Jump to content

Forgotten your password?

Find out more or sign up now, it only takes a few minutes.

This is a member resource
Sign in or become a member to view the full corporate publication

Schools leading schools II: the growing impact of national leaders of education

Author: Robert Hill and Peter Matthews
Subject: School-to-school support
Audience: Headteachers, Middle leaders and aspiring headteachers, Stakeholders and partners
Date of publication: June 2010   |   File format and size: PDF, 573 Kb

Now an established programme, the work of national leaders of education (NLEs) and national support schools (NSSs) is increasingly recognised and pervasive in the English school system. This report explores the role of the NLE, and the impact that they are having in addressing the challenges faced by other schools.

In 2008, Robert Hill and Peter Matthews wrote a report detailing the early benefits of the NLE programme. Two years on, they are able to demonstrate the significant impact that NLEs are having - crucially that schools that are being supported by NLEs are improving at a significantly faster rate than other schools nationally.

To set the scene for the report they look at the work of NLEs so far, how educational policy has changed in the previous two years, and what these changes mean to NLEs.

They then explore:

  • the expanding role of NLEs and their schools
  • how school-to-school works in practice, and what it's like to be involved in it
  • what the value of NLEs are and what impact they are having
  • how early challenges have been addressed
  • what future challenges might be, and how NLEs can maintain and extend their contribution and impact

Throughout the report the authors have looked at the work of NLEs objectively, not only looking at the positive impact that they are having now, but also the challenges that will influence how they might work in the future.