School and System Leadership: Changing Roles for Primary Headteachers

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Description

School leadership is undergoing significant change as headteachers respond to new opportunities and challenges offered to or imposed on them as a result of government policy. There have been increasing calls for transformational change to redesign the school system to provide a suitable workforce for the knowledge economy and to manage the anticipated shortage of future school leaders. Sue Robinson combines her professional experience as a practising primary headteacher and National Leader of Education with recent research into the impact of government policy on the roles of primary heads to offer an analysis of the shifting nature of school leadership. Headteachers have taken advantage of roles available including consultancy, leadership of academies and federations and children's centres. Including interview material with 27 outstanding' primary headteachers, this is the first book combining research and practitioner insight to show how: - heads have managed the educational agenda - how they have built capacity in school to sustain their new internal and external roles - their motivations, insights and experiences - the implications for government educational policy and leadership development

Reviews

'A tour de force of developments in school and system leadership in England' Steve Munby, Chief Executive of the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services, UK
'Sue Robinson's book provides a fascinating ring-side seat on the emergence of system leadership. Firmly grounded in the experiences and expertise of school leaders grappling with change, it offers a real sense of the potential and challenges of the new world of school leadership.' Chris Husbands, Director of the Institute of Education, University of London, UK
'This book is all about the eventful journey of headship, written by a headteacher at the cutting edge of current practice. Sue Robinson makes a significant contribution to our understanding of school leadership, collecting and commenting upon the powerful voices of outstanding headteachers. Analytical and highly readable.' Roy Blatchford, Director of the National Education Trust, UK
'Sue Robinson's book offers a powerful picture of how system leadership is emerging in this decade. It helps us to understand how effective Head Teachers lead schools to be outstanding. This insight into their pedagogy gives us a prescription for success.' Robin Bosher, Executive Headteacher of Fairlawn, Haseltine and Kilmorie schools, London, and National Leader of Education, UK
School and System Leadership beautifully captures the contemporary primary school headship with all its warts and glory. Succinct and comprehensive, Robinson knows the history, evolution and probable future of the role of the school and system leadership. You won't be able to understand the nature of the school principal's role without reading this book.' Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto, Canada

Author Bio

Susan Robinson is headteacher of a large multi ethnic primary school and children's centre in Birmingham, UK. She was appointed as a National Leader of Education in 2007. Sue is a member of council for BELMAS and has lectured at Warwick University, UK, on educational leadership as part of its MA programme and facilitated for the National College on its Associate Headteacher programme. She has published articles in several journals, newspapers and websites including a regular blog for the National Education Trust, UK.