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How resourceful leadership improves outcomes for children

Leaders in early years settings are facing a number of challenges, including a tough financial climate, high expectations of services at lower cost, shifts in demographics, complex and shared delivery and public sector reform. These challenges require leaders to demonstrate a high degree of resourcefulness.

Resourcefulness is the ability to:

• assess and widen one’s resource-base
• select and apply the best mix of resources to address the type of challenge faced

The concept of a resourceful leader is helpful in thinking about the ways in which early years leaders are able to:

• assess their situation, now and in the future
• actively seek to inform and shape the context they operate in to promote the interests of children and young people
• select a range of responses, drawing on both themselves and others as resources
• apply a response and see it through

The research below was developed with directors of children's services in mind, however, the challenges and the learning are easily transferred to early years leaders.

Resourceful leadership: how directors of children’s services improve outcomes for children

This research has explored the ways in which leaders have demonstrated resourcefulness in their leadership to improve outcomes for children and young people. It found that the most highly effective leaders of children's services consistently display a common set of eight behaviours in their leadership practice.

The key areas it looks at are:

• the resourceful leader: effective local public services leadership
• the eight core behaviours of resourcesful DCSs
• leading change
• leading in a time of shock
• managing the political and corporate landscape

Summaries of good practice in five key areas

As part of this study a series of reports have been produced which explore in more depth, the nature of resourceful leadership in relation to:

• schools and early years
• disabled children
• safeguarding
• early intervention and prevention
• child poverty

All reports were commissioned by the National College and C4EO, and completed by a team from Deloitte, Oxford University and Navigate during 2010-2011.