Ambition Institute
Future Leaders Charitable Trust logo | |
Founded | 2006 |
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Type | Educational Charity |
Focus | Educational leadership, Succession planning, Children's Rights, and Social mobility |
Location |
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Area served | London, Midlands, North East, North West, South Coast, Yorkshire and the Humber |
Products | Future Leaders, Leading Impact, Keys to Headship |
Key people | Heath Monk, Sally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Huyton, Jo Owen, Sue Williamson |
Website | future-leaders |
The Future Leaders Trust is a UK charitable organisation with the mission of addressing educational disadvantage. It recruits and trains aspiring school leaders who focus on raising the achievement and attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. It aims to change a system that allows children from deprived backgrounds to be educationally marginalised.
A participant enrolled on the Future Leaders programme is commonly referred to as a ‘Future Leader’.
Origins
Following a feasibility trip to the US and seeing the work of New Leaders, The Future Leaders Trust was set up in 2006 as an independent charity by Absolute Return for Kids, National College for Teaching and Leadership, and The Schools Network. These organisations shared the vision for a leadership programme to improve the life chances of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Key people involved in establishing the organisation included Lord Adonis, who provided support from Government, and Jay Altman and Sir Iain Hall helped to design the initial programme. Heath Monk is currently CEO of the charity.
It became a registered charity on 15 November 2006, with charity number 1116801.
Activities
The Future Leaders programme
The Future Leaders Trust was set up to deliver the Future Leaders programme; an accelerated leadership development programme for current and former teachers to become headteachers of challenging schools in around four years.
Around seven out of ten of the poorest children are still leaving school without five or more good GCSEs including English and maths.[1] Based on OECD research, the UK has one of the widest achievement gaps in the developed world.[2]
The Future Leaders programme was established based on evidence that effective, inspirational school leadership can have a significant impact on closing this gap.
In 2009 the largest and most extensive study of contemporary leadership to be conducted in England found that effective inspirational school leadership can eradicate educational disadvantage.[3]
A McKinsey & Company report in 2012 commented that Ofsted reports show that 93 out of 100 schools with good leadership also have good standards of achievement, while only one out of 100 schools without good leadership will have good standards of achievement.[4]
The Future Leaders programme combines residential and on the job training, including a one-year placement under a mentor headteacher in a challenging school, a study tour to visit schools in the UK and ongoing leadership coaching from an experienced headteacher.
In 2006, Future Leaders recruited 20 participants in London onto their inaugural cohort. The programme expanded to the North West in 2008, the Midlands in 2009, Yorkshire & the Humber and South Coast in 2010[5] and the North East in 2012.[6]
To date almost 300 Future Leaders have worked in over 250 schools across five UK regions impacting on the lives of more than 250,000 pupils.
Notable Future Leaders
Andrew Day
Future Leader Andrew Day grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and began his teaching career under the apartheid regime. Security problems forced him to emigrate to the UK and continue teaching in British schools. He decided to explore the business world, completed an MBA and worked in the travel industry. But he soon returned to teaching through joining the Future Leaders programme in 2006.[7]
In January 2009, he was appointed Principal of Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy in London, at a time when the school had achieved 19% 5A*-C including English and maths. This year it achieved 57% - an impressive 16 percentage point increase on 2010 and the best results in its history and most improved school in the borough - showing the great strides the Academy has made to improve the life chances of all students.[8]
Mr Day has subsequently been appointed as Executive Director (CEO) of The Northumberland Church of England Academy and starts his new role in September 2012.[9]
Glen Denham
Previously an Olympic basketball player and talk show host in New Zealand, Glen joined the Future Leaders programme in 2007 and completed his first year at Woolwich Polytechnic School for Boys before going onto become Deputy Headteacher. He took up post as Principal of Oasis Academy Shirley Park in 2009;[10] his first year saw a 20% increase in 5 A*-Cs GCSEs including English and maths from the predecessor school.[11] The 2011 results saw a further increase to 56% of pupils achieving 5A*-C GCSEs.[12]
Sajid Hussain
A Bradford born teacher and Oxford graduate, Sajid joined the Future Leaders programme in 2009. He worked at Dixons City Academy where he went on to become Assistant Vice Principal. After visiting Charter Schools in the US on the Future Leaders programme, Sajid was inspired to start his own school serving local pupils. He is now Principal of Kings Science Academy, a Free School he helped set up, serving a deprived community in Bradford. It opened in September 2011.[13]
Peter Hughes
Peter previously worked as a supply teacher in New South Wales, Australia. He joined the Future Leaders programme in 2007 and worked in Mossbourne Community Academy,[14] where he has risen up the ranks under the guidance of Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former Principal. He became Principal of Mossbourne Community Academy in April 2012.[15]
Peter Hyman
Peter starter his career as a journalist, before becoming political advisor to Gordon Brown and then Tony Blair. He was also previously Head of Communications at Downing Street.
