Leading Change Conference, Glasgow
Over 150 headteachers, depute headteachers, teachers and local authority representatives attended the Leading Change Conference in Glasgow in May 2009. This event was set up to share the learning from the Schools of Ambition programme with the wider educational community.
Frank Lennon, OBE, Headteacher at St Modan’s High School, Stirling, opened the conference by underlining the central role of schools and teachers in securing change and improvement. In terms of Curriculum for Excellence he provided a rallying call that the time for action had come, with the encouragement that 'We can do it!'
Keynote
The morning’s keynote speaker was Professor Alma Harris, Chair in Educational Leadership at the London Centre for Leadership in Learning. Her theme of ‘How leadership can contribute to school improvement and change’ was very well received by delegates. Why some organisations are able to transform themselves, definitions of distributed leadership, and leadership shared and extended within, between and outside schools, were some of the issues considered. The use by leaders of 'the constant drumbeat of the core message' and the urging of delegates to consider the 'purposeful abandonment' of non-productive activities both struck a chord with the audience.
Workshops
Following on from this, delegates attended a variety of workshops led by Schools of Ambition practitioners. These sessions looked at experiences of Leading Change, Distributed Leadership in Action, Leading Learning and Teaching, and Developing Capacity. Many evaluations expressed a desire to hear more about these activities.
After lunch, Frank Crawford, HM Chief Inspector, led a very entertaining session looking at Learning in the 21st Century. Frank also illustrated the learning emerging from the Schools of Ambition and the practices that, if employed consistently, can really add to the quality of learning and teaching.
Closing remarks
Following another workshop session, Morag Towndrow, Headteacher of Barrhead Academy, summed up the content and the messages to be taken from the day. She echoed Frank Lennon’s call to the profession, to 'Be Confident, we can do it!'