factors affecting the brokering of specialist leaders of ...etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/12317/1/jjbg...

FactorsAffectingtheBrokeringofSpecialistLeadersofEducationby

TeachingSchoolAlliances

JulieJacquelineBarbaraGrant

MAbyResearch

UniversityofYork

Education

December2015

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Abstract

InrecentyearsinEngland,thepoliticalshifttowardsdecentralisationofgovernmenthasmanifested,withinthefieldofeducation,intheadvocatingoftheschool-led,self-improvingsystem.Theemergingpolicywascrystallisedinthe2010WhitePaper,TheImportanceofTeaching(DepartmentforEducation,2010).ThePapercalledforthoseleadersandschoolswhoweremosteffectiveto‘narrowthegap’betweentheoutcomesofpupilsinneighbouringschoolsthroughtheformationofTeachingSchools(TS).ItwasintendedthattheseTeachingSchoolswouldtoformlocalnetworkstomeetlocalneed,knownasTeachingSchoolAlliances(TSAs).Thisstudywillexploretheimplementationofonestrandofthe2010policy,whichstipulatedthatTSAsshouldrecruitanddeployanewtypeofconsultant,SpecialistLeadersofEducation(SLEs),toengageintheschool-to-schoolsupport.

However,throughpersonalexperienceandanecdotalevidence,IbecameawarethatSLEswerefrustratedthattheirTSAwasunabletoengage,or‘broker’,themasfrequentlyastheyhadanticipated,sotheywerenotbeingdeployedintoschoolstosupportimprovements.Consequently,IwascompelledtoinvestigateifotherTSAswerebrokeringtheirSLEsmorefrequentlyor,ifnot,identifythefactorsinhibitingtheprocess.ThisstudywillidentifythreecasestudyTSAsandinvestigatethefactorsaffectingthebrokeringoftheirSLEs.IwilladdresstheissueofSLEbrokeringthroughthreekeyresearchquestions:theextenttowhichSLEsarebeingbrokeredbyeachTSA;theorganisationalfactorswhichaffectthebrokeringofSLEs;theindividualcharacteristicsoftheSLEs,theirbrokersorclientschoolswhichaffectbrokering.

InordertogatherdatafromparticipantsineachcasestudyTeachingSchoolAlliance,IrequestedtheTeachingSchool’srecordsofdeploymentsundertakenbyallSLEsduringthescopeofmyresearch,thetimeframeforwhichisexplainedinChapter3,andIalsocarriedoutinterviewswiththeschoolleaderresponsibleforoverseeingthebrokeringoftheSLEswhoweredesignatedtocarryoutschool-to-schoolsupport.Fromthen,ItriangulatedthedeploymentdataIhadcollatedandanalysedandthebrokerinterviewswithtwofurther,concurrentwavesofinterviews:IinterviewedtwoSLEsfromeachTSA,6intotal,gatheringtheviewsofanSLEwhohadbeendeployedmorefrequently,andanSLEwhohadbeendeployedlessfrequentlyineachcase.Ialsointerviewedthoseoperatingatamorestrategiclevel,namelytheSchoolsCommissionerfortheDepartmentofEducation,FrankGreen,andaseniormemberofthethenrecently-formedTeachingSchoolsCouncil;therolesoftheseeducationalleaderswillbedefinedinChapters2and5.

Thestudywillfindthatthelackofaclearblueprint,coupledwiththepaceofchangeintheschoolsystem,hasgivenrisetogreatvarianceandcomplexityinthisschool-ledsystem,andthatnoneofthethreeTSAswheredeployingtheSLEstoextentintendedbythepolicy,therebynotcomprehensivelyaddressingthelocalneedtoimproveschools.Akeyfactorwasthat,duetothislackofblueprintandclearcommissioningprotocolsintheearlystages,SLEswererecruitedanddesignatedwhowouldnotbeindemand;fromthemacro-level,increasedpressureofaccountability,coupledwithalackoffunding,wascausingschoolstonarrowtheirpriorities.Inaddition,issuespertainingtofinance,capacity,geography,localandNationalpoliticalissues,therecognitionoftheroleofSLEs,aswellastheorganisationandgovernanceofTSAs,allpresentedbarrierstobrokinginallthreecasestudyTSAs.Essentially,thecomplexityanddiversityinthenewschool-ledsystem,forsomeTSAs,hadresultedinatensionbetweencompetitionandcollaborationthatpreventedSLEsfrombeingbrokeredasfrequentlyasthepolicyhadanticipated.

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Contents

Abstract p2

Contents p3

ListofTables p8

ListofFigures p9

Acknowledgements p10

Author’sDeclaration p11

1Introduction p12

2 LiteratureReviewandContext p17

2.1 Macro-level:NationalPolicyandContext p17

2.1.1 TheEducationalLandscape:aRetrospective p17

2.1.1.1 GovernanceReforms p17

2.1.1.2 CurriculumandAssessmentRedesign p19

2.1.1.3 AccountabilityReforms p20

2.1.1.4 EnglishEducationalReforminanInternationalContext p21

2.2 Macro-level:theContextofTeachingSchoolAlliances p22

2.2.1 TheContextofSelf-ImprovingSchoolSystems p22

2.2.2 TheTeachingSchoolandTeachingSchoolAlliance p24

2.2.3 TheEvolutionandRolesoftheNationalCollege p25

2.2.4 TheRolesofNationalLeadersofEducationandLocalLeadersof

Education p25

2.2.5 AdvisersandConsultants:aBriefContext p26

2.2.6 TheRolesofSpecialistLeadersofEducation p28

2.2.7 TheMissingMiddle:SchoolCommissioner p30

2.3 Meso-level:OrganisationalSystemsandChallenges p31

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2.3.1 TheModeloftheTeachingSchoolAlliance p31

2.3.2 TheRegionalPicture p33

2.3.3 PartnershipCompetencies p35

2.3.4 RecentResearchonSpecialistLeadersinEducation p37

2.4 CaseStudiesofSystemLeadershipandSISSontheGlobalStage p39

2.4.1 Finland p39

2.4.2 Victoria,Australia p40

2.5 CollaborativeLessonsfromOtherSectors p41

2.5.1 LessonsLearnedfromSystemLeadershipinHealthcare p41

2.5.2 LessonslearnedfromPartnershipsandAlliancesinBusiness

p41

2.6 Micro-level:IndividualPlayersinEducationalPartnerships p43

2.6.1 SystemLeadershipCompetencies p43

2.6.2 ResistancetoChange p43

2.7 SummaryandResearchPriorities p45

3 ResearchDesignandMethodology p46

3.1 ResearchDesign p46

3.1.1 ResearchQuestionsandRationale p46

3.1.2 ParadigmsandPracticalities p47

3.1.3 ResearchDesign p48

3.2 Sampling p49

3.2.1 SamplingMethodforSelectingCases p50

3.2.2 Piloting p51

3.2.3 SamplingMethodsforInterviewees p52

3.3 ActionResearchandDataCollectionMethods p53

3.3.1 CollectingQuantitativeData p53

3.3.2 CollectingQualitativeData p54

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3.4 EthicalConsiderations p55

3.5 ProblemsEncountered p56

3.6 CollationofData p58

3.6.1 QuantitativeData p58

3.6.2 QualitativeData p59

4 ResearchFindings:ContextandDeploymentData p62

4.1 ContextualFindings p62

4.2 FindingsfromDeploymentData:Meso-level p63

4.2.1 FrequencyofSLEDeployment p64

4.2.2 TargetingSchoolsinNeedofSupport p65

4.2.3 Organisation,LocalPoliticsandFunding p66

4.2.4 AllianceMembershipandCollaborationwithOthers p68

4.2.5 PhaseofClientSchools p69

4.2.6 GeographicalFactors p69

4.3 FindingsfromDeploymentData:Micro-level p77

4.3.1 PhaseandSpecialismofSLE p77

4.3.2 SystemLeadershipCharacteristics p80

4.4 Summary p80

5 ResearchFindingsfromInterviewData p81

5.1 FindingsfromInterviewData:Macro-level p81

5.2 FindingsfromInterviewData:Meso-level p84




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5.3 FindingsfromInterviewData:Micro-level p93

5.3.1 Location,PhaseandSpecialismofSLE p93


5.4 Summary p96

6 ConclusionsandReflections p97

6.1 Macro-levelConclusions p97

6.2 Meso-levelConclusions p99

6.2.1 FrequencyofSLEDeployment p99

6.2.2 TargetingSchoolsinNeedofSupport p99





6.3 Micro-levelConclusions p102

6.3.1 PhaseandSpecialismofSLE p102


6.4 ReflectionsandCritiqueofStudy p103

6.5 Recommendations p105

Appendices p107

Appendix1:SLEApplicationFormwithselectioncriteria p107

Appendix2:ProfilesofContextandCharacteristicsofCaseStudyTSAs p118

Appendix3:InformedConsentForm p122

Appendix4:Semi-structuredInterviewSchedules p123

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Glossary p124

References p125

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ListofTables

4.1 SummaryofAnalysisofDeploymentData:Meso-level1 p644.2 OfstedInspectionGradingofMaintainedSchoolsandAcademiesintheEast

Midlandsp65

4.3 SummaryofAnalysisofDeploymentData:Meso-level2 p674.4 KeytoFigures4.2.1to4.4.2,NetworkMapsofSLEDeploymentActivity p724.5 SummaryofAnalysisofDeploymentData:Gender p78

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ListofFigures

2.1 MatthewsandBerwick’sTSAModel p322.2 AllianceModelofTSA1 p322.3 ARepresentationofSchools’OrganisationinanLARegion p342.4 EmergingModelforTeachingSchools p372.5 Hargreaves’TSAModel p372.6 West-Burnham’sTaxonomyofSystemLeadership p432.7 ASynthesisofChangeModels p444.1.1-4.1.3

TotalDays’DeploymentperSLE,byDistancefromBroker p71

4.2.1-4.2.3

OverviewofNetworkMapsofSLEDeploymentActivity p72

4.3.1-4.3.3

DetailedViewsofDeploymentActivityforTSA1 p74

4.4.1-4.4.2


4.5.1-4.5.2


4.6.1-4.6.3

PercentageofTotalDays’DeploymentbySpecialism p78

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Acknowledgements

Sincerethankstomysupervisor,DrPaulWakeling,forhispatience,encouragementandadvice;tomyfamily,friendsandcolleaguesfortheirsupport;tothoseschoolleaderswhoselflesslyparticipatedinthisstudy.

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Author’sDeclaration

I declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the sole author. This work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any other, University. All sources are acknowledged as References.

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1Introduction

Myresearchisconcernedwithaparticularelementoftheeducationalpoliciesforschoolsand

academiesinEnglandthatcameintobeingwiththepublicationoftheConservative-led

CoalitionGovernment’s2010WhitePaper,TheImportanceofTeaching(Departmentfor

Education,2010).Thisstudyinvestigatesthesuccessofoneaspectofthiscomplexreform

package,namelythedeploymentofexpertmiddleleaders,SpecialistLeadersofEducation

(SLEs)toprofessionallydeveloptheirpeersinlesssuccessfulschools.Asapractitioner

involvedintheimplementationofthispolicy,mykeymotiveistoilluminatemyexperiences

throughsocialscientificinsight.

Inrelationtothisstudy,themostpertinentofthepoliciesheraldedbytheWhite

Papercentredonthewayinwhichschoolsweretosupporteachothertoeffectschool

improvement,asopposedtostrategyforimprovementbeingapromotedbytop-down

initiatives.Thisschoolofthoughtwasnotanewone:academics,suchasDavidHargreaves,

andschoolleadershad,throughthepreviousdecade,advocatedthevalueofcollaborative

networkswithintheeducationsystem,theleadersofwhichnetworkswouldpromote

improvementsandpolicychangefromwithin.ThetheoriesheexpoundedinEducation

Epidemicgaverisetothemeta-languageoftheself-improvingschoolsystems,orSISS:

“…weneedcomplexsystemsoforganisationandprovisiontobecapableofadapting

assystemstonewdemandsandnewpossibilities.Andiftheyaretobeembedded

permanentlyincommunities,andbegenuinelyresponsivetothem,theymustbeable

tosustainthisprocessofadaptationontheirown.”(2003,p.10)

Theevolutionofthinkingandofpolicy,inrelationtotheseSISS,willbeexploredmorefullyin

Chapter2.Myresearchwillexplore,inpart,howtheEnglishschoolsystemhasrespondedto

thechallengeofself-adaptationwithinacontextofcomplexandfast-pacedreform.

Inpractice,the2010WhitePaperservedasacatalystforthecreationofsupportive

networksofschools.Inshort,forthepolicyandpracticewillbedetailedinensuingchapters,

theseweretohaveaTeachingSchoolatthecentre,or‘hub’,ofanetwork.Aschooldeemed

OutstandingbyOfstedcouldapplytobecomeaTeachingSchooland,ifsuccessful,its

HeadteacherwouldbedesignatedaNationalLeaderofEducation(NLE).Asdetailedin

Chapter2,thisdrewontherolesandpracticeestablishedpriortothe2010WhitePaper,with

theNationalSupportSchools(NSS)programme,underthepreviousLabourgovernment,a

programmethatwasdirectedbythethenNationalCollegeforLeadership.TheTeaching

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SchoolwouldbeencouragedtoestablishanAlliance,ornetwork,ofschools,whichwould

worktogethertoraisethestandardsoflocalschoolswhoseoutcomeswerelessstrong.Akey

distinctionintheCoalitionGovernment’spolicy,fromthosepertainingtoschool-to-school

supportunderthepreviousLabourgovernment,wasaseverancefromLocalAuthoritycontrol.

TheGovernment’sagendaforincreasingdecentralisationisverysignificanttothecontextof

thisresearchstudy.

In2010,IhadrecentlybeenappointedasaDeputyHeadofasecondaryschool,and

thereforeheldakeeninterestastohowthenewpolicieswouldimpactuponschoolslikemy

own,aninner-citycomprehensivewhichhadheldAcademystatussince2006.Myschoolwas,

bythisstage,designatedaNationalSupportSchool(NSS)butdidnotfulfiloneofthecriteriato

bedesignatedasaTeachingSchool.However,myschool’sNLEhadaremittosupportother

schoolswithwhomwehadthenformeda‘federation’,orofwhomwehadassumedstrategic

leadershipandsponsorship.Fromthisplatformofschool-to-schoolsupport,myschoolwas

keentoworkcollaborativelywithamoreextensiverangeofschoolsandsojoinedthe

TeachingSchoolAlliance(TSA)ofanotherschoolintheregion.Inturn,Iwaskeentotakea

leadroleinthiscollaboration,andsoappliedforandwasdesignatedintheroleofSpecialist

LeaderofEducation(SLE)inthefirstwaveofrecruits,inMay2012.SLEsweretobedeployed

byTSAstosupportotherschoolsbycoachingotherleaders,thusbuildingsustainable

leadershipcapacity(seeChapter2).ThedeploymentofSLEs,andSchool-to-schoolSupportin

general,aretwoofthe‘Big6’ofaTeachingSchool’sresponsibilities,withtheothersbeing

InitialTeacherTraining,ContinuedProfessionalDevelopment,Leadership&Talent

ManagementandResearch&Development(TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,

2013b).

