Applicants able to appeal against their designation outcome – within a month of notification of . Applicant to progress the issue with the teaching school in the first instance Review of designation policy updated Both policies are contained within the SLE toolkit and on the website

Cohort 4 Key dates 2 – 23 October(midnight): SLE application window 4 November: File transfer download activated and applications sent to teaching schools November: The interview and assessment process for applicants (window) 29 November: Submission deadline for designation recommendations By 6 December: Review and confirmation of designations data by the National College By 13 December: Teaching Schools confirm designations to SLEs January – March 2014: Core training for designated SLEs

Links to helpful resources Each teaching school recruiting has identified their priorities and an SLE vacancies list is available for applicants to access at aching-schools-alliance-priorities.pdf aching-schools-alliance-priorities.pdf An SLE toolkit has been developed which provides comprehensive guidance about each step of the process – accessible via the teaching school online community Application link will be made available on the SLE webpages in the ‘Apply’ section at schools/specialist-leaders-of-education-programme/sle-apply.htmhttp:// schools/specialist-leaders-of-education-programme/sle-apply.htm Some SLE case studies have also been developed to highlight impact of SLE programme for-schools/specialist-leaders-of-education-programme/sle-examples-in- practice.htmehttp:// for-schools/specialist-leaders-of-education-programme/sle-examples-in- practice.htme

Support for teaching schools Support available from the SLE team at: The team: Eddie Haynes – Executive Assistant Chrissie Carter – Executive Officer Scott Caine – Manager Rachel Newton – Senior Manager John Stephens – Deputy Director, Teaching Schools NCTL helpdesk number for applicants

Any questions?