4. Statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education: National Academy for Educational Leadership

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:10 pm on 22 May 2018.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 4:10, 22 May 2018

Thank you, John. Well, great leadership and great leadership development impacts upon all of our children, but I would argue that it impacts disproportionately on those children from a poorer background. Undoubtedly, leadership in different settings requires sometimes a tailor-made specific programme for support. So, it's not for me to dictate all the time to the academy, but I do envisage a situation where we will be looking at supporting leaders, leadership, in a range of educational settings. And, if our national mission is to raise standards and close the attainment gap, which it is, then paying attention to what it means to be a leader in a school in a really economically challenged area with significant social issues that impact upon the life of that school and the well-being of the children and the ability of those children to access the curriculum, that is going to need a certain skill set to make the most of it. So, I would like to see that reflected.

Alternatively, we're seeing new forms of education all the time. What does it take to be the leader of a through school, for instance, where we've had, traditionally, a separation between primary and secondary? We're seeing a growth in the number of through schools. What does it take to be a leader in those circumstances? What does it take to be the leader of a cluster of primary schools? If you find yourself the head teacher of two, three, four primary schools in your local area, which is now happening in an attempt to keep rural schools open, what does it take to be a leader in those circumstances? What does it take to be a leader in a school where you've got very small class sizes and you're trying to teach a number of children across a wide age group, plus you've got a teaching responsibility on top of your leadership responsibility? So, there are many, many different characteristics of leadership. So, if it's generic, there are specific things that we can do to support leaders who find themselves working in very specific circumstances.

I was remiss not to talk about business managers. This is one of the ways in which we can take the burden off headteachers whose passion is for teaching and learning and not necessarily working out how you can fix the boiler or fix the leaking roof or where you can get the cheapest paper and toilet roll from. That's not what we want headteachers to be spending their time on. They tell me far too often they're spending far too much of their time doing that kind of thing and not focusing on teaching and learning and pedagogy. We're already investing in business manager pilots. We'll wait to see the results of those pilots, but, again, it's about supporting leadership in a variety of policy programmes so that people want to be a leader in a Welsh school, and I really hope that people will want to be a great leader in our schools in some of our more challenging communities. Because it's not just financial resource that can make a difference for those children, it's about deploying our very best human resource too.