Theoriginofthisresearchstudystemsfrommypersonalexperiencesasadesignated

SLE.Attheoutset,Iwaseagertoreachbeyondthepupilsinmyownschoolandtowork

collaborativelyto‘narrowthegap’inoutcomesforthosepupilswhoselife-chanceswere

disadvantagedasaresultoftheschoolswhichtheyattended.However,Iwasnot‘brokered’

tobe‘deployed’asanSLE,andIquicklybecamefrustrated.Anecdotalconversationswith

colleagueswhowerealsoSLEsrevealedthatmanyofthemfeltsimilarlyfrustratedbecausethe

policywasnotbeingeffectivelyimplemented‘ontheground’;theywerebeingdeployedfor

onlyafractionofthe“upto15days”intended(TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,

2013b),iftheywerebeingdeployedatall.Byearly2013,thesereflectionspromptedsome

initialreading,andIdiscoveredtherewasagapindetailedresearchinthisarea.Broadcase

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studiesofgoodpracticehadbeencommissionedandpublishedbytheNationalCollege1but

theseonlyevaluatedsomeoftheSLEdeploymentsthatweretakingplace,ratherthan

investigatingthefrequencyofdeploymentsandthefactorswhichmightbeaffecting

deploymentrates.

Therefore,Ielectedtocarryoutaresearchproject,theaimofwhichwastoascertain

theextenttowhichSLEswerebeingdeployedinanumberofTSAs,andtoidentifyfactors

whichaffectedthebrokering–orlackofbrokering–whichwastakingplace.Having

conductedareviewofrecentandcurrentliteratureandpolicy,IengagedthreeTSAsto

participateascasestudies.Ineachcase,Iwasabletocollateandanalysedeploymentdatafor

thescopeoftheproject2,whichranfromMay2012toApril2014,toidentifythestructuresand

systemswhichgovernedeachTSA,tointerviewtheschoolleadersresponsibleforbrokering

anddeployingtheAlliance’sSLEs,andtointerviewsomeoftheSLEsthemselves.Ialso

gatheredsecondarydata,suchastheOfstedgradingofschoolsintheregion,toprovide

furthercontexttoandtoaidevaluationoftheprimarydatacollected.Inthesummerof2014,

Ibecameacquaintedwiththeextensiveresearchprojectundertaken,TheEvaluationof

TeachingSchools,ledbyQingGu(Gu,Rea,Hill,Smethem,&Dunford,2014).Thereportofthe

findingswaseventuallypublishedontheNationalCollegewebsiteinearly2015.Itoffered

someinterestingevaluationoffactorsaffectingSLEdeploymentinits18casestudyschools;

however,sincethereportcoveredthewholespectrumTeachingSchools’responsibilities,the

reportpublishedonlyaselectionofoverviewfindings,whichwillbereferredtofurtherindue

course.Mostnotably,thereportsuggestedthatSLEdeploymentwasthemostdifficultaspect

of'TheBig6’toachieve.Iintendtoreport,inthisthesis,theextenttowhichmythreecase

studyTSAswereabletorespondtotheremittorecruitanddeploySLEs,andtoprovidedepth

ofdetailregardingthefactorsaffectingthisverynarrowtrancheoftheTSAs’outreachwork.

TheliteratureandpolicyreviewofChapter2isorganisedintothreebroadareas:

firstly,thepolicy,researchandissuespertinenttoTSAs,collaborativenetworksandSLEsatthe

national,macro-level;secondly,themeso-levelissueswhichrelatetotheorganizationofTSAs

andthebrokeringofSLEstoclientschoolsattheorganizationalorregionallevel;finally,

1SeeGlossaryforasummaryof,andChapter2forfurtherdetailof,theevolutionoftheNational2AsdetailedinChapter3,thescopeoftheactionresearch,withregardtogatheringthedatawhichdetailedthedeploymentsundertakenbyeachSLEdesignated,orappointed,byeachTSAranfromMay2012toApril2014:thefirstwaveofSLEsweretrainedandavailablefordeploymentsbyinMay2012;sinceTSAsarerequiredtosubmitevidenceoftheiroutreachworkattheendofeachfinancialyear,IhadanticipatedthatTSAswouldhaveproducedsetsofdeploymentdataforthispurposeandthattheendofthefinancialyears,therefore,wouldprovideclearparameterstothescopeofthisphaseofresearch.Chapter4includesreflectionsonthecomplicationschallengesencounteredregardingthis.

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considerationisgiventotheorieswhichwillilluminatethedegreetowhichindividual,or

micro-levelfactors,suchasresistancetochange,mightimpactuponthebrokeringofSLEs.To

addcohesionthethesis,overall,Iwillshapeitssubsequentchapters,whererelevant,intothe

threetiersofmacro-,meso-andmicro-levelconsiderationsandfindings.

InChapter3,onResearchMethods,Idistillthoseissuesforinvestigation,as

establishedattheendofthepreviouschapter,intoasetofthreeresearchquestions.Ithen

presenttheresearchdesignandmethodsthatwereadoptedtoinvestigatethosequestionsin

anattempttoidentifyandunderstandthefactorsaffectingthebrokeringofSLEs.The

approachtotheactionresearchphasesoftheprojectisdescribed,suchashowtheSLE

deploymentdatawascollatedandanalysedandhowandwhythesemi-structuredinterview

schedulesweredevised.Thechapteralsoexploreswhyaface-to-facechannelwasfavoured

forinterviewingHeadteachersandotherschoolleadersinchargeofthebrokeringofSLEs,

whereasthechanneloftelephoneinterviewswasutilizedtoconductthesubsequent

interviewswithtwoSLEsfromeachcasestudyTSA.Thechapteralsoexploreshowthe

opportunityarosetoconducttwo‘elite’interviewswiththeDfE’sSchoolsCommissionerand

withaseniorleaderinrecently-formedTeachingSchoolsCouncil,andhowtheoriginal

researchdesignwasadaptedtocapitaliseontheopportunitytotriangulatemyfindingswith

primarydatafromthoseoperatingatthemacro-levelofeducation.

Thosefindingsfromprimarydataispresentedovertwochapters.Chapter4covers

theresearchfindingsfrommycontextualresearchandfromdeploymentdata,andcontains

quantitativedataregardingthefrequencyofSLEdeploymentineachTSA,andthe

characteristicsoftheSLEsdeployedandoftheclientschoolswhohavebeeninreceiptof

support.Asaforementioned,thisprimarydataisilluminatedbysecondarydata,suchasthe

profileofschools’performanceintheregion.Furtheranalysisisthenbepresented,suchas

thegeographicalactivitypertainingtodeploymentsatthemeso-level,ortherelative

frequencyofdeploymentofSLEsbyspecialism,atthemicro-level.Thequalitativeresearch

findingsfrominterviewdataisthenbepresentedinChapter5.Thefindingsrevealthat

approachto,frequencyof,andnatureofthedeploymentofSLEsvarieswidelyacrossthethree

casestudyTSAs.Appendix2includesdetailedfactfilesofthecharacteristicsofeachcase

studyTSA,andahierarchicaldiagramtoillustratehowtheresponsibilityforthebrokeringof

SLEsisappointedineach;sincethesedifferencesarequitepronounced,itisintendedthat

Appendix2bereviewedinconjunctionwithChapters4and5toaidclarificationforthose

readersunaccustomedtotheorganisationofTSAs.

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Finally,Chapter6bringstogetherthefindingsfromthedifferentstagesoftheresearch

studythataimtoidentifythefactorsaffectingthebrokeringofSLEsduringtheinitialyearsof

practice.Ievaluatetheextenttowhichmyresearchsupportsordepartsfromexisting

researchinthefieldofcollaborativeschoolnetworks,andtheextenttowhichthepertinent

policiesofthe2010WhitePaperarebeingimplementedintheeverydaypracticeofTSAs.This

isfollowedbyreflectionsuponthechallengesandissuesencounteredduringtheresearch

journey.Toconclude,recommendationsforbestpracticetoenhancethefrequencyand

appropriatenessofSLEdeploymentareoffered.

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2LiteratureReviewandContextAsoutlinedintheintroductiontothisthesis,myfocusisuponthedeploymentofSpecialist

LeadersofEducation(SLEs)byNationalLeadersofEducation(NLEs)forthepurposeofschool-

to-schoolsupport,withintheframeworkofsystemleadership.Areviewofcurrentpolicy,ata

national,macro-level,willformausefulstartingpointtocontextualisetheparametersand

natureofsuchsupport,throughanoutlineoftheintendedrolesandfunctionsofTeaching

SchoolAlliances(TSAs),NLEsandSLEs.TheroleoftheNationalCollegeofSchoolLeaders,and,

initslatestincarnation,TheNationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership,inmanagingthese

peopleandprocessesisanotherimportantpieceofcontexttoconsider.Thesepoliciesand

procedurescanbeilluminatedbyareviewofresearchandthinkingwhichunderpinsthem,

bothintermsofeducationalthinkersintheUKandoverseas,andthoselessonsthatcanbe

drawnfromthedeploymentofsimilarpoliciesinothersectors,namelybusinessandhealth.

Areviewofotheraspectsofeducationalreforminrecentdecadeswillprovidea

platformfromwhichtoconsiderthepotentialchallengestosystemleaders,andschoolleaders

morebroadly,inthesuccessfulestablishmentofalliances.Alongsidethis,recognitionofthose

organisationsandpersonnel,suchasthoseintheLocalAuthority,whooperatebeyondand,

perhaps,inoppositionto,thesystemleadersofTSAs,willfurtherinformthestudy.Atameso-

level,anexaminationofemergingmodelsandcompetenciesforeffectivealliances,proposed

bykeyeducationalthinkers,shouldilluminateareviewofsomecurrentbarriersand

complicatingfactorsinpractice.Theactionresearchaspectofthisstudywillthenexplorethe

issuesimpactinguponschool-to-schoolsupportatbothanorganisationalandanindividual,or

micro-,level.

2.1Macro-level:NationalPolicyandContext

2.1.1TheEducationalLandscape:aRetrospective

2.1.1.1GovernanceReforms

Inordertoappreciatethechallengespresentedtothoseattheforefrontofsystemleadership,

itisessentialtorecognisetherapidandattimescontradictoryreformsingovernance,

accountabilityandcurriculumwhichhavebeendirectedbyasuccessionofgovernmentsin

recentdecades;theseimpactuponthepotentialforeffectivestrategicalliancestobeformed

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andsustained,aswillbeexploredbyexaminingtheresearchofHargreavesandothersindue

course.

TofirstconsiderBall’sperspectiveonthechangesofgovernanceinstateeducation,

theEducationReformActwasfundamentalinopeningthegateto“privatisation(s)”(Ball,

2007)anddecentralisationfromlocalgovernmentwhichunderpintheself-improvingschool

systemwhichiscurrentlyindemandbypolicymakers.However,withhisfocusonthe

“discursive-strategicshifts”(2007,p.171)fromtheKeynesianWelfareStateinthelatter

stagesofthetwentiethcentury,Ball,drawingonJessop,doesnotacknowledgethatastate-

ledcomprehensivesystemhadonlycometopassacenturybefore,withthelandmark1870

ElementaryEducationAct.Therefore,heexaggeratesthepermanenceandstabilityofa

comprehensivesystemwhichhadactuallyonlyexistedintheformheapplaudsforafewpost-

wardecades.

Throughtheirresearch,Abbott,RathboneandWhiteheadexploresimilarthemesto

Ball(Abbott,Rathbone,&Whitehead,2013).TheyindicatethatBritain’seconomicproblems

ofthe1970sreachedaclimaxinthe“breakdownofconsensus”by1979(pp.54-79),andthat

Thatcher’ssuccessiontopowerpromptedamovetowardsmarketisationandcompetitionin

educationwhichcanbeseenastheprecursortothecurrentpoliciesofdecentralisationin

whicheducationalsystemleaders,suchasNLEsandSLEs,attempttoofferschool-to-school

support.Akeysea-changeineducationalpolicyinthelastcentury,andonewhichbookends

theprofessionalmemoryofmanyseniorleaderstoday,istheEducationalReformAct

(DepartmentforEducationandScience,1988).The1988GrantMaintainedStatusandthe

LocalManagementofSchoolspolicyannouncedthepowerofgoverningbodiestoentirely

removeaschoolfromthecontrolofthelocalauthority,andintothedirecthandsofcentral

government(Abbott,Rathbone,etal.,2013).Withmore“privateactors”governingCity

TechnologyColleges(CTCs)andAcademies,thepowerofthelocalauthorityisreduced(Ball,

2009,p26,p85ff).Thechangingbalancebetweenpublicandprivatesectors,willbeexplored

morefullyatameso-level;asAbbottetalreflect:“..therapidpaceandamountofreform

continuedwiththeintroductionofarangeoflandmarkpolicies...”(Abbott,Rathbone,etal.,

2013p.152).

StephenMachinandcolleagueshaveexploredthestatisticalchallengesin

demonstratinganyimprovementinstudentperformanceinthevariousincarnationsofthe

Academiesmovement,underdifferentgovernments(Machin&Silva,2013;Machin&Vernoit,

2010;Machin&Vernoit,2011).Hisoverarchingargumentisthat“coalitionacademies”do

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not,unlikethepreviouswaveofacademiescreatedduringtheLabourGovernment,servethe

mostdisadvantagedstudentsinEngland(2010,p.21).Furthermore,hisanalysisconcludes

that,eveninthoseacademiesthatconvertedpre-2010,thereisnoimpactevidenceofless

ablestudentsimprovingtheirperformanceattheendofKeyStage4(2013,p.9).

However,perpetuatingdistrustoftheAcademiesmovementwillperhapsbea

contributingfactortothechallengesfacingthosewhowishtoestablishsuccessfulschool-to-

schoolsupportnetworks.Furthermore,theexpansionoftheAcademiesmovementcouldbe

seentohavepromptedaninfluxof“privateactors”whoseplanningandcapacityarelesswell-

consideredthanthoseoftheirforerunners.Section1.3ofthischaptergivesabrief

considerationtotheaccountabilitypressuresthataredesignedtooffsetthefreedomsofthe

currenteducationallandscape.

Finally,intheveinofgovernanceoftheschoolsystem,Ball’sotherwiseilluminating

examinationoftheissuesofprivatisationofstateeducationseemstoexcludeconsiderationof

thehistoricexistenceofBritain’spublicschoolandgrammarschoolsystems.Thisaspectof

privatisationisconsidered,however,byWalfordinhisbook,PrivatisationandPrivilege,which

describesthe“strongopinions”whichprivate,fee-payingschoolscanincite.Walfordgoeson

todrawsomeparallelsbetweentheCTC/Academymovementsandprivateschoolsinhisstudy

(2011,p.85-102).Itwillbefruitfulforthisstudytoconsiderperceptionsofelitisminthe

Academymovement,whichsitsontheboundarybetweenstateandindependentschooling,

whenexploringissuesofidentityandtrustwithinthefieldofschool-to-schoolsupport,atthe

meso-andmicro-level.Those“nodal”schools(Hargreaves,2010,p.17,drawingonHamel&

Prahalad,1994)atthecentreofTeachingSchoolAlliancesarelikelytobeprivately-sponsored

academies,orformergrammarschoolconverter-academies;iftheschoolswhoarepotential

clientsforschool-to-schoolsupportremaininthecontrolofthelocalauthority,thiscouldgive

risetopoliticalconflictatthemeso-levelwhich,inturn,couldbeabarriertothebrokeringof

SLEs.

2.1.1.2CurriculumandAssessmentRedesign

WhileIhavetouchedoncurriculumspecialismswhenconsideringgovernance,itisworth

brieflyconsideringthecontributionofcurriculumandassessmentredesigntothechallenges

presentedtoschoolleaders.SwiftlyfollowingtheintroductionofGCSEsin1986,The

EducationReformAct(DepartmentforEducationandScience,1988)gavebirthtotheNational

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Curriculumandmuch-malignedStandardisedAssessmentTests(SATs).Sincethen,with

hindsight,schoolleadersandtheirstaffenjoyedaperiodofrelativestabilityuntiltheplethora

ofreformswhichweretriggeredbytheCoalitionGovernment’srapidpublicationoftheWhite

Paper,TheImportanceofTeaching(DepartmentforEducation,2010).Whileschoolleaders

mightwelcomeaspects,thesheervolumeandpaceofcurriculumandassessmentredesignisa

challengetoanyinstitution–whetherOutstandingorinSpecialMeasures–withsignificant

changesacrossallkeystagesandphases,withinthreeyears.Thepotentialimpactonthe

focusofthisresearchstudy,onSchool-to-SchoolSupport,isthatschoolleadersareforcedto

turninwards,ratherthanoutwards,astheyleadalloftheschool’sstakeholdersthroughthis

periodofchange.

