TI-AIE: Perspective on leadership: leading the school development plan

What this unit is about

This is the second of two units that promote school improvement. It follows on from the unit Perspective on leadership: leading school self-review. This unit focuses on the process of school development planning – Stages 5 and 6 of the school improvement cycle (Figure 1). Once a review has been carried out, the school leader and the school management committee (SMC) will be aware of what the school is doing well and what areas need to be developed. You and your leadership team – be it one other teacher in a very small school, or a group of four or five senior teachers in a large school – are in a position to make a plan to achieve those improvements. This unit will take you through the planning process and help you to develop a template for your plan.

Figure 1 The self-review cycle (adapted from Professional Development Service for Teachers, undated).

Learning Diary

During your work on this unit you will be asked to make notes in your Learning Diary, a book or folder where you collect together your thoughts and plans in one place. Perhaps you have already started one.

You may be working through this unit alone, but you will learn much more if you are able to discuss your learning with another school leader. This could be a colleague with whom you already collaborate, or someone with whom you can build a new relationship. It could be done in an organised way or on a more informal basis. The notes you make in your Learning Diary will be useful for these kinds of meetings, while also mapping your longer-term learning and development.

What school leaders will learn in this unit