1. STRATEGIC THINKING AND VISIONING
Module 1
STRATEGIC THINKING AND VISIONING

2. Partners
School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
University of Primorska, Slovenia
edEUcation, UK
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania
European School Heads Association, Netherlands

3. The
Focus
EC4SLT invites school leadership teams to join the project to:
design an enquiry-based programme for entrepreneurial educational leadership development
improve the quality and efficiency of leadership through application of entrepreneurial competences from the business world.

4. Entrepreneurial competences
The
Entrepreneurial competences
In relation to strategic thinking and visioning, entrepreneurial competences concern values and include:
elaborating a mission with a set of values, a vision and strategies in place to enact them
analysing the wider educational context, its constraints and its freedoms, the relative performance of the school and the needs and expectations of key stakeholders
actively seeking information to identify and exploit opportunities, take calculated risks and innovate to foster sustainable solutions
addressing community needs and having the strategic flexibility to respond to change
exploiting individual and collective strength as a leadership team
developing and exploiting partnerships and networks
creating structures and processes to enact the mission and vision
Introduce the entrepreneurial competences. Add the website video links to each competence.

5. Stimulus Marley School requires improvement
You have information regarding particular areas:
Leadership of the school
Governance of the school
Safety
The achievement of pupils
The senior leadership team is aware that it will need to focus on entrepreneurial competences related to values in order to enable change
They need to explore exactly what this means in practice
Refer participants to the case study document for more information. This is Handout 1.

6. Group task
Scenario:
You have just taken over as the leadership team of Marley School.
Analyse the issues you face in terms of leadership and where you want to be in the short, medium and longer term.
What are the drivers behind the change you need to implement?
Identify three strategic priorities for the school.
Record them on Post-It (sticky) notes.
A description of a fictional school
Set of post it notes

7. Create the need to know Source a copy of your school improvement plan
Work as a leadership team to identify one key improvement objective which requires revisiting your vision and values
Why is the objective important?
How easy will it be to achieve?
Do you foresee any sticking points?
Cycle 1: explore

8. Ask questions
Using the 8Qs template, record all of the questions you have as a leadership team in relation to achieving the objective you identified on the previous slide
The 8Qs template is named Handout 2
Cycle 1: explore

9. Use evidence and expertise
Read and review the additional information in Handout 3
Watch video clip from George Stephenson High School and consider the advantages and disadvantages of the approach taken by the senior leadership team in relation to your context
Arrange to visit a school in your area and find out whether they have resolved an objective like the one you have chosen for the focus of your enquiry
Select two or three texts from the module reading list and engage with them, making notes and asking further questions
Cycle 1: explore

10. Make sense of your findings
What have you found?
Revisit your 8Qs sheet and consider whether you have obtained appropriate approaches to achieving your objective
Cycle 1: explore

11. Reflect on your learning
How does the experience at Marley School compare to the process and outcomes of your exploratory enquiry cycle?
What were the key learning points of your exploratory enquiry cycle?
How/where/when/why did they occur?
Were there any blockers?
Will you need to plan to avoid them next time?
How will you do this?
Cycle 1: explore

12. Making links
To what extent did the entrepreneurial competences relating to values feature in your exploratory enquiry cycle:
elaborate a mission with a set of values, a vision and strategies in place to enact them?
analyse the wider educational context, its constraints and its freedoms, the relative performance of the school and the needs and expectations of key stakeholders?
actively seek information to identify and exploit opportunities, take calculated risks and innovate to foster sustainable solutions?
address community needs and have the strategic flexibility to respond to change?
exploit individual and collective strength as a leadership team?
develop and exploit partnerships and networks?
create structures and processes to enact the mission and vision?

13. Create the need to know
The first stage of your second, negotiated, enquiry cycle requires you to consider the impact of developing your entrepreneurial competences relating to values
Use Handouts 4, 5 and 6 to prepare an action plan in order to record:
the stages of your enquiry
delegated roles and responsibilities
deadlines
anticipated outcomes
Remember to include evidence of your learning from enquiry cycle one
Cycle 2: develop

14. Ask questions
Undertake a small scale trial of your action plan with a particular stakeholder
Which entrepreneurial skills relating to strategic thinking and vision do you want to practise?
Who/what will enable you to practise these skills and offer constructive feedback for improvement?
How will you approach them/it?
When will you conduct your trial?
Take action and collect evidence
Cycle 2: develop

15. Ask questions To what extent will you have to consider and plan for:
Your values and vision
The wider educational context?
Opportunities and calculated risks?
Community needs?
Individual and collective strengths?
Partnerships and networks
Internal structures and processes?
Cycle 2: develop

16. Use evidence and expertise
Review the evidence of your small scale trial
What did you find in relation to:
The anticipated outcomes in your action plan?
The entrepreneurial competences relating to values?
Revisit the video clip of the senior leaders at George Stephenson High School
Compare and contrast their leadership approaches with your own approach in your small scale trial
Cycle 2: develop

17. Make sense of your findings
It is now time to up-scale your work
Review the points of your action plan in relation to your findings from the previous slide
Do you need to change anything/anyone?
Do you need to add anything/anyone?
Do you need to remove anything/anyone?
Take action and collect evidence
Cycle 2: develop

18. Reflect on your learning
So, what were the actual outcomes of your action plan?
How did they compare to your intended outcomes?
What did you achieve in relation to your original improvement objective?
Cycle 2: develop

19. Making links
To what extent did the entrepreneurial competences relating to values feature in your developmental enquiry cycle:
elaborate a mission with a set of values, a vision and strategies in place to enact them?
analyse the wider educational context, its constraints and its freedoms, the relative performance of the school and the needs and expectations of key stakeholders?
actively seek information to identify and exploit opportunities, take calculated risks and innovate to foster sustainable solutions?
address community needs and have the strategic flexibility to respond to change?
exploit individual and collective strength as a leadership team?
develop and exploit partnerships and networks?
create structures and processes to enact the mission and vision?

20. Next steps
To what extent are you convinced by the need to develop entrepreneurial competences relating to values?
How will you communicate this to others?
What small changes will you make to your leadership practice as a result of this enquiry?
Give your reasons for this
What will you keep the same?
Write your responses on a sticky note and post it by your desk as a practical reminder for future work.

21. Contact
Authors
The content of this module was researched and prepared by: Sue Robson, René Koglbauer, Ulrike Thomas, Alison Whelan and Anna Reid Organisation: School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, UK Key contact: Sue Robson, School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
Agree the order of authors and add professional titles.