Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council: reinventing leadership through advanced learning centres

Summary

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is developing new models of leadership and governance to support the creation of nine advanced learning centres.

Key learning/outcomes

Schools have developed effective partnerships with other local agencies.
School leaders are achieving more ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ results in Ofsted inspections.
Children’s services recently received ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ results in an area-wide review.
Headteachers are being given opportunities to develop their role as system leaders and to further their professional development.
The integrated approach is having a positive impact on Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes in areas such as health, youth crime, exclusions and attainment.

Background

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is putting local communities at the heart of service provision. It is creating nine advanced learning centres through the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. Each centre is based in a political ward with reconfigured services for the community. The leadership group for each locality includes representatives from primary and secondary education, social services, health, the police and a wide range of other community service providers.

The original field trial site will become the first advanced learning centre and has undergone significant changes in leadership and governance. The remaining advanced learning centres will be built during a three-phase programme, with the first new schools built in 2010 and the last in 2014.

Key challenges and issues

Integrated approach

The council wanted to bring together the BSF, Children’s Plan and ECM agendas in order to ensure maximum leverage for complex change.

Partnership working

The council recognised that effective partnership working would require the development of strong relationships and trust between headteachers, governors and senior officers from children’s services.

Solution or approach

Developing new leadership structures

The first advanced learning centre has a new leadership structure, with a new principal and leadership team. The new structure is flatter, with more emphasis placed on middle leadership.

Headteachers as system leaders

Headteachers across the local authority have been asked to identify the leadership models that they can develop in their localities. This has given headteachers a chance to take a step up as system leaders.

Succession planning

A group of 12 headteachers are leading a project on succession planning in the context of the new advanced learning centres.

Making governance more effective

Governing bodies across the local authority are trying to work more effectively. The aim is to form smaller, strategic boards of governors with the power to innovate.

Community cohesion

The advanced learning centre is engaged in the local community cohesion agenda. A primary headteacher has been seconded to test out the role of ‘community cohesion and wellbeing’.