New flexible routes into headship announced

Holyrood reports that more flexible routes into headship may be made available to Scottish teachers under plans by the Scottish Government.

In a Scottish Government international school leadership conference in Edinburgh, Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop outlined a 'flexible routes pilot' developed by the Government to be piloted in a number of local authorities with a view to rolling the programme out nationally.

The Cabinet Secretary told delegates that while the current headteachers’ qualification, the Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH), is having a positive impact, it should not be the only route into school leadership.

An evaluation team from Cambridge and Glasgow Universities has produced draft findings which are supportive of the pilot. Hyslop said: 'The evaluation team talks of us moving towards a mixed economy of provision that will complement rather than compete with SQH.'