2.1.1.3AccountabilityReforms

ThenatureofaccountabilityinothercountriesdeemedtohaveprogressiveSISSnetworkswill

becomparedlaterinthischapter.WithinEngland,theEducation(Schools)Act(Department

forEducation,1992)heraldedthearrivaloftheOfficeforStandardinEducation(Ofsted);

teachermoraleplummeted(Abbott,2013,p.119).1994sawthelaunchoftheotherkey

toolkitintheendeavourtoraisestandards,thePerformanceTables,which,inherministerial

Foreword,Shephardclaimsareinthespiritofinformingparentalchoice(Shephard,1994).The

currentCoalitionGovernmenthavechangedandincreasedthecomplexityofperformance

tablesviatheirStatementofIntentonanannualbasis.Thedecentralisationwhichisclaimed

tobeakeyelementintheWhitePaper(DepartmentforEducation,2010),doesindeedequip

thosewhoembracetheAcademyorFreeSchoolmovementswithfreedomtodetermine

aspectsofschoollife,suchasacademicyearanddailystructures,payandconditions,and

certainflexibilitiesregardingthedeliveryoftheNationalCurriculum.Theseinstitutions,which

areoftenthekeyplayersinanyTeachingSchoolAlliance,arecutadriftfromtheLocal

Authority,whosechangingrolewillbeconsideredlaterinthischapter.

TheperceptionoffreedomrequirestheGovernmenttobeseentobeholdingschools

toaccount;asAbbottreflects:“Acrucialpartofgivingmoreautonomytoschoolsistheneed

toprovetheyareaccountable.”(Abbott,Rathbone,etal.,2013,p.184).Thustheincreasing

pressureofperformance-tableaccountability,alongwiththedirectfundingfromcentral

government’sEducationFundingAgency,couldbeperceivedasare-centringofcontrolfrom

centralgovernment,ratherthantheconverse.Aswellasthecompulsiontoturninwards

whenunderaccountabilitypressure,thereisalsoincreasinglikelihoodforleadersofAlliance

21

partnershipstobelessinclinedtosupportthegrowthofneighbouringschoolswhenDfEand

Ofstedrationalemeasuresallschoolsagainstthenationalaverage,withanobviously

impossibleexpectationforallschoolstobe“betterthanaverage“(Gove,2013).Thisisafar

cryfromHopkins’visionfor“Everyschoolagreatschool”(Hopkins,2007)andcaused

indignantresponsesfromtheteachingcommunity3.FearfulHeadteachersneedonlylookto

thefateoftheWellingtonAcademyHead,AndySchofield,whohadhisemployment

terminatedbythetrusteesathisAcademy’sindependentschoolsponsor,WellingtonCollege,

reportedbytheTESas“footballmanagersyndrome”(Vaughan,2013b).Thisresearchstudy

hopestoexplorethevalidityofGilbert’sviewthataccountability,initself,isatooltopromote

collaborativeself-improvement(Gilbert,2012)orwhether,tothecontrary,thefearit

generateserectsbarriersofcompetition.

2.1.1.4EnglishEducationalReforminanInternationalContext

Finally,thereviewofthelandscapeinwhicheducationalsystemleadersarecurrently

operatingmustconsiderthepreoccupationofthecurrentgovernmentwithhowthe

performanceofstudentsinUKschoolscomparestothoseontheinternationalstage,as

measuredbytheProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)testsofthe

OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD).Whilethedebate

regardingtheirvalidityisbeyondtheparametersofthisresearchstudy,theambitionof

politiciansforEnglandtobedeemed‘worldclass’intheeducationstakesisverycentraltothe

self-improvingschoolsystemdesiredbythe2010WhitePaper.TheOECDandtheSpecialist

SchoolsandAcademiesTrustpublishedabroad,two-volumestudyonthepolicyandpractice

inregardtoschoolleadership(Pont,Nusche,&Hopkins,2008),inresponsetothe21st-century

climateof“rapideconomicandsocialchange”with“agreateremphasisontherelative

performanceofdifferentschoolsandeducationsystems,betweenschools,schoolsystemsand

countries.”(2008,p.3;p.9)Thestudycallsforachangeinhowschoolleadersaresupportedto

workcollaboratively;theworkoftheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,andthe

formationofTeachingSchoolsandtheirAlliancescanbeseenasanemergingresponsetothis

need.

Inthethirdofhisrecentseriesofthinkpieces,Aself-improvingsysteminan

internationalcontext,HargreaveslaysasidetheissueofthevalidityofthePISAtests.Instead,

3Educationalforumsandblogscapturedthemoodofennui,suchasthewebsiteLeftFootForward(Bloodworth,2013)

22

hereflectsonwhatcanbedrawnfromthe“Confucian”ideologyofChina,whichpromotesa

collaborativeculture,albeitanarrowonewithbarrierstoinstitutionalorpublictrust,orthe

decentralisedsystemofFinland(D.Hargreaves,2012b).Heraisesthequestionofhow

successfulpolicytransfercanbeifpoliciesareonlypartiallytransferred,orifweattemptto

transferprocesseswithoutatransferofculture.PasiSahlbergmoreovertlyoutlinesthekey

issuesthatseparatethepoliciesofFinnishEducationandthosenationsthatwouldwishto

emulatethem–or,ashewouldputit,those“infectedbytheGERM(GlobalEducationReform

Movement)”:Finland’seducationsystemisbasedoncooperation,notcompetition;itdoesnot

havediversechoiceofschooling,orbelievethatdiversityinitselfwillbringimprovement,as

eachschoolisfocusedonachievingthebestforeverychild;nordoesitcurrentlyhavethe

pressuresofstandardisedtestingandcomplexperformance-tableaccountability(Sahlberg,

2011).Alexander’scritiqueofthe2010McKinseyReportonworld-leadingschools(Mourshed,

Chijoke,&Barber,2010)isilluminating:“TheMcKinseyreportdoesnotsaythatthebest

performingschoolsystemscomeoutontopbecausetheyaresmallandrich,butifyouplay

thegameofeducationalcauseandconsequenceatthissimplelevelthatiswhatyoumight

conclude.”(Alexander,2010,p.814)Whilethisisaself-confessedgeneralisation,Alexander

corroboratesSahlberg’sandHargreave’sconcernsthataspectsofothernation’spoliciesare

beingselectedfortransferwithoutappropriateconsiderationofthecontextthatgrewthose

successfulsystems.

2.2Macro-level:theContextofTeachingSchoolAlliances

2.2.1TheContextofSelf-ImprovingSchoolSystems

Themostsignificantofallpolicyreformstothefocusofthisresearchstudyis,ofcourse,the

WhitePaper,TheImportanceofTeaching,of2010.AsmentioninmyIntroduction,priorto

thisHargreaveshadestablishedthediscourseonself-improvingschoolsystems(SISS)inhis

2003text,EducationEpidemic;theself-improvingschoolsystemwouldseeeffectiveschools

supportotherschoolstoimprove,ratherthanthesystembeingreliantontop-downinitiatives

topromoteimprovements.

The2013publicationbytheNationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership,Teaching

schools:firstamongequals?conveyedhowBerwickhimself,hadbeeninstrumentalinthe

driveforteachingschoolsinEngland.2004sawhisProposalsforanationalnetworkof

teachingschools:submittedtotheCabinetOffice(Matthews&Berwick,2013)Theseideas

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werefurtherhonedinhispaper,Theteachingschoolconceptin2007,andarereflectedinthe

TSAinitiativewehavetoday.Hisuseoftheterm‘concept’hasbeentranslatedto‘model’by

thetimeof2010WhitePaper;reflectionsontheinterviewphaseofthisstudywillarguethat

the‘model’wasnotsufficientlydevelopedtoofferappropriateguidancetosupportefficient

realisationofTSApolicy.

TheTeachingSchoolconceptdrewfromanumberofpartneringprojectsfromwithin

England,aswellasfromoverseas,asbrieflyexploredthroughtheideasofHargreaves.Within

England,someoftheseforerunnershaveceased,suchasEducationActionZonesandthe

LondonChallenge.OtherscontinuetooverlapwithTSAs,suchastheregionalThamesValley

SchoolsPartnership.Inaddition,therearenationalpartnerships,ofwhichthemostpertinent

tothisstudyistheSpecialistSchoolsandAcademiesTrust(SSAT).

ItwaswhileworkingwiththeLondonLeadershipChallengeofLondonChallengethat

Berwickhonedhisideasforateachingschoolnetwork,drawingonmedicalprecedents,which

willbeexploredlater,andthebestpracticechampionedbytheUCLALabSchoolintheUSA.In

particular,thefusionofresearch,innovationandteachingpractice“havebeensharedwith

schoolsaroundtheglobe.”(Matthews&Berwick,2013,p.11)Atthetime,hewasheadof

RavensWoodSchool,whichbecamethefirstpilotTeachingSchool.

HillandMatthews(2008;2010)haveextensivelyreviewedtheimpactofthose

designatedasNLEs,arolewhichpre-datestheWhitePaperandwillbediscussedindetailin

section2.4ofthischapter.Inthe2010report,theiranalysesofOfstedandperformancedata,

aswellas‘softer’impactsuchasthedevelopmentandprogressionofschoolleaders,was

overwhelminglypositive.(2008,p.88)However,theyconcludethatNLEsarebeingunder-used

onastrategiclevel,needtobecommissionedto“developandimplementanimprovement

strategythroughoutthelocalauthorityareaorsubregion”(p.116).

InhisroleasakeyfigureheadfortheTSAinitiative,Hargreaves’valuesandvisionwere

embracedbyschoolleadersduringkeynotespeeches,andheauthoredseveralthinkpiecesfor

theNationalCollegeofSchoolLeadersonthetopicofcollaborativenetworks(2010,2011,

2012a,2012b).Amoredetailedreviewofthepartnershipcompetencesproposedby

Hargreaves,andotherkeythinkers,willbeexploredmorefullywhenconsideringrolesatthe

meso-level.

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2.2.2TheTeachingSchoolandTeachingSchoolAlliance

Asdiscussed,theTeachingSchoolmodelhadbeenemergingoverseveralyears,fromthetime

ofBlair’sLabourgovernment,andSchool-to-SchoolSupport(S2SS),andtheaugmentationof

schoolleaders'capacitytoleadaself-improvingsystem,werekeyfeaturesofthecurrent

Coalitiongovernment'sinitialWhitePaperoneducation(HMGovernment,2010,p.68-74).

Emphasiswasplacedon“increasedauthority”and“greaterautonomy”forschoolsto:

…makeiteasierforschoolstolearnfromoneanother...ThenetworkofTeaching

Schools...arebestplacedtoleadsystem-wideimprovementinthearea…Wewilllook

totheseschoolstobrigadetogetherandbrokerasnecessarythedifferentformof

supportthatotherschoolsmightneed.(2010,p.23)

Theensuingpledgewasto:“…makesurethateveryschoolhasaccesstothesupportitneeds

throughNationalandLocalLeadersofEducation,TeachingSchoolsandleadingteachers,orby

workinginpartnershipwithastrongschool.“(2010,p.74,myemphasis)Thefirstroundof

teachingschoolapplicationssubsequentlyopenedtoschoolswhowerejudgedtobe

outstandingbyOfsted,withthefirstwaveof100TeachingSchoolsbeingdesignatedin2011

(TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,2011).ByApril2013,360TeachingSchoolshad

beendesignated,withatargetof500teachingschoolstobedesignatedby2014-5(The

NationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership,2013b).Hargreave’svisionwasthataTSshould

notbe:“thepositional,topdogtypeofleader,butrathertheleaderwhohastheright

knowledgeandskills(competence)toengageintherightkindofprocessesthatproducethe

intendedresultsofthepartnership(2011,p.5).Similarly,MatthewsandBerwickstatethat

teachingschoolsare“emphaticallynotintendedaselitist‘lonerangers’”(Matthews&

Berwick,2013,p.5);however,theinterviewfindingswillexplorethatleadersofneighbouring

schoolsmayholdcontraryviews.

Anotherpotentialchallengetoaself-improvingschoolsystemisthatofcompetition.

Ballidentifiesthe“privatisationofdecisionmaking”asakeydriverinthetensionbetweenthe

emergenceofcompetitioncultureandmoralimperativetocollaborate(2007,p.9).Itmaybe

importanttoconsidertowhatdegreetheTeachingSchoolmaythemselvesbereluctantto

enterintocollaborativeprojects,inthelightofthecontextoftheotherpolicyreformsoutlined

atthestartofthischapter.

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2.2.3TheEvolutionandRolesoftheNationalCollege

Itisusefultobrieflydiscuss,here,theevolutionofTheNationalCollege,asthismayhave

somebearingontheprofession’sresponsetoitsinitiatives,includingmyfocusofSchool-to-

SchoolSupport.

TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadershipwasformedin2000,asanon-

departmentalpublicbody.In2009,itsremitwasbroadenedin2009,whenitbecameThe

NationalCollegeforLeadershipofSchoolsandChildren’sServices,remainingasanon-

departmentalpublicbodyuntil1April2012,whenitbecameanexecutiveagencyofthe

DepartmentforEducation.Itsmostrecentevolutionwason1April2013,whenmergedwith

theTeachingAgencytobecomeTheNationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership(The

NationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership,2013a).

Anecdotalevidencewouldsuggestthatthistransitionfromanorganisationforthe

professionandoftheprofession,toagovernmentagencywasnotwell-received.Asone

tesconnectforumcontributorposted:“Anothersticktobeatyouwith”(lexus300,2013).It

couldbethatthealignmentoftheNationalCollege-andwithit,TSAs–tocentralgovernment

isafactorinanymistrustassociatedwiththeleaderswhoaretobebrokeredinschool-to-

schoolsupport.

2.2.4TheRolesofNationalLeadersofEducationandLocalLeadersofEducation

ThefirstNationalLeadersofEducation(NLEs)weredesignatedin2007-8,priortothelaunch

oftheTeachingSchoolinitiative:

TheNationalLeadersareoutstandingheadteachersofoutstandingschoolswho

committosupportingotherschools.TheirschoolsaredesignatedNationalSupport

Schools,becauseasheadteachersworkingwithotherschoolswhichmaybe

struggling,theyareexpectedtodrawontheestablishedstrengthsoftheirownschool

inordertosupportimprovement.LocalLeadersofEducationaresuccessfulhead

teacherswhooffersupporttoheadteachersofotherschoolsthroughcoachingand

mentoring.(DepartmentforEducation,2010,pp27-8)

Intermsofdistinguishingthetworoles,NLEapplicantswillhaveaproventrackrecordof

leadingschoolsto‘Outstanding’,asjudgedbyOfsted;LocalLeadersofEducation(LLEs)could

26

haveledschoolstoajudgementofatleastGood.SinceitisNLEswhobrokerSLEsupport,I

willfocusontheNLErole,here,but,forthesakeofclarity,anLLEwouldworkmoreflexibly

andwithinlocalpartnerships(TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,2013b)

Thegovernmentcommittedtocontinuetorecruittowardsitstargetof1,000NLEsby

2014-15,with800alreadyinoperation.By2010-11,870schoolshadbeensupportedbyan

NLEinaformalcapacity;HillandMatthew’sreviewofthisworkwasbrieflydiscussedearlierin

thischapter.(Hill&Matthews,2010).Inbrief,anNLEcouldoperateviadifferentmodels.

