SPECIALIST LEADERS OF EDUCATION

If you are an experienced middle or senior leader who is interested in supporting leaders in other schools, you might want to apply to be a specialist leader of education.

The role of a SLE for Partnership Learning Teaching School Alliance is intrinsic to the three core strands of the TSA work: Initial Teacher Training (ITT), Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and School to School Support (StSS).

Specialist leaders of education focus on developing leadership capacity. While other roles (for example, advanced skills teachers) focused on developing classroom expertise, this role is about developing other leaders so that they have the skills to lead their own teams and improve practice in their own schools.

This may be done through one-to-one or group support and could involve a variety of activities, such as:

– data analysis
– coaching
– facilitating and training
– joint action planning

If selected, you will be expected to provide evidence that your work has had a positive impact on outcomes for children and young people by developing leadership capacity in other schools.

View the full role of a Specialist Leader of Education – click here

• Partnership London SCITT: Professional Studies facilitators, Subject Development facilitators, ITT mentoring, ITT lesson observation QA, ITT QTS assignment marking/moderation, engagement with the partnership board of the PLS provision
• PLTSA Appropriate Body for NQT Induction: NQT Mentor training and support, NQT QA observations, NQT mentoring, NQT Conference facilitation, NQT monitoring of progress towards Teachers’ Standards

• Facilitation of training programmes (e.g. NPQML, NPQSL)
• Development of programmes tailored to individual school(s) needs
• Coaching
• CPD QA and impact evaluation

• Deployment as required by brokered StSS.
• Examples of recent SLE deployment for StSS include: joint action planning, Head of Department mentoring, assessment moderation, curriculum planning, Teacher Support Plan intervention, external reviews of school groups, pastoral leadership support, middle and senior leadership development.

To become a specialist leader of education, you need to have been in a leadership role below the head teacher for at least 2 years. Your head teacher will be asked to confirm that you are in an appropriate role. Higher level teaching assistants are not eligible to apply.
You can be from any type or phase of school.
You do not need to be in an outstanding school or a school that is part of a teaching school alliance, as long as your school has the capacity to release you to work in other schools. You must have at least one specialism from our areas of expertise, which are based on the 4 areas of focus for Ofsted.

To be successful in your application, you should have:

a successful track record of working effectively within your own school and/or across a group of schools, or working with a range of leaders within a single school
evidence of successfully using coaching and/or facilitation skills to bring about sustainable improvements

– excellent communication and interpersonal skills
– an understanding of what constitutes ‘outstanding’ in your field of expertise and the ability and confidence to communicate this
– an understanding of how your specialism and skills can contribute to wider school improvement goals
– an analytical approach in identifying and prioritising needs
– the ability to set and establish new and innovative working practices
– the ability to grow leadership capacity in others

You can also provide supporting evidence gained from completing leadership development opportunities such as:

– the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership
– the National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership
– the SSAT lead practitioner accreditation

There is no cost to apply. Successful applicants will be entitled to some training at no cost to their school. However, the school will have to pay for associated travel or supply cover.

Apply

PLTSA welcomes applications for the role of SLE. The deadline is Friday 30th June.

Please submit your application by email to ccr@sydney-r.bardaglea.org.uk

Before applying

Read our SLE application guidance
Make sure your referee has read the SLE guidance for referees
Use the SLE sample application for additional guidance

SLE applications are reviewed for their eligibility in line with the criteria outlined above. Applicants are invited to attend interview, led by the Director of Teaching School, to further discuss the content of the application form and the SLE role.

Recommendation for designation is decided within 7 days of interview and the Teaching School informs NCTL. Designations of SLEs are recorded by NCTL and the SLE receives a certificate of designation.

Time commitment

The role lasts for 4 years, at which time there will be a review. The types of placements will vary and will be decided upon in agreement with the SLE and their head teacher. There is no minimum or maximum time commitment. You and your school will need to think carefully about capacity and negotiate your availability together.

Payment

There may be payment for specific placements, either from schools receiving support or from other organisations using your services, to help reimburse your school or pay for supply cover. Any payment will be agreed and managed by the head teachers and governors of the schools concerned, in line with statutory guidance.

Contact us

If you have any queries regarding the PLTSA SLE role or the application process please contact:

Clare Cross, Director of Teaching School

ccr@sydney-r.bardaglea.org.uk