He made the career change into teaching and started as a classroom assistant in a London comprehensive, before joining the Future Leaders programme in 2007 and working up the ranks to Deputy Headteacher. He successfully bid under the free schools programme to start School 21 in Newham, London. The new school opens in September 2012, with Peter as Principal.[16]
Jane Keeley
Jane was born in Baghdad and previously worked as a research scientist, university lecturer and counsellor. She completed her first year on the Future Leaders programme at Stockwell Park School in 2007 and went on to become Assistant Principal at Westminster Academy, both in London.
Jane became the first female Future Leader to secure a headship when she was appointed Headteacher at Haggerston School in September 2010.[17]
Francois van Rensburg
Francois competed in international athletics in his home country of South Africa. He completed his first year on the Future Leaders programme at Morpeth School in London in 2007, before progressing to Deputy Head at The Warren Comprehensive School. He was appointed Headteacher there in June 2010. The school has since improved its grades by 35 per cent in four years, 92% of students now achieve 5 GCSEs A*-Cs.[18]
Future Leaders Headteachers
Since the programme began in 2006, there are now 29 Future Leaders in headship positions.[19]
Impact
Future Leaders published a report by Learning Plus UK in July 2012, after they were commissioned to look into the impact that Future Leaders are having in schools. Among the findings, Learning Plus UK found that schools with senior leaders who have been trained on the Future Leaders programme are, on average, improving GCSE performance faster and have significantly smaller attainment gaps, than comparable schools.[20]
The Future Leaders Trust’s other work
Accredited senior leadership training and NPQH
The Future Leaders Trust was awarded a National College for Teaching and Leadership license to provide accredited training qualifications and will be offering two new programmes - Leading Impact, the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) and Keys to Headship, National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).[21]
Primary programme
The Future Leader Trust announced in July that it is expanding into primary schools. It will be running a one-year London pilot programme starting in November, for 20 primary senior leaders who want to become headteachers of challenging schools within three years.[22]
Teaching Leaders
It also recruits for another National College programme called Teaching Leaders which offers accelerated leadership development for middle leaders in challenging schools.
Free School Principal Designate assessment centres
It has previously been commissioned by Department for Education (DfE) to assess the proposed principals of Free Schools.
Consultancy
The National College for Teaching and Leadership has commissioned the organisation to consult on creating modules aimed at school leaders who are leading Free Schools or start-up schools.
Training and development
The organisation has worked with individual schools that are interested in their training and developmental tools to drive improvement in their leadership teams.
See also
- Absolute Return for Kids
- National College for Teaching and Leadership
- WYSE International
- Think Global
External links
References
- ^ Department of Education, "New data reveals the truth about school performance". 26 January 2012.
- ^ OECD, "VIEWING THE UNITED KINGDOM SCHOOL SYSTEM THROUGH THE PRISM OF PISA". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Department for Children, Schools and Families and National College for Teaching and Leadership, "The Impact of School Leadership on Pupil Outcomes". University of Nottingham 2009. ISBN 978 1 84775 445 5.
- ^ McKinsey & Company, "Capturing the leadership premium". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Portishead People, 9 February 2010, "Wanted: 12 teachers to transform Bristol schools".
- ^ Future Leaders, "Other work we do". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ The Guardian, 20 February 2012, "Who'd be a headteacher in 2012?"
- ^ Department of Education, "Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy". Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ NCEA "NCEA April News". Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ^ Oasis Academy Shirley Park, "Early appointment of new Academy Principal Designate ensures smooth transition". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Croydon Today, 21 January 2011, "The pupils come first".
- ^ Department of Education, "Oasis Academy Shirley Park". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ The Telegraph, 2 September 2011, Fran Abrams,"Free Schools: Bradford's Kings Academy leads the way".
- ^ The Independent, 17 May 2012, Richard Garner, "Mossbourne Academy: A class act that's hard to follow".
- ^ Mossbourne Academy, "History of Mossbourne". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ The Guardian, 3 January 2012, Janet Murray, "Tony Blair's adviser starts a free school".
- ^ Future Leaders, Participant Case Study: Journey to Headship.
- ^ The Post, 23 November 2011, Sarah Shaffi. "Experience as a runner creates winning instinct".
- ^ Future Leaders, "Our Headteachers". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Learning Plus UK, "An Evaluation of the Future Leaders Programme 2010/11". 15 June 2012.
- ^ Department of Education, "National College licensees". Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Future Leaders, "Other work we do". Retrieved 17 August 2012.