Firstly,anSLEcouldcommittoatemporaryprojectinwhichs/hewould,attherequestof

OfstedviatheNationalCollege,workwithaclientschoolinneedofimprovementforan

agreedtimeframe,fromapproximately6to18months.ThesecondmodelbywhichanNLE

couldfulfiltheirobligationsistoleadschoolimprovementthroughpermanentlyfederating

withaschoolinchallengingcircumstances.From2010,thethirdmodelwastochampion

systemimprovementthroughleadingTSA.Atthetimeofwriting,anNLEcouldwork

independentlyfromaTSA,followingeithermodeloneor,ifanacademyleader,modeltwo,or

workwithinthescopeofaTSAandfollowmodelthreeandalsopossiblymodel2.NLEsare

registeredonacentraldatabasewiththeNationalCollegeandanyNLEcanrequest

deploymentofSLEs,althoughtheSLEleadattheTSAwouldberequiredtoapprovethe

brokering.

2.2.5AdvisersandConsultants:aBriefContext

BeforetheroleoftheSLEisconsidermorefully,itispertinent,here,toconsiderother

advisoryroles,pastandpresent,whichmayimpactuponthesuccessoftheinitiative.

Historically,theroleofaspecialistadvisoryvisitortoaschoolwouldhavebeenfilledbytheLA

Advisor.Now,though,asWatermanreflects,theroleoftheLAineducationis“much

narrower”,statingthatthe2010WhitePaperis“...recastingtheroleoftheofthelocal

authorityasanadvocateandchampionforparents,schoolsandfamilies...Thedefacto

disappearanceofthelocalauthorityasamajorplayerinschooleducationcouldalsoseea

quickeningofthemoveforschoolsinageographicalareastoformfederations...”(Waterman,

2013,p.952).PriortotheshrinkingoflocalgovernmentbudgetsandtheredundancyoftheLA

duetoGove’sAcademiesboom,anecdotalevidencewouldsuggestthattheLAAdvisorhad

losthisorherlustre.Howeverpersonableorexperienced,theycouldbeperceivedas‘outof

27

touch’withcurrentpractice.Inthisvein,theGuardiancapturedaHeadteacher’sperception

ofbureaucracy,duringtheLabourgovernment’slasttermofoffice:

‘Onmygravestonewillbewritten,“Hediedofconsultancy,”’saysoneheadteacher.

‘Inanyoneweek,I'mtakingaroundandexplainingthecircumstancesofmyschoolto

asmallarmyofadvisers.’(Shepherd,2008)

Ofcourse,suchavalue-ladendescription,much-cherishedbytheGuardian,ofinvadingforces

mightrevealthisHeadteacher’sreluctancetochange,andattempttoconcealhis

misconceptionsofwhattherootissuesattheheartofhisschool’sperformanceindeedare;

however,furtherconsiderationofthepsychologicalmodelsofchange–andresistancetoit–

willbeexploredatthemicro-level.However,forleadersoflesssuccessfulschools,reluctance

toengagewithexternalsupportcouldbeaproductoftheeitherthevolumeortherapid

evolutionofadvisors,andcouldbeabarriertoengagementwithNLEsortheirSLEs.

ToconsidercurrentcompetitorstotheservicesprovidedviaTSAs,anecdotalevidence

suggeststhatone-offtrainingcourses,suchas‘TheYear8Dilemma’,arerapidlydecliningin

popularity,withtheteachingprofessionsatiricallyreworkingthecriticalsayingthatoncehad

themasthesourceofderision:“Thosewhocan’t,train.”However,theHeadteachers’unions

offeranextensivepricelistforCPDcourses,andtheSpecialistSchoolsandAcademiesTrust

(SSAT)isasubscription–notanot-forprofit–organisation,whosecollaborativeapproachto

networkingisofpotentialinterestasanationalcompetitortothemorelocalisedworkofthe

TSA.Forexample,SSATconsultants,whocanbehiredfor£750(members),or£1,125(non-

members),plusVAT,forfourdays’work,mightbeseenasdirectorcompetitors,asitwere,to

SpecialistLeadersinEducation.Inasimilarvein,Balldescribestheriseinthesaleofsupport

andimprovementbyconsultantsandadvisors(2009,p.140).Whatevertheireffectiveness,

theintentionismorefar-reaching,namelytoenhancetheperformanceoftheorganisation,

andthereforethequalityofprovisionofallstudentsinit,ratherthanchargingforanoff-the-

shelfsetofworksheets.

Ballmightfeartheconsequencesoftheshiftfromastate-/local-authority-drivensupport

network:“They[schools]arespacesinwhichnewkindsofpolicyactorscanactouttheirideas

abouteducationandpersonalcommitments(social,moralandreligious).”(2007,p.190)

However,itcouldbearguedtobemoresustainableandeffectiveforouryoungpeoplethat

theseactorsareNLEsandSLEs–manyofwhomwillbefromtheprivatisedsectorof

Academies–whosemoralimperativetosupportothers,atnofinancialgaintothemselves,fill

thespacethenurtureemergingleadershipcapacityinotherschools’spaces,astheydointheir

28

own.Conversely,itcouldbearguedthatthecompetitionbetweenTSAswillinhibitthe

embeddingofopenandaltruisticnetworks.Theissuescompetitionandidentityin

partnershipswillbemorefullyconsideredalongsidelessonsfromthebusinesssector.

2.2.6TheRoleofSpecialistLeadersofEducation

TosupporttheworkofNLEs,theroleoftheSpecialistLeaderofEducation(SLE)wascreated

foroutstandingmiddleandseniorleaders,withasuccessfultrackrecordofschool

improvement,suchasAssistantHeadteachers,keystageleadersorsubjectleaders,whocan

offeraleadershipspecialisminapriorityarea,asdeemedbythegovernment.Thesespecialist

areasincludecurriculumleadership,CPD,academyconversionandphonics,alongwith

achievementinarangeofsubjectareasorphases(TheNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership,

2013a).Whiletheexactnatureofdeploymentmayvary(seebelow),inessence,anSLEwill

workwithamiddleleaderinaschoolwhoisneedofsupporttoenhancetheirleadershipof

thespecialistareathroughcoachingandactionplanning.Evidenceoftheimpactofthe

supportmustbegathered,withtheintentionthattheleaderinthesupportedschoolwill

sustainimprovementsoncethesupportoftheSLEiswithdrawn.

Whiletheindividualmustbe‘Outstanding’4,hisorherschoolmightnotnecessarilybe

deemedsobyOfsted,sinceallSLEsmustberecruitedandbrokeredbyaTeachingSchool.The

termOutstanding,whenappliedtotheSLEapplicant,referstotheOfstedInspection

FrameworkforLeadershipandManagement(Ofsted,2013,p.19-20),whichfocuseson

accurateself-evaluationtosupportavisionforimprovement.EachTSAmustsuccessfullybid

torecruitaspecifiednumberofSLEs;initially,thesewererecruitedinSLE'cohort'recruitment

round,butinSpring2014therecruitmentmodelwasadaptedsoSLEswereonlyrecruitedon

anad-hoc,needs-ledbasis.Afteranassessmentday,anapplicantwouldhopetobe

designateduponthecompletionofcoretrainingmodules,whicharedeliveredbyanumberof

theTSs.TheSystemLeadershipProspectusfortheNCdeclarestheaimfor“nationalcoverage”

ofSLEs,andstates:

Modelsandtypesofdeploymentwillvary.Forexample,onedeploymentmightbea

two-daydiagnosticexercise,whilstanothermightrequireathree-monthfull-time

supportrole.Timemaybetakenasablockofconsecutivedaysorspreadoveralonger4Theapplicationformandassessmentdayservetogatherevidenceofabroaderrangeofcriteria,whicharedetailedinAppendix1,alongwithevidenceofcommunicationandinterpersonalskills.

29

period.Thereisnominimumormaximumtimecommitment.SLEsandschoolswill

needtothinkcarefullyabouttheircapacityandnegotiatetheiravailability

together…ItisimportantthatSLEsareactivelydeployed...[and]provideevidence

thattheirworkhashadapositiveimpactonoutcomesforchildrenandyoungpeople

bydevelopingleadershipcapacityinotherschools(TheNationalCollegeforSchool

Leadership,2013b,p.5).

Thisresearchstudywillexaminetheissuespresentedbytheshiftinglandscape,froma

LocalAuthority-centredsystemtoa‘freemarket’ofschool-schoolsupportbrokeredby

TeachingSchoolAlliances,forthosefivecohortsofSLEswhowillhavebeenrecruitedand

designatedbyMay2014.IfNLEsandSLEsarenotfullyandeffectivelydeployed,theSLE

initiativeisfailinginitsmissionto‘narrowthegap'throughbuildingleadershipcapacityby

workingdirectlywithleadersinotherschools.

ToreturntoTheSystemLeadershipProspectus(NCTL,2013),exactlywhois

responsibleforpayingfortheservicesofanSLEisanintentionallygreyarea:

TheremaybepaymentforspecificSLEdeployments,eitherfromschoolsreceivingsupportorfromtheircommissioningbodies,toreimbursetheSLE'sschoolforbackfill

orsupplycover.Anysuchpaymentwillbeagreedandmanagedbytheteachingschooland/orotherschoolsinvolved.(2013,p.4)

TSAs’chargesforanSLEvary,butaverage£400perday;inaworldofshrinkingbudgets,itis

probablethatsuchfeeswillbeprohibitiveforanykindofsustainedrelationship,especiallyfor

thoseinstitutionswho‘RequireImprovement’orareinSpecialMeasures-namely,thevery

schoolswhomthesystemmostneedstosupportintheimprovementofeducationaloutcomes

forchildren.Forthosewhocanaffordthefees,eachTSAisresponsiblefordevelopingitsown

brokeringandevaluationsystems.Forexample,aTSAmightrequireaHeadteacher,NLEorLLE

tocontacttheHeadofSchool-to-SchoolSupportforaninitialdiscussionofneeds,withthe

'clientschool'havingidentifiedwhichspecialismsareofferedbyaparticularTSfromalistof

SLEsontheNC'swebsite;however,Iwouldarguethatapotentialclientwouldneedtobe

awareoftheexistenceofthisdirectory.Eventhen,politicalsensitivities,suchasaffiliationto,

ormistrustof,particularAcademychainsandsponsors,couldbeadeterrenttoappropriate

supportbeingsought.Ifappropriate,anSLEwillthenbebriefedanddelegated,andconduct

initialresearchpriortomeetingwiththemiddleorseniorleaderintheclientschool.IftheSLE

brokeringhasprogressedtothisstage,thereareavarietyofadditionalbarrierstobe

30

overcomeifleadershipcapacityistobeeffectivelybuilt,andleadershipsustained,but

evaluationoftheproceduresandimpactofSLEworkgobeyondtheparametersofthisstudy.

ClearandeffectivemarketingoftheroleoftheSLEisanotherchallengingarea.

AnecdotalevidencesuggeststhatinLocalAuthoritiessuchasPeterborough,whereLAadvisors

arestillcomparativelyactive,the'unknownentity'ofanSLEcouldbealessattractive

prospect.ThereisaneedforthoseTSAsinvolvedintheearlyrecruitmentwavesneedto

promoteSLEswithin-and,indeedacross-TeachingSchoolAlliances,andthentothose

strugglinginstitutionswhoarenot,duegeographicalorpoliticalcircumstances,involvedin

effectivecollaborationwiththecolleagues,thesystemleaders,whohavethemoralimperative

tosupportthem.Schoolleaderswhowouldliketorequestsupportcandosoonlineviathe

NationalCollege’sSchooltoschoolsupportdirectory(2013)butthoseschoolswhoarenot

currentlymembersofanallianceareunlikelytobeawareofthisprocess.

2.2.7TheMissingMiddle:SchoolCommissioners

Inhispaper,TheMissingMiddle:theCaseforSchoolCommissioners,RobertHillproposesthe

needfora“middle-tier”ofcommissioners.Insomewaysfillingthevoidleftbydiminishedrole

oftheLA,aforementioned,theywouldoperateataregional,ormeso-level,topromotethe

brokeringofappropriateschool-to-schoolsupport,amongotherduties:“[They]wouldbe

high-calibreindividualswhowouldcommandtheconfidenceandrespectofschoolleaders...

Therolewouldbeasmuchabouttheexerciseofinfluenceandsoftpowerasexecutive

responsibilities.”(Hill,2012,p.4)

InDecember2013,thegovernmentdecidedtoappointeightRegionalSchools

CommissionersfromSeptember2014,buttheirroleismorelimitedthanHill’sproposal.They

willmakedecisionsonapplicationsfromschoolswishingtobecomeacademies,orfrom

sponsors.Inaddition,theDfEwebsitestates:“Theywillalsoberesponsiblefortakingaction

whenanacademyisunderperforming.Thecommissionerswillnotbeinvolvedwithacademies

thatareperformingwellorwithlocalauthority-maintainedschools.”(Departmentfor

Education,2013b,2013d;Education,2013)FrankGreen,NLEanddirectoroftheIndependent

AcademiesAssociation,tookovertheexistingnationalpostofSchoolsCommissionerin

September2013.Keychallengestohistwo-yeartenurearetopromptmoreprimaryschools

31

toconverttoacademystatus,aswellastoencourage“school-to-schoolcollaborationand

support”(DepartmentforEducation,2013c).

Itisinsomewaysaperversenotionthatthesystemwouldneedaleadertoleadits

systemsleaders,especiallyasitiswithinTheNationalCollege’sremittofacilitateappropriate

school-to-schoolsupportviaitsNLEsandLLEs.However,considerationofthecapacityofNLEs

atameso-andmicro-levelwillrevealthechallengestothemtodeliverthevisionofaSISS.

2.3Meso-level:OrganisationalSystemsandChallenges

2.3.1TheModeloftheTeachingSchoolAlliance

The2010WhitePaper(DepartmentforEducation,2010)drawsaparallelbetweenthe

proposedTeachingSchoolAlliancemodelandthatofteachingHospitals,butdoesnot

evidenceorreferencethisinanyway.Theaptnessandlimitationsofsuchaparallelwillbe

discussedlaterinthischapter.Inreality,thereisnosetmodelforaTeachingSchoolAlliance,

althoughallmusthaveanexecutiveboardatthecentreofthe‘hub’,andmusthavelead

personnelwhodeliveronthe‘Big6’elementsofinitialteachertraining(ITT),continued

professionaldevelopment(CPD),leadershipdevelopmentandsuccessionplanning,research

anddevelopment(R&D),andSchool-to-SchoolSupport,toincludeSLEs.Itistypicalthata

singleteachingschoolwillbeatthecentreofthehub,althoughothermodelsarepermitted,

suchas‘job-share’or‘multiple’TeachingSchoolsleadingtheAlliance(Leadership,2012).

EachTSAisusuallymadeupofanumberofprimaryandsecondaryschoolpartners

andwilloftenincludespecialschoolsanduniversities;theTSwilldeterminewhichofthese

partnersare‘strategic’orkeypartnersatthepointofapplyingtotheNCtobecomeaTS.Each

TSwillalsodeterminethefinancialmodelforitsoperationatthetimeofapplication.

Typically,analliancepartnerwillpayasubscriptionwhichwillentitlethemtoanumberofCPD

sessions,aswellasattendanceatoneormoreofthehubmeetings.Otherlocalschoolswho

havenotchosentobecomeanalliancepartnerareabletopayforCPDcoursesonanadhoc

basis.Figure2.1,below,illustrateshow,inthespiritofdistributedleadership,responsibility

foreachelementissharedbetweentheteachingschoolandoneormorestrategicpartners.

Thetheoristswhopromotedistributedleadershipwillbeexploredlaterinthischapter.

32

Figure2.1MatthewsandBerwick’sTSAModel:Radialorganisationalstructure:schematicexampleinvolvingateachingschool(TS)andfivestrategicpartners(SP1-5)(Matthews&Berwick,2013)

Inreality,ateachingschoolmaychoosetocombinesomeoftheseelementstobeledbyaparticularstrategicpartner,asillustratedintheexamplebelow.

Figure2.2AllianceModeofTSA1

33

Asisevidentinbothofthesemodels,distributedleadershipmeansthataleaderotherthan

theallianceleadermayberesponsibleforco-ordinatingschool-to-schoolsupportandthe

brokeringofSLEs.Whilethiscanbeseentobebuildingcapacitywithinthealliance,it

heightenstheimportanceofwhatHargreavesterms“fitgovernance”(2012b,p.6ff;see3.4

below).West-Burnhamhighlightskeyissuesinthisrespect:systemsleaders“generallywillnot

havethesamepositionalauthoritythatisassociatedwithheadship”.Healsopredictsthat

therewillbe“increasinguncertaintyandambiguity”,aswellas“increasinglyvague

accountability”forschoolleadersintermsoftheirallianceresponsibilities.(West-Burnham,

2011).

Itwouldseemthatthereisnonationaldatatoillustratehowmanyoftheschools

whicharemostinneedofsupport–namelythosewhoarenotjudgedtobegoodorbetter–

aremembersofateachingschoolalliance.However,itwouldseemlikelythattherearea

numberwhoarenotalliancemembersandwho,therefore,maynotbemindfulofthesupport

andserviceswhichcanbeofferedbyaTSA-shouldtheybeabletoaffordthem;theaction

researchphaseofthisstudyexploresthecontextoftheschoolssupportedbyeachcasestudy

TSA.Inessence,theleaderinchargeofSchool-to-Schoolsupportmayneedtoreachacross

andbeyondtheAlliance,whichmaybeanaddedbarriertobrokerage.

2.3.2TheRegionalPicture

Toappreciatethecomplexitytothepictureofschool-to-schoolsupportonthismeso-level,itis

importanttorecogniseanygeographicalandpoliticalissuesthatneedtobeovercome.While

MatthewsandBurgesshavedesignedclearstructuresforindividualTSAs,thereisanotable

lackofclarityintheco-existingnetworksinanygivenLAarea.Mydiagram,Figure2.3,below,

isarepresentationofthenatureofnetworksandautonomousinstitutionsinsuchanarea.

WhiletheremainingLAschoolsfallwithintheregionalboundary,thealliancemembersof

teachingschoolscanstretchbeyondthatboundaryintoneighbouringcounties.‘Satellite’

alliancemembersmayevenbelocatedattheopposingendofalargerregionalarea,suchas

theEastMidlandsorYorkshire.

ChrisHusbands’Foreword:Aviewfromhighereducation(Matthews&Berwick,2013)

voicesnaturalconcernsregardinggrowingdecentralisation:“Asschoolsbecomeincreasingly

autonomous,therearefearsthatschoolswillturninwards,protectiveofthesecretsofsuccess

ordefensiveaboutshortcomingsorweaknesses...theteachingschoolallianceisacounter-

34

balance:areminderthatcollaborationandco-operationareessential...”(2013,p.3)However,

withalliancemembershipverymuchoptional,unlessaschoolisfederatedtoaschoolwithin

it,thefragmentarynature,thebalkanisation,willnotbediminished.Moreover,inareaswhere

severalTSAsexistincloseproximity,competitionbetweenTSAscouldcauseaffiliationsto

becomepoliticallyfraught.Abbottetal’scasestudyofBirmingham’sPrimarySchool

ImprovementGroupalsoutiliseshostileimagerytodepictthecurrenteducationalclimateata

meso-level:“Thereistheequivalentofa‘WildWest’grabforterritorywithnewandexisting

providersscramblingforaroleintheneweducationallandscape.”(Abbott,Middlewood,&

Robinson,2013,p.1).InBirmingham,theLAwastaskedwithdeveloping“amoreformal

approachtoworkingwithNLEsandLLEs”(2013,p.1).Theresearchconcludedthatthe

relationshipbetweenthetwoHeadteachers–supporterandclient–is“mosteffectivelyseen

asaprofessionalworkingpartnership”(p.12).

Figure2.3ARepresentationofSchools’OrganisationinaLARegion

35

Ball(2007)alsoexpressedconcernsregardingthecomplexityofnewnetworks,versusthe

‘hierarchical’systemspriortodecentralisation(p.12).Lookingforwardtomyownresearch,it

maybefruitfultoinvestigatehowmanynon-academyschoolsaremembersofTSAs.Andhow

manynon-academyschoolshaveengagedwithaTSAinthearenaofschool-to-schoolsupport.

ItmaybethatleadersinsomeregionsaremorefrequentlycrossingLA-academyboundaries.

Forexample,AlanLee,ExecutivePrincipalofafederationinBedfordshire,conductedhisown

researchintotheessentialqualitiesofwhatheterms“theboundaryspanners”(Lee,2012,

subtitle).Thenounspanners,here,hasdualconnotations:firstly,spanningclustersor

geographicaldistancesand,secondly,beingatooltofixcollaborativepartnerships.

Onafinalnote,West-BurnhamdrawsonBuonfinoandMulgan’sPorcupinesinWinter

metaphorformodernBritishcommunities(2006)toillustratehowschoolsmightnaturally

keepadistancefromtheirneighbours,withthequillsenforcingthatdistance.Themetaphor

extendstoillustratehowtheyonlycometogetherintimesofneed,whenthediscomfortof

eachother’squillsmustbeenduredforthesakeofwarmth.(West-Burnham,2011).Unless

schoolscanovercomesuspicionanddivisivecompetitiontoshedtheirquills,andbecome

comfortableinpartnershipsandnetworks,thenthepotentialbenefitsofschool-to-school

supportwillnotberealised.InordertopromotecollaborationbetweeneachTSA,andto

promote“aninclusiveschool-ledsystem”,theTeachingSchoolsCouncil(TSC)waslaunchedin

2014(TeachingSchoolsCouncil,2014);theneedforsuchasetofregionalTSCleaderstobe

appointed,fouryearslater,suggeststhatthepolicyofthe2010WhitePaper,aforementioned,

ofschools“brigadingtogether”,wasflawedinitslackofsteerandblueprintforacoherently

organisedsystemofnetworks.

2.3.3PartnershipCompetencies

ThepapersofbothHargreaves,andMatthewsandBerwick,havepresentedadetailedand

reflectivesetofcriteriathattheybelieveaTSAshouldembody.Thesediagrammatic

representationsreflectboththecomplexnatureoftheseorganisationsandalsowhatmightbe

consideredtheappropriatelevelofabstractvaguenesstopermiteachTSAforthe“self-

adaptation”necessarytomatchtheneedsofitslocalcontext(D.Hargreaves,2003,p.7).My

researchactionwillexplorewhetherthelackofinstructional‘blueprint’,whichpermitslocal

solutions,resultsinalackofcoherenceorefficiencyintheworkofthoseattheleadingedgeof

theself-improvingsystem.

36

Figure2.4EmergingModelforTeachingSchools(Matthews&Berwick,2013)

Figure2.5Hargreaves’TSAModel(D.H.Hargreaves,2012b)

Theestablishmentofthesecompetencesmaywellbefurtherinhibitedbythediversityof

playersinthesenetworks,andinthediversityofthesenetworksthemselves,intermsoftheir

ownorganisationandfinancialmanagement:notallAcademiesareTeachingSchools,oreven

37

arepartofanAcademyChainoraTeachingSchoolAlliance(TSA);TSAscurrentlyco-exist

alongsidetheirpreviousincarnationofNationalSupportSchools;notallleadersofTSAsare

NLEs(althoughtheymusthaveoneintheAlliance)andnotallNLEsareinaTSA.Furthermore,

thegeographicalcontextoftheTSAanditspartners,asdiscussedpreviously,couldaddfurther

complexitytothechallenge.

Hargreavesidentifiesanimportantaspectthatisacrucialconsiderationforthe

“alliancearchitects”whoneedtobuildandmaintainnetworks:“Muchschool-ledinnovation

failstoprosperbecauseitlacksadistributionsysteminwhichpeoplearemotivatedtoshare,

asbothgiversandreceiversofinnovation.”(2012b,p.30,myemphasis).Hegoesonto

expoundontheneedforallianceleaderstobe“creativeentrepreneurs”(p.31)inorderto

marketthemselvespositivelyandcreateaclimateoftrustinwhichsocialcapitalcantakeroot.

Themanagement-basedtheoriesthatunderpinthisthinkingwillbefurtherexploredlaterin

thechapter.Whilesuch“architecture”ischallenginginitself,therearepotentiallymore

complexchasmstobebridgedwhenschool-to-schoolsupportcrossesthesealliance

boundaries.Therefore,Hargreavesandothershaveturnedtotheworldofbusinesstodraw

onthevitalprofessionalqualitiesthatcaninformthenecessaryevolutionofschoolleaders

intosystemleaders.Thesewillbesummarisedlaterinthechapter.

2.3.4RecentResearchonSpecialistLeadersinEducation

Arecentlycirculatedreportevaluatestheexperienceofschoolsthattookpartinthepilotof

theSLErolein2010-11.(HOSTPolicyResearch,2012;Research,2012)Whileitwaspublished

in2012,itwasnotcirculatedtoTSAsviatheNationalCollege’sonlineTeachingSchool

Communityuntillatein2013.Itsintentionistoprovidepracticalrecommendationstosupport

therecruitmentanddeploymentofSLEs.However,thevastmajorityofitsfocusisuponbest

practiceaftersupporthasbeenbrokered,whilethefocusofmystudyisontheissuesthat

preventthebrokeringfromactuallytakingplace.Afewoftherecommendationsmadeare

nonethelesspertinenttomystudy:

• ThebrokermustknowallSLEswell,toensureappropriatematchingtoclients(p.9)

• ‘Penportraits’ofSLEsexperienceandspecialismsareusefultosupporttheabove,and

alsoasamarketingaid(p.9)

• Financialproceduresneedtobeastransparentaspossible,andpublishedontheTSA’s

website(pp.20-21)

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• Apro-forma,availableonthewebsiteshouldnotbe‘off-putting’initscomplexityto

any‘localauthorities,diocesanbody,individualschoolsoranotherteachingalliance’

whowishtorequestsupport.(AnnexB,p.iii)

Whenproceedingwithmyownresearch,Ihopetodeterminewhetherthese“practical

suggestions”havehadanimpactondeploymentofSLEs,orwhethersystem,socialor

psychologicalbarrierstoengagementoutweighthebenefitsoftheseoperationalprocedures.

SubsequenttotheHOSTreport,thefindingsofalargeresearchprojectwaspublished

inApril2014andavailablemorewidely,viatheNationalCollege’swebsite,inearly2015,after

Ihadcompletedtheactionresearchstagesofmyownsmallproject.EntitledTeachingSchools

Evaluation:EmergingIssuesfromtheEarlyDevelopmentofCaseStudyTeachingSchool

Alliances,thisresearchspanned18casestudyTSAsandallsixofthe‘BigSix’responsibilities

whichTSAsaretaskedtodeliver(Guetal.,2014).Asalludedtoinmyintroduction,the

publishedreport,totallingonly62pages,providesanilluminatingoverviewofkeyfindings;

however,theformatofthereportdoesnotpermitthepublicationofanydetailedevidenceof

theresearchwhichunderpinnedthesefindings.Nonetheless,severalofthefindingsofQing

Guandherteamareparticularlyrelevanttomystudy:

• TheTSAs’managementoffinancesvariesnotably(p.29)andthesustainabilityof

these‘quasi-businessmodels’(p.5)isanemergingpriority;

• Prospectiveclientschools“appearedtobewaryofseekinghelp”fromaTSA,or

rejectedNationalCollegefunding,duetofearsthat“’theymighttakeusover’”and

convertthemintoasponsoredAcademy(p.46).Thisalsobearsweightformicro-level

reflections;

• LackofunderstandingoftheroleofanSLE,andhowitdifferedfromthatofthe

formerAdvancedSkillsTeacher(AST),couldbeproblematic(p.40-41)

• A“positiverelationship”withtheLAaided“efficientco-ordinationbetweentheLA

andtheTSA”onthedesignationanddeploymentofSLEswasimportant,aswasthe

needforSLEstobe“deployedinawaythatreflectsaschool’sstrategicneeds,aspart

ofawiderteam.”(p.41-42)

• The“strengthsofindividualsarebecomingknown”(p.44),whichIbelieveisboth

significantinthemarketingoftheSLEroleandtheneedforaclientschooltobe

confidentthattheyaregetting‘valueformoney’.

• Inparticular,primaryschoolswerefoundtolackthefinancialresourcestoengagethe

supportofSLEs(p.7),ortoestablishanAlliancethemselves(p.30).

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2.4CaseStudiesofSystemLeadershipandSISSontheGlobalStage

WithafairlynarrowfieldofrelevantresearchintheUK,theremaybeusefullessonstobe

learnedfrominternationalstudies.TheclearrecommendationoftheOECD’sImprovingSchool

LeadershipVolume2:CaseStudiesonSystemLeadership(Pontetal.,2008)issimplythis:“Let

schoolleaderslead.”(p.11).Highlightsofthefindingsofparticularcasestudiesare

summarisedbelow.

2.4.1Finland

OfespecialinteresttothisstudyarethereflectionsofHargreavesetalontheFinnishculture

of‘trust,co-operationandresponsibility”whichwerevoicedascornerstonestoFinland’s

educationsuccessbyprofessionalsatalllevelsofthesystem,fromministrytochalkface(A.

Hargreaves,Halasz,&Pont,2008)Theycontinue:“Problemsaresolvedthroughco-

operation...Ifpeopleinaschoolarenotleadingwell,thestrategyisnottofirethembut,in

thewordsofaTampereadministrator,‘totrytodevelopthem,actually’”(p.82).Thestudydid

reveal,however,thatFinlandneededtoworktowardstruecollaborationwithinschools,and

thataconcerninsustainabilityofsystemleadershipwasafuturepriority.However,in

summary:“Finlandexhibitsapatternofsystemleadershipinstrongculturalandvertical

teamwork,networking,participation,targetsettingandself-evaluation.Hierarchiesarenot

feared,andinterventions(ascomparedtoco-operativeproblemsolving)arevirtually

unknown.”(p.84)

ConsideringthediversetypesofnetworkthatcurrentlyoperateacrosstheUK,the

authorswarnagainst“looseandgeographicallydispersed”networks.Itwillbeofinterestto

determinewhetherTSAsinEnglandaremoreprolificintheirschool-to-schoolsupportare

thosewhosegeographicalcontextsaremostconducivetothis.Otherconclusionsregarding

the‘Finnishsuccessstory’ofinteresthereformastarkcontrasttotherapidpolicyreformsin

Englandwhichwereoutlinedearlierinthischapter:“Buildingafuturebyweddingittothe

past;supportingnotonlypedagogicalchangebutalsocontinuity.”(p.92)Finally,othernations

whowishtoemulateFinland’ssuccesswouldneedtoimplement“widespreadsocialand

economicreform”ratherthatexpecting,asisperhapsthecaseinEngland,thattheeducation

systemaloneisresponsibleforrevitalisingoureconomyandsociety.

40

2.4.2Victoria,Australia

Asadensely-populatedandurbanisedstate,Victoriapresentscertaincontextualparallelsto

England.AkintoEnglandandFinland,championingemergingleadersisapriorityfor

sustainableleadershipwithinitsBlueprintframework.(Matthews,Moorman,&Nusche,

2008).Theauthorsascribetheregularcommunicationsofthedeputysecretarytoprinciplesas

acontributingfactorinthe“cultureofreflectiveleadership”whichisestablished(p.189);in

England,perhapstheregularcommunicationsofBillWatkin,OperationalDirectoroftheSSAT,

bridgethegapincommunicationsbetweengovernmentandacademyleaders,ratherthan

leadersfeelingfullybriefedbygovernmentofficesthemselves.

AnotherkeydifferencebetweenEnglandandVictoriawhichcanbedrawnisinthe

natureofaccountabilityframeworks,whichcouldimpactuponthereceptivenessofleaders

whorequiresupporttothesupportonoffer.OfVictoria’s“intelligent”accountability

framework,theauthorsnote:

Thedifferingrequirementsofschoolsareaccommodatedbyaflexibleaccountability

arrangement.Ratherthanusingaccountabilityasamechanismtodistributesanctions

andrewards,theVictoriangovernmentusesperformancedataasabasisfordecisions

oninterventionandsupportstrategies...[which]include:coaching;mentoring;...

expertconsultants;...co-operativearrangementsbetweenschools...(2008,p.202)

ThesimilaritiesinthepolicyandapproachesofthesupporttobeofferedbyTSAsisevident.

AswiththeFinnishcase,however,itcouldbeenvisagedthatthepracticesofschool-to-school

supportofVictoriacannotbesuccessfullytransferredtoEnglandwhiletheaccountability

cultureissomarkedlydifferent.Inaddition,theauthorsreportonthe“carefullycalibrated

sequence”ofreformsinVictoria(p.208),whichagaindiffersconsiderablytotherapidand

multifariouspolicyreformsactionedinEnglandinrecentdecades.

Finally,the“multi-layeredsystem-wideleadership”ofVictoriaflourishesinaculture

where“communicationiscontinuousandconsultationembedded.”Notably,too,theauthors

relaythatallschoolsbelongtooneof64networks,inadditiontopartnershipsorclusterswith

specialfoci(p.190).Incontrast,asIhavediscussed,Englandiscurrentlyinastateofgreat

fragmentation,withabalkanisationofdiverseTSAorLAaffiliationsor,indeed,noaffiliationat

allforthoseacademiesthatoperateinautonomousisolation.

41

2.5CollaborativeLessonsfromotherSectors

2.5.1LessonsLearnedfromSystemLeadershipinHealthcare

Hargreaveshascarriedoutstudiesontheimportanceofcollaborativetrainingculturesin

surgeryandmedicine(D.H.Hargreaves,1996),buttheredoesnotappeartobemuch

extendedresearchastocomparableorganisationalstructuresbetweeneducationand

healthcare.InHargreaves’paper,heemphasisestheimportanceoftrainingcultures,andthe

reciprocalbenefitstotheexemplarysurgeonandthoselearningbestpractice.Anecdotally,

thenumberofdelegatesattendingawiderangeofCPDcoursesdeliveredbyteachingschools

ortheiralliancepartnerswouldindicatethatthisaspectoftrainingculturehastransferredto

TSAs.However,thereisnodiscussionhereofthenetworkmodelonwhichsuchcollaboration

shouldtakeplace.

MatthewsandBerwicksimilarlyadvocatetheparallelsofthe“concept”ofteaching

schoolsandteachinghospitals,ascentresandconduitsofexcellence(p.9,myemphasis).Itis

interestingtoreflectonapointtheyraise:“therearemanyhospitalsthathaveoneormore

areasofrecognisedexcellence”(p.9)ItistruethatTSAshavearesponsibilitytorecruitSLEs

withspecialismswhichmatchlocalneeds.Asaforementioned,permittedSLEspecialismsare

thosedeemedaprioritybytheNC.However,foraschooltobejudgedasoutstanding,it

needstobestrivingforexcellenceinallareas,sothemedicalparallelhasfurtherlimitations.

Furthermore,thecontextandscopeoftheTeachingHospitalandtheTSAdifferin

anothersignificantway.Fromalayperspective,itwouldappearthat‘underperforming’

surgeonsorhealthleadersarenottargetedforsupportbytheTeachingHospital,intheway

thattheNationalCollegehopestodeployNLEsandSLEsasaninterventionmechanism.

2.5.2LessonsLearnedfromPartnershipsandAlliancesinBusiness

Hargreaves(2012a)drawssomeilluminatinglessonsfromtheworldofbusinessthatoutline

theimportanceof“collaborativecapital”in“complexcollaboration”.Considerationisgivento

boththecharacteristicsoforganisationonthemeso-level,aswellastheattributesrequiredof

leadersonamicro-level.Hisviewisthatalliancesystems-and,thiswouldincludetheSLE

brokerswhoareleadingonschool-to-schoolsupport-need“magnets,glueanddrivers”(p.6-

7)iftheTSAvisionistoberealised.Hargreaves(2010)providesacompellingcaseonthe

benefitsofcollaborativeworkingbysummarisingtherelativesuccessesofITcompaniesinthe

42

USA.SiliconValleyachievegreatersuccessthanarivalregionbyembracingcollaborative

workingandknowledgesharing,whileeachcompanywithinSiliconValleywasstillcompeting

withitsimmediateneighbours.

However,DeeringandMurphy(2007),intheirstudyonpartnershipsinthebusiness

sector,raisesomepotentialissuesinpartnering.TheycitetheresearchofBlakeandErnst,

whofoundthat“80%ofjointventuresendinasalebyonepartnertotheother”(p.29).The

threatof'takeover'inthebusinessworldhassomecurrencyifweapplythistotheeducational

sector.DothoseschoolleaderswhowouldbenefitfromthesupportofaTSAfeelthreatened

byapotential'takeover'byanacademyorchain?Couldthisthreatenedlossofpowerand

identitybeabarriertothemengaginginschool-to-schoolsupport?DeeringandMurphy

advisethat,tocountersuchperceivedthreat,“...leadershipinadistributedorganisationisnot

amatterofcommanding,butofprovidingsuitablecontainmentintheformofrules,

conventionsandsupportsystems.”(p.124)Also,akintoHargreaves’emphasisfortrustand

socialcapital,DeeringandMurphyfrequentlyreturntotheimportanceofanallianceleaderin

thebusinesssector“winningheartsandminds”(p.141).

Fullan(2005)presentedanextensivesummaryofkeythinkersinthebusinessworld

andhowtheirrecommendationsmustbetransferredtoeducationsectorifwearetohave

sustainableleadershipandaself-improvingsystem.ReflectingonOuchi’s2001-2studyinthe

USAandCanada,heisconcernedthatOuchi's“sevenkeystosuccess”arerootedin

decentralisationanddistributedleadership.Fullanstates:“Thereisagrowingproblemin

large-scalereform;namelythetermstravelwell,buttheunderlyingconceptualizationand

thinkingdonot”.AfurtherconcernraisedbyFullaninthisrespectisthatwithoutsufficient

“capacitybuilding”,thesystemcannotbesustained(p.9-10).OfFullan's'EightElementsof

Sustainability',a“Commitmenttochangingcontextatalllevels”through“lateralcapacity

building”aremostpertinenttothisstudy.(p.14,myemphasis).Itisperhapsdueto

fragmentationofEnglishschoolsandschoolnetworksthatacomprehensivecommitmentis

difficulttoattain.AsFullanalsostates:“Networksarepotentiallypowerfulbutcanhavetheir

downsides.First,theremaycometobetoomanyofthem,addingclutterinsteadoffocus...”

(p.19)

Fullanbelievesthatthe“manyinertialforcespullingusbacktothestatusquo”

requiresa“criticalmassofsophisticatedleaders.”HecitesPerkins’(2003)evaluationsthat,in

theprocessofleadingasystem“keyinformationgetslost”.Thisresultsina“regressive

43

interaction[which]constitutesakindofcentrifugalforce,pushingpeopleapartthrough

dissatisfactions,rivalriesandlackofvision.”(Perkins2003p29,citedinFullan2005,pp.46-47)

2.6Micro-level:IndividualPlayersinEducationalPartnerships

2.6.1SystemLeadershipCompetencies

Drawingonthesetransferrablelessonsfromtheworldofbusiness,West-Burnhamhas

producedausefulsummaryofthequalities,behaviourandknowledgerequiredofasystems

leader.Histaxonomy,below,willbeausefulevaluativetooltoapplytofutureresearchinto

thestrengthsandlimitationsofSLEbrokers.

Figure2.6West-Burnham'sTaxonomyofSystemLeadership(2011,p.27)

Inasimilarvein,the2014studyofTeachingSchoolsledbyQingGuidentifiedthatallof

leadersintheirsampledemonstratedthat“theirleadershipisdrivenbyastrongaltruistic

missiontosupportotherschools…”(Guetal.,2014)

2.6.2ResistancetoChange

Therequisitequalities,skillsandcapacitiesofasystemleaderwereexploredthroughearlier

sectionsofthischapter.Throughmyactionresearch,Ihopetoidentifythebarriersto

engagementinschool-to-schoolsupportonamicro-level,throughconsiderationofbarriersto

44

brokeringSLEsthatmightbepresentedbytheHeadteacheroftheschoolrequiringsupport,

otherleadersattheschoolrequiringsupport,theNLEbrokeringthesupport,theSLEs

Headteacher,or,indeed,theSLEthemselves.

TheworkbyresearcherssuchasMatthewsandHill(2010)hashighlightedthebarriers

tochangethatmightbyencounteredbySLEsorNLEsonceinvolvedwithaclientschool:“The

biggestchallengesfacedbyteacherswhoengageinworktosupporttheircolleaguesinother

schoolsis...resistancebythoseunwillingtochange.”(2010,p.16)Myinterest,however,

focusesonthosebarrierstocarryingoutSchool-to-SchoolSupportthatpreventanysupport

frombeingbrokeredatall.Itisplausiblethatsimilarattitudesareprevalent,buttoagreater

degreeoratamoreseniorlevelofschoolleadership.Theseattitudescouldbeacontributing

factorinpreventingaschoolseekingoragreeingtoengagewithappropriatesupport.These

barriersaresummarisedbyFullan(2005),citingHeifetz's'propertiesofanadaptivechallenge

(2004):“Thepeoplewiththeproblemaretheproblem,andtheyarethesolution.”(2005,

p.45)Thesynthesis,below,ofthewidely-utilisedtheoriesandmodelsforexamining

resistancetochangeshouldilluminatefuturefindings.Akintothis,Kotter'snotionof“change

fatigue”mayalsoilluminateresistancetochangeonthepartofsomeschoolleaders,asseen

intheHeadteacherwho“diedofconsultancy”intheGuardianarticleaforementioned.

Figure2.7ASynthesisofChangeModels5

5ReproducedfromTheSilentEdgeTransitionModelisdevelopedfromthreekeypsychologicalprocessesrelatingtochange:theKublerRoss(griefcurve),theKotter(changecurve)andtheConsciousCompetenceModel(USGordonTrainingInternational).(Silent(Edge,2014)

45

Finally, the research of Kegan and Lahey (2001) proposes that for changes in the individual

behaviour, the leader must also change. It can be that a leader's “immunity to change”

preventsthedesiredchangeinanemployee'sperformancefromtakingplace(p.3).

2.7SummaryandResearchPriorities

Thereviewoffar-reachingreforms,thediscussionofthesuccessesofthepredecessorstoTSAs

andsystemleadershipinothernations,alongwithlessonsdrawnfromthesectorsofbusiness

and,inpart,ofhealthcare,suggestsseveralmajorissuestobeconsidered:

• Accountabilitypressuresandthepaceofreformaspossibleinhibitorsofcollaboration

• ThegeographicalcontextofTSAs,andtheneedtoovercomefragmentationofthesystem

• Theneed,therefore,forlocalsolutionswhichmanagethecollaboration-competition

balance

• Theimportanceofsocialcapitaltonurtureacultureoftrusttoovercomestigma,as

evidencedinsuccessfulinternationalcontexts.

Muchoftheliteraturefocusesupontherequisitecharacteristicsofallianceleaderstoleadan

allianceingeneralterms,withlittlefocusonsystemandindividualcharacteristicrequiredfor

thecommissioningorbrokeringorschool-to-schoolsupport,nor,indeed,thecharacteristics

requiredoftheclientheadforthemtoengageinsupport.

Thekeyissueswhichpresentthemselvesforfurtherresearcharethefrequencyofthe

deploymentofSLEs,andwhethersomeTSAsarebrokeringSLEsmorefrequentlythanothers.

WhereSLEsarebeingbrokered,itwouldbeusefulifthecharacteristicsofclientschoolscould

beidentified,sothatanevaluationregardingtherelationshipsbetweenTSAsandthose

schoolsmostinneedcanbeguntobeexplored.Byextension,identificationofthefactorsat

themeso-andmicro-levelwhichareaffectingthebrokeringofSLEscangiveriseto

recommendationsregardingtheefficacyofSLEbrokering.

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3ResearchDesignandMethodology

3.1ResearchDesign

3.1.1ResearchQuestionsandRationale

ThelinesofenquirypromptedbytheLiteratureReview,asrecordedattheendofthepreviouschapter,canbedistilledinthefollowingthreekeyresearchquestions:

Theresearchstudywasdesignedtodetermineanswerstothesequestions,allofwhich

focusedupontheimplementationofthepolicyofschool-to-schoolsupportwhichwas

launchedbythegovernmentWhitePaper,TheImportanceofTeaching(DfE,2010).Thefirst

questiontobeaddressedwasa‘descriptive’one,whoseanswermightgosomewayto

establishingtheextentofanybarrierstotheimplementationofpolicy,aswellashighlighting

examplesofeffectivepractice;theremainingquestionswere‘explanatory’,astheyhopedto

establishcausalfactorsforthesuccess,orotherwise,ofpolicyimplementation.AsAndrews

pointsout,theremaynotbea“clearanswer”toaquestion,buttheresearchwillbesuccessful

if“youhavetriedtoanswerit.”(Andrews,2003,p.3)

Inessence,theresearchtopicwassummarisedas‘FactorsAffectingtheDeployment

ofSLEs’.TociteAndrewsagain,theanswerstothesequestionscouldhavebeen“multi-

factored”anditwasessentialtodesigntheresearchcorrespondingly(2003,P.4).Moreover,it

couldbethattherewerecrucialfactorstobediscoveredwhichwerenotsuggestedbythe

literaturereviewormyanecdotalexperience;throughresearchingtheanswerstothese

questions,Ihopedtogainafullerunderstandingofthewaysinwhichthepolicyofschool-to-

schoolsupportwasbeingimplementedinaselectednumberofcasesduringadefinedperiod

oftime.Whilebroadgeneralisationswouldnotbepossiblewithinthelimitationsofthe

researchdesign,asoutlinedbelow,Ihopeditwouldbepossibletodrawoutsome

47

recommendationsastohowthepolicycouldbemoreeffectivelyimplementedinorderto

increaseSLEdeploymentrates,whererequired,toheightenthepossibilitythattheymight

buildleadershipcapacityand,byextension,‘narrowthegap’ofstudentachievementbetween

andwithinschools.

3.1.2ParadigmsandPracticalities

SincethepolicyandpracticeofSchool-to-SchoolSupportwereandremainnationalissues,

variousparadigmstounderpinthenatureoftheresearchcouldbeconsidered.Whilea

positivistapproachcouldpotentiallyhavedeterminedanobjective,representativenational

pictureandsetofrules,theparametersofthisresearchstudyprecludedthisapproach.Asa

singleresearchercompletingapart-timestudywithinatwo-yeartimeframe,attemptingto

gainanational,objectiveviewwasinfeasible.Furthermore,whenIapproachedthematthe

outsetofmystudy,theNationalCollegedeclinedtoreleaseanydeploymentdatatoanyone

‘external’totheCollege,whichfurtherprecludedanyattemptatdeterminingauniversalview.

Therefore,whilethepracticalitiesdemandedthatthestudysubscribedtoapost-positivist,or

subjectivist,paradigm,thisapproachlentitselftooutcomeswheretheknowledgegained

wouldbe“personal,subjectiveandunique”(Cohenetal,2011,p.6,citingBurrell&Morgan,

1979).Itherebyacknowledgedthatthepost-positivistapproachcouldprovidericher,more

personalresponsesfromschoolleadersimplementingtheWhitePaperatthemeso-and

micro-level.

Hakim’sview,whichshealignstothatofYin(1994:3)isthatthereshouldbeno

hierarchyofdesign:

Eachdoesaparticularjobandshouldbeselectedaccordingtothenatureoftheissues

orquestionstobeaddressed;theextentoftheexistingknowledgeandprevious

research;theresourcesandtimeavailable;andtheavailabilityofsuitablyexperienced

stafftoimplementthedesign.(2000,p.12-13)

Asasingleresearcherimplementingthedesign,Ineededtoconsiderthepracticalitiesofthe

timeavailabletomeandtoanyparticipants,whichwillbefurtherguidedbytheterm-

structuresofacademicyears,whichmayvaryfromschooltoschoolandsoimpactuponthe

timeframefordatacollection.Anysamplewouldneedtobenarrowinitsscope,andfocuson

theexperienceofNLEsandSLEsinschools.AsCohenetalsummarise,“opponentsof

positivism...agreethatthesocialworldcanonlybeunderstoodfromtheviewpointof

48

individualswhoarepartoftheon-goingactionbeinginvestigated”,namelyatthemicro-level

(Cohen,Manion,Morrison,&Bell,2011)p.15

Ideterminedthatitwouldbehelpfultocommencethestudyofeachcaseby

referencetoanypre-existingsecondarydataheldbytheteachingschoolalliancesthemselves,

butthiswouldneedtobesupplementedbyotherapproaches.Cohenetaldrawonseveral

authorswhovaluethepotentialof“integratingdifferentapproaches,waysofviewinga

problem”(2011,p.22)froma“pragmatistparadigm”(OnwuegbuzieandLeech,2005a;

Johnsonetal.,2007:113;TeddlieandTashakkori,2009:4)utilisingquantitativedataaswellas

“narrativeapproaches.”

Adoptingsuchapragmaticandidiographicapproach,Icreatedacase-basedresearch

designwhichfocusedonthe“explanationandunderstandingoftheuniqueandtheparticular

case,ratherthanthegeneralandtheuniversal”andconducted“bothconfirmatoryand

exploratoryresearch,inductionanddeduction,inansweringresearchquestions.”(Cohenetal,

2011,p.6;p.22).Byutilisingacomparativecasestudydesign,Istillhopedtodrawoutsome

usefulinsightswhichcouldsupportenhancementsinthesystemleadershipofeducation.As

Hakimstates,“statisticalsignificanceisoftenconfusedorconflatedwiththesubstantiveor

practicalimportance”ofresearchfindings.(2000,p.7,originalitalics)

3.1.3ResearchDesign

HavingheededHakim’sadvice(2000,p.3)ontheimportanceofcarefulresearchdesign,I

acknowledgedthatmydesignwouldrequireflexibilityanda“sequentialmixeddesign”

(TeddlieandTashakkori,2006,citedinCohenetal,2011,p.25)Suchadesignentails

qualitativeand/orquantitativeapproachesthat:“runoneaftertheother,astheresearch

requires,andinwhichonestrandoftheresearchorresearchapproachdeterminesthe

subsequentstrandorapproachandinwhichthemajorfindingsfromallstrandsare

subsequentlysynthesized.”(Cohen,2011,p,25)

Furthermore,thedesignwouldbeacomparativeone(Bryman,2012,p.53),withthe

samebroadresearchdesignbeingappliedtoeachcasewithinthestudy.Inpractice,having

establishedthesamplingapproachastowhichteachingschoolallianceswillfeatureascase

studies,whichwillbeaddressedlaterinthischapter,theresearchconsistedofthestagesof

actionoutlinedbelow.Anexpedientapproachtotimescaleswasimportant,asthestudy

hopedtocaptureissuesconcurrenttotheimplementationofpolicy;“situationsarefluidand

49

changingratherthanfixedandstatic;eventsandbehaviourevolveovertimeandarerichly

affectedbycontext–theyare‘situatedactivities’”(Cohen,2011,p.17).

Ofadditionalconsiderationtowhichwerefollowedatstage3,wasanypotentialto

triangulatewhatissuggestedbythedataandtheSLEbroker,andtherebydrawoutpossible

reasonsfororagainstengagementintheWhitePaper’spolicy(DfE,2010).Thepotentialfor

triangulationcanbeseenasastrengthof“multi-methodresearch”,asproposedbyBryman.

Theflexibilityofthedesignallowedforthetestingpossibleissuesofcausationwhichthe

literaturereviewofpolicysuggestsinthepreviouschapter,whilebeingopentoothers,in

whatCohentermsa“combinedinductive-deductiveapproach”(2011,p.4,originalitalics).

WhileBryanalsoemphasisestheimportanceofthe“transferability”ofanyresearch

design(2012,p.30),suchaqualityisweakenedbytheneedtotailorthequalitativestagesof

mydesigntomeetthecontext-specificissuespresentedinanyoneofthecaseswhichform

thebasisofmystudy.However,thegeneralprinciplesofmyproposeddesigncouldbe

transferredifthescopeofresearchwasbroadenedtoencompassotherteachingschool

alliances.Indeed,therequirementforflexibilityindesignisdeterminedbytheveryneedto

“understandthebehaviourandthemeaningofthatbehaviourinitsspecificsocialcontext”

(Bryman,2012,p.27).Ihopedthatthethreeelementsofthedesignwouldprovide

triangulationofperspectives,andthereforehighlightresponses,particularlyinthequalitative

strands,whichmightrevealself-censoringorbiasbytherespondents.

3.2Sampling

Aspreviouslystated,thisstudywasofacomparativecasestudydesign,andofasequential

mixedapproach,drawinguponqualitativeandquantitativemethodsasappropriate,aspera

pragmatistparadigm.SincetheNationalCollegewereunabletoreleasetheSLEdeployment

dataofanyTSAtoexternalsources,thenafeasiblenumberofTSAshadtobeapproachedfor

inclusioninthestudy.Whenanalysingandevaluatingthecollecteddatainduecourse,it

wouldbeimportanttorecognisethattheTeachingSchools,SLEbrokersorSLEswhochoseto

participatemayholddifferentavalueposition,or,inthiscase,successindeploymentrates,

thanthosewhodeclined.

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3.2.1SamplingMethodforSelectingCases

Itwaspragmatictobegintheprocessofselectingcasesbydrawinguponmyexisting

professionalcontacts,inthemannerof“convenienceoropportunitysampling”.From

practicalconsiderations,therewillneedtobeacompromiseintermsofthenumberofcases

tobeincorporatedintothesample;withinthetimeavailable,atotalofthreecasesisa

feasiblenumberfromwhichtocollectdataasoutlinedinthedesignsectionofthis

chapter.Thefirstcase(TSA1)wastheteachingschooltowhichIamdesignated,sinceverbal

consenttoparticipateinthestudyhasalreadybeenobtained.Althoughappropriate

considerationmustbegiventotheissuesreflexivity,theinclusionofTSA1providedsome

guaranteethatrelevantdatacanbecollected.

Regardingtheselectionofthetwoothercases,thesewerepurposivelysampledinthat

selectionofcaseswas“onthebasisof[theresearcher’s]judgementoftheirtypicalityor

possessionoftheparticularcharacteristicsbeingsought”(Cohen,2011,p.156).AsCohenetal

judge,suchamethodsupports“lessbreadth”thanprobabilitysampling,but“greaterdepth”

(2011,p.156).IntermsofthespecifictypologiesofpurposivesamplingoutlinedbyCohenet

al,“criticalcasesampling”wouldusefullyrequirethatIselecteachcase,eachTeachingSchool

Alliance,onthegroundsofaparticularsetofcharacteristics.

InextreviewedthedirectoryofTeachingSchoolsalreadyestablishedbythespringof

thefirstyearofmystudy(Leadership,2014)anddeterminedthat,intermsoftravelcostand

time,thetwoothercaseswouldneedtoalsobebasedwithintheCentralRegion,namelyEast

Midlands,WestMidlandsorYorkshire&TheHumberregions.Atthisstage,Iplannedtoselect

theothertwoTeachingSchoolAlliancesbasedontheTeachingSchool’sownschooltype:

whetheranacademy,maintainedbythelocalauthority,orindependentfee-paying;primary,

secondary,orspecialschool;andsoforth.However,itwasevidentthatIwouldnotbeableto

coverallofthevariablesofcharacteristicswithintheparametersofthisstudy,soa

compromiseonthisrangewouldbeessential.

WithTSA1alreadyengaged,InextapproachedfourTeachingSchoolsintheabove

regions,withwhomIormyschoolhadanexistingcontact,viabothe-mailandthenafollow-

upletterwhichwasprintedontheletter-headedpaperofmycurrentschool,alongwiththe

InformedConsentForm,whichwillbementionedlaterinthischapter,tohopefullyassure

prospectiveparticipantsoftheethicalintegrityofthestudy.Fromthiswave,onlyTSA2agreed

toparticipate;itswiftlybecameevidentthatIwouldneedtocompromiseontheintended

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approachofpurposivesampling.Meanwhile,Irevisedtherecruitmentapproachtorequest

participationbylettersprintedonTheUniversityofYork’sheadedpaper,toremoveany

antipathytowardsmyschool,shouldtherebeany,thatmightinhibitparticipation;bythe

samestrategy,thepositivereputationandcredibilityoftheUniversitymightencourage

participation.Inthissecondwave,IwrotetoanotherelevenTeachingSchoolsfrommy

selectedregions,targetingarangeofcharacteristicsasoutlinedabove,butnoparticipation

agreementwasimmediate.Usingthesameapproach,IthencontactedafurtherfiveTeaching

Schoolswithintheseregions;fromthiswave,threeTeachingSchoolsagreedto

participate.OneofthesewasTSA3,whohadverylimitedSLEexperiencetodate,butwhodid

participateinthefirsttwostagesoftheresearchdesign,Ididnotproceedwiththiscasetothe

thirdstageoftheresearchdesign.Anotherschooldidnotactuallyengageinthestudydueto

long-termillnessandsubsequentrestructuring.ThefinalschoolwasTSA4,whoparticipated

fullyinthestudy.

Coincidentally,allfouroftheTSAswhoparticipatedintheresearchstudywerelocated

intheEastMidlandsregionoftheNationalCollege,givingthestudysomeorganisational

cohesion,asallTeachingSchoolsaremembersoftheEastMidlandsTeachingSchoolAlliance,

abodywhichhasbeenestablishedto“deliverthevisionoftheself-improvingschoolsystem”

acrosstheregion("Introduction-EMTSA,"2015).ThefourparticipantTSAspossessedavaried

rangeofcharacteristicswhichwouldhopefullyprovideaplatformforfruitfulexplorationof

thefactorsaffectingSLEdeployment.

Inadditiontotheschool,aforementioned,whoengagedinparticipationbutlater

withdrew,onlyoneotherschoolreturnedaresponsetoindicatethattheywereunableto

participateinthestudyduetoleadershipcapacity.Tosummarise,therefore,ofthe21

TeachingSchoolsthatwereapproached,fourengaged,oneengagedandlaterwithdrew,one

declinedtoparticipateduetocapacity,and15(71%)didnotrespondtotheparticipation

request.

3.2.2Piloting

SinceIwishedtocompletealloftheinitialinterviews,withSLEBrokers,beforetheendofthe

summerterm,Ielectedtonotengageinaformalpilot.However,sinceBroker1.1wasa

formercolleague,Iapproachedthiscasestudyasapotentialpilot,ofasort.Iwasabletogain

accesstotheTSA’sSLEdeploymentdatapriortointerviews;initialanalysisofthisdataallowed

52

metoidentifyemergingissueswhichformedthebasisoftheinterviewswithTSA1andthe

subsequentcasestudyTSAs.SincethedeploymentandinterviewdatagainedfromTSA1was

illuminating,itwasimperativethatTSA1wasincludedinthethesisfindingsasafullcasestudy.

ThedataprovidedbyTSA1allowedmetodevisethespreadsheettemplateIwoulduse

toanalysethedatafortheotherTSAs.AsIexplainlaterinthischapter,Iwasabletotracethe

sourceoffundingforeachTSA1deployment;however,thevaryingfullnessofdetailinthe

deploymentdatareleasedbyTSA2andTSA3meantthatIwascompelledtoabandonthisline

ofinquiryfromthequantitativeresearch,forthesakeofparity.However,theinterviewdata

providedilluminationwithregardtothisstrandofthefindings.

3.2.3SamplingMethodsforInterviewees

Withregardtothesecondstageoftheresearchdesign,interviewingtheSLEbrokerineach

casestudy,theTeachingSchoolleaderwhowasresponsibleforSLEdeploymentconsentedto

participateinaresearchinterview.However,theactualleadershiproleofeachSLEbroker

variedineachcase:intwocases,thebrokerwastheTeachingSchoolDirectoratthehub

TeachingSchool;inanother,thebrokerwasanAssistantHeadteacheratanalliancemember

school,whowasLeadSLE;intheother,theSLEbrokerwasaHeadteacherandanNLEatan

alliancememberschool,butnottheNLEwhowasinchargeofthehubTeachingSchool.Inthis

lastcase,theresponsibilityforSLEbrokeringwasreassignedduringtheperiodofaction

research.Togainaperspectiveonthisorganisationalrestructuring,Iwasabletoalso

interviewthenewSLECo-ordinatorandtheTeachingSchoolDirectorinthiscase.

IthenusedmyinitialanalysisofmysynthesisoftheTeachingSchools’SLEdeployment

dataasIproceededtothethirdstageofmyresearchdesign,whereIaimedtotriangulate

whattheSLEbrokerandthedeploymentdatamightsuggestwithviewsfromtheSLEs

themselves.IelectedtointerviewonlytwoSLEspercasestudyasIfeltthiswouldbefeasible

toachievewithinthetimeframeofthesecondautumnofmystudy,buthopedthattheywould

sharedifferingviewsontheirexperienceoftheSLErole.Iemployedasimplemethod,

identifyinganSLEineachcasewhohadbeendeployedmorefrequently,andanSLEwhohad

beendeployedlessfrequently.

AsIwasconcludingmysecondstageinterviews,withtheSLEbrokers,anopportunity

arosetoengagetheDfE’sSchoolsCommissioner,FrankGreen,inaninterviewthatIenvisaged

mightofferanoverarchingperspectiveatthemacro-level.Asaconsequenceofthisinterview,

53

Iwaspromptedtoengagearepresentativeofthethenrecently-formedTeachingSchools

Councilinthestudy.IcapitalisedonthecontactwiththeSchoolsCommissionerwhen

engagingtheinterviewparticipantfromtheTeachingSchoolsCouncil,whowasabletoshare

perspectivesfrommacro-,meso-andmicro-levels.

3.3ActionResearchandDataCollectionMethods

Beforecommencingtheactionresearch,Ibuiltupacontextualunderstandingofeach

TeachingSchoolAlliancebyaccessingtheinformationwhichwasavailableinthepublic

domain,viatheirwebsite,andwhichincludedbiographiesofkeystaff,systemleadership

prospectusesordirectories,detailsofAlliancemembers,memorandumsofunderstandingand

guidanceonhowtobrokertheSLEswhichweredesignatedtothatTSA.

AsIplannedmyresearchdesign,itwasmyintentiontobegintheresearchaction,in

thefield,byrequestingfromeachTSAtheSLEdeploymentdata,i.e.therecordofallthe

school-to-schoolsupportinwhicheachSLEhadbeenengaged.Ibelievedthatthiswouldbe

centrallyheldbytheTSA.Formyfirstcasestudy,wheretherewerepre-existingprofessional

relationships,andthereforerapportandtrustwerealreadyestablished,thisishowI

proceeded.Challengespresentedbythedatawillbeexploredlaterinthechapter.However,

initialanalysisofthisdataconfirmedthattheissueswhichhademergedfromtheliterature

reviewwereveryrelevantand,therefore,crystallisedthedirectionoftheinterviewagendafor

theSLEbroker(s).

FortheotherTSAs,wheretherewerenopre-existingprofessionalrelationshipsand,

therefore,rapportandtrustneededtobeestablished,Ielectedtoreversethefirsttwostages

oftheresearchdesign.ByvisitingtheseTeachingSchoolsandbuildingtherelationshipviathe

mediumofthesemi-structuredinterview,IbelievedthattheSLEbrokerwouldbemore

inclinedtosharetheirdeploymentdatawithme.Thisapproachwassuccessful.

3.3.1CollectingQuantitativeData

FromeachcasestudyTSA,IgatheredthedeploymentdataforeachSLEuptoandincluding

Cohort4oftheNationalCollege’srecruitmentwaves,namelythosewhohadbeenappointed

asSLEsinthefirstmonthsofthecalendaryearinwhichIcommencedmyactionresearch.AsI

54

believed,throughmyownexperience,thatTeachingSchoolswererequiredtosubmitreports

ontheiractivityinlinewiththeendofthefinancialyear,andthereforewouldhavecollated

theirownrecordsinlinewiththisdeadline,Ianticipatedthatitwouldberelatively

straightforwardtocollectthisdatafromtheTeachingSchool’sortheSLEbroker’s

administratorineachcase.Adeductiveapproachwouldbeappliedtothisdata,testingmy

assumptionthatSLEsarenotbeingbrokeredasmuchasthepolicyanticipated,namelyupto

15daysperyear.ThisassumptionwasbasedonwhatCohenetalterm“common-sense

knowing”throughpersonalexperience.(Cohen,2011)p.3.Ihopedthatthedatawould

reflectwhatwashappening‘ontheground’ineachTSA,andprovideanindicationastoany

successesorbarriers.

ThedeploymentdatawasenteredintoExcelandwasthenaugmentedthroughfurther

research,suchastheuseofGoogleMapstocalculategeographicaldistances,astravelledby

car,betweenanSLE’sschoolandtheTSA,betweentheSLEandtheclientschool,andso

forth.Inaddition,thecharacteristicsoftheSLE’sschoolortheclientschoolwereresearched

viaeachoftheirwebsites.Dataontheirperformance,intermsofanOfstedrating,was

gatheredfrominspectionreportsontheOsftedwebsite("Findaninspectionreport,"

2014).Wheretheperformancegradingofaclientschoolhadchangedduringthescopeofthe

actionresearch,thiswasalsorecorded.

3.3.2CollectingQualitativeData

Ielectedtoactionthesecondelementoftheresearchdesign,collectingqualitativedatafrom

thoseleadersineachTSAwhowereresponsibleforthebrokeringanddeploymentofSLEs,via

themethodofsemi-structuredinterviews.Drawingupaninterview‘schedule’,ratherthana

tightlypre-determinedscriptofquestions,wouldprovidescopeformore“depth”(Hakim,

2000,p.12)andthesharingoffactorsIhadnotenvisaged(Robson,2002).However,byhaving

amorefluidapproachtothequestioning,thereliabilityofthedatawouldbediminished,ason

adifferentdayortimeImayhavemarshalledtheresponsestothescheduledquestionsina

differentmanner,orexpressedtheminamoreorlessneutralorinfluentialmanner.By

extension,anotherinterviewerwouldbehighlyunlikelytoelicitthesameresponses,even

beforeotherissuesofcharacterand“face”areconsidered.Iwasalsomindfulthat,especially

asafellowprofessional,aninterviewcouldprompt“respondents[to]constructrepliesthat

placetheminabetterlight”(Newby,2010).However,fromthedepthandcandidnatureof

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thevastmajorityofinterviewrespondents,Iwoulddeemtheapproachtobesuccessfulin

drawingoutstrongpersonalviewsandreflections.

Aspreviouslymentioned,byvisitingtheSLEbroker’sschooltoconductthesemi-

structuredinterviews,Ihopedtoestablishrapportandbuildtrust,tosupportthesharingof

deploymentdata.AnexceptiontothiswasTSA3,wheretheinterviewwasconductedby

telephoneduetotravelconsiderations;thiswastheleastfullandfluidofallthebroker

interviews,perhapsduetothemediumbywhichitwasconducted;however,thelimited

natureofSLEdeploymentbytheTSAmeantthatIdidnotproceedwiththisAllianceinthe

nextstageoftheresearchdesign.

FromCohen,drawingonArgyle(1978),Iwasmindfulthatcriticsofpost-positivists

declarethat“lesscontrolledinterviewscarryevengreaterrisksofinaccuracy”(2011,p.21);

however,Idecidedtoproceedwithsemi-structuredinterviewsasmymethodofdata

collectionsincesubjectivedepth,andnotgeneralizableresponses,wassought.AlloftheSLE

brokerinterviewswerelengthy,rangingfrom38to76minutes.Thelongestinterviewwasmy

first,withtheSLEbrokerwithwhomIhadapre-existingrelationship.Thisintervieweehad

anticipatedareasofknowledgewhichwouldhavebeenvaluabletomeinthisstudy,and

thereforehadbroughtanumberofinformationsourcesregardingthefundingofNLE-led

schoolsupportpackages,inparticular,whichextendedthedurationoftheinterview.Theissue

ofreliabilityisaninterestingone,andIwillreflectonthevalidityofresponsesinparticular

cases,mostnotablythe“eliteinterviews”withtheSchoolsCommissionerandwithaleaderof

theTeachingSchoolsCouncil,inalaterchapter,andreflectonhowthe“languageofhabitus”

andthe“positionofthespeakerinthepolicyprocess”mustbeevaluatedintheinterview

data.(Ball,1994,pp.88-9)

WhenconsideringarangeofpossibledatacollectionmethodswithregardtoSLEs’

views,Irejectedthemethodoffocusgroupinterviewduetopossibleself-censorshipby

respondentswhenothercolleagueswerepresent.Ialsodeemedthatanonlinesurvey,whileit

mightprovideaplatformformoreparticipantsandthereforemore“generalisedtruths”in

analysis,mightnotprovideopportunityforsubjectivedepth.Ielectedtoproceedwiththe

samemethodofdatacollection,semi-structuredinterviews,whichhadprovedsuccessfulwith

SLEbrokers;however,theseinterviewswereconductedviatelephonefortheeaseofboththe

participantsandtheinterviewer.Timewasverymuchalimitingfactor:withtheSLE

interviews,Ipromisedparticipantstolimittheinterviewstoamaximumof15-20minutesin

ordertotryandencourageparticipationofteachersand/orleaderswithhectic

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schedules.WhilealloftheSLEinterviewsprovidedveryinterestingresponses,hadmoretime

havebeenavailable,theneithermoredetailedorfullerresponsesmayhavebeengiven,as

rapportwasfurtherestablished;conversely,though,thepressureofanotional,orattimes

actual,timelimitmayhavepromptedmoresalientandrobustresponses.

Eachinterviewwasrecorded,usinganiPadapplicationwhichdate-stampedthe

recording,aswellasprovidingaGPSlocationfortherecording.Boththeapplicationandthe

devicewerepasswordprotectedforsafeguardingofdata.Similarly,whenItranscribedeach

interview,theywerestoredonapassword-protecteddevice

3.4EthicalConsiderations

Itwasdeterminedthattheplannedresearchpresentednegligibleriskofharmtoanyofthe

participants.Professionalreputationswereakeyconsideration,andtheanonymityassuredin

theInformedConsentform(seeAppendix3)wasameasuretoprotecttheprofessional

reputationandrelationshipsofeachparticipant.Anexceptiontothepledgeofanonymitywas

FrankGreen,SchoolsCommissioner,whoagreedtotheconditionsofanamendedInformed

Consentform(seeAppendix3),wherebyhiscommentscouldbeascribedtohimasapublic

figure.

HeedingtheadviceofCohen(2011,Chapter5),engagementinmystudydidnot

requireanyintrusionintousualeducationalpractice;Iensuredthatmeetingsortelephone

interviewstookplaceattimeswhichdidnotimpactupontheteachingorpriorprofessional

commitmentsofparticipants.Asaconsequence,breakfastmeetingsoreveningtelephone

callswereoffered.Onafewoccasions,interviewparticipantsemphasisedthatcomments

were“offtherecord”soIhavebeenespeciallycarefultonotincludetheseasindividual

commentsinthechaptersdetailingmyresearchfindings.

3.5ProblemsEncountered

ThedeploymentdataandcomplementaryorganisationaldataprovidedbyTSA1hadsome

unclearormissingelements,suchastheexactstart/enddatesforsomeofthe

deployments.However,itdidprovideaveryusefulstartingpointforanalysisandIdecided

thatIcoulddecipherwhichdeploymentshadtakenplaceduringtheagreedwindow,andmust

57

relyonthedurationofdeploymentdatawhichhadbeenshared,asitwouldbeinfeasibleand

insensitivetoverifyeachsetofdates.Intheothercases,thedatadidnotexistintheformatI

hadanticipated,orthereweregapsinthedataascomparedwiththedataprovidedbyTSA1;I

hadbeenincorrectinmyassumptionthatacomprehensivesetofdeploymentdatawould

needtobesubmittedateachfinancialyearend.Therefore,thecollationandanalysisofthis

datawasdelayed,asIliaisedwiththeseTSs’administratororbrokerinordertorectifyany

missingelementsinthedata,soIcouldcompilethesamesetofdatafieldsforthesakeof

parity.Inparticular,Ineededtorequestfurtherdetailregardingtherecruitmentcohortin

whicheachSLEswasrecruited.Thiswasessentialincomparingthedeploymentfrequencyof

eachSLEandtherebyidentifyingwhichSLEstotargetforparticipationinstagethreeofthe

researchdesign.

Intermsofsampling,thestatisticsincludedin3.2.1demonstratedthat71%,15outof

21,ofTeachingSchoolswhoweresentaparticipationrequestdidnotengage.Formanyof

theseschools,IhadsentduplicatecopiesoftherequesttotwooftheSLEBroker/Teaching

SchoolDirector/NLEorHeadteacher,inanattempttoincreasetheresponserate.Imight

surmisethatthatthelowresponseratewasduetoalackofcapacity,oraconcernthat

engagementmightexposeaweaknessintheTSA’sdeliveryoftheSLEpolicy;asresearch

findingswillevidence,bothoftheseareaswereraisedasconcernsbythosewhodid

participate,andexperiencedleaderssharedthat,ofthe‘Big6’roles,thedeliveryofschool-to-

schoolsupportandthedeploymentofSLEsareprovingthemostchallengingtoTSAs

nationally.

Theengagementofintervieweesinstages2and3oftheresearchdesignalso

presentedafewbarriers.TwoSLEinterviewparticipantshadnotrespondedtometwoweeks

afterrequestsweresent,butre-sendingtheinvitatione-mailandcopyingintheirSLEbroker

promptedpositiveengagement.Whenthetelephoneinterviewstookplace,eachsharedtheir

reservationsregardingparticipation:forboth,timewasanissue;oneoftheseSLEswas

worriedshewould“saythewrongthing’andhadconferredwithherHeadteacherbefore

consentingtotheinterview;thesecondwasconcernedhewouldhavelittletocontributedue

tohislimitedexperience.Staffingchanges,includingthematernityleaveofaTeaching

Schools’administrator,causedrelativelyminordelaysingatheringdata.

Duetopersonalreasons,theSchoolsCommissionerwasunabletobeinLondononthe

scheduleddateformyinterview.Sincemytravelplanswerealreadyinplace,itwasagreed

thatIwouldmeethisteamleaderattheDfEofficesatSanctuaryBuildings,andthenconduct

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theinterviewviatelephonefromaprivatemeetingroom.Boththeadditionalmeetingwith

histeamleaderandtheinterviewwiththeCommissionerwereveryilluminating.

3.6CollationofData

3.6.1QuantitativeData

Havingrespondedtothechallengesofinconsistentincompletesetsofdeploymentdata,as

describedinsection3.5above,IusedanExcelworkbookonwhichtocollatethedata.Witha

separatetabforeachTSA,IthencreatedanidentifierforeachSLEforthepurposeof

anonymity.ThoseSLEswhoweretobeinterviewedbecame,forexample,SLE1.1–thefirst

SLEofTSA1,orSLE3.2–thesecondSLEofTSA3.

ForthepurposeofevaluatingofthefrequencyofdeploymentactivityforeachSLE,I

approximatedthenumberofmonthsanSLEhadbeenavailableforSLEwork,whichwouldbe

uponthecompletionoftheSLECoreTrainingfortheircohort,untiltheendofthescopeofthe

study,theendofthefinancialyearinearlyApril2014.Iemployedthatsameapproachacross

allcasestudyTSAsintheinterestsofparity;althoughtherecouldhavebeensomeslight

varianceinthedatethetrainingwascompleted,allTSAsinthestudytypicallyusethesame

SLEtrainingcentre.Therefore,themaximumnumberofdaysinscopeinwhichanSLEcould

havebeendeployedcanbecalculatedas:

𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

𝑥 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

Or,forexample,asitwouldbetermedinExcel:

=SUM(15/12)*22.5=28

where15daysperyearisthemaximumdeploymentcommitmentperSLE(TheNational

CollegeforSchoolLeadership,2013b).Ihaveaveraged‘availablefordeployment’daysacross

whole12months,astermdatesvarybetweenschools,buttotalteachingweeksaresimilar.

Resultsareroundedtothenearestdayorhalfday,asthesearetheunitsinwhichthe

deploymentdatareportedtheSLEstobedeployedby.Fromthisstartingpoint,Icalculated

thetotalnumberofdays–expressedindaysandhalfdays–thateachSLEhadbeendeployed.

IthenutilizedtheExcelfunctionsoffilters,pivottablesandchartstoprocessthedatasetsthat

arepresentedinChapter4.

59

IinvestigatedtheamountoftimeeachSLE,ifdeployedatall,hadbeendeployedin

actualschool-to-schooloutreachwork,versustheamountoftimetheSLEhadbeenutilisedto

delivertrainingsessions.AsdiscussedinChapter2,theroleoftheSLEshouldbetobe

deployedinschool-to-schoolsupport,ratherthaninthedeliveryofatrainingsession.Forall

furthercalculationspresentedinChapter4,Ianalysedonlythedeploymentstoaclientschool

tocarryoutschool-to-schoolsupport.

InadditiontocalculationsviaExcel,thegeographicalaspectsofdeployments,suchas

thejourneysmadebyeachSLEinrelationtoTeachingSchoolandtheclientschool,were

manuallyplottedusingDigimapsforSchools.ToaidanonymityaspertheInformedConsent

(Appendix3),IthenmanuallyfadedthebackgroundofeachmapusingiPaintforMac.The

mapsofferedpictorialrepresentationsofnetworkactivitywhichfurthersupportedthe

identificationofpatterns,asperBabbie’s‘groundedtheory’referredtobelow.

3.6.2QualitativeData

FollowingthecompletionofPhase2oftheResearchDesign,theinterviewswiththeSLE

broker(s)ofeachTSA,theinterviewsweretranscribed.Initialobservationsoftrendsregarding

thefactorsaffectingthebrokeringofSLEdeployments,alongwithobvioustrendsin

deploymentdata,providedaplatformforthesemi-structuredinterviewscheduleforPhase3,

theinterviewswithtwooftheSLEsdesignatedbyeachTSA.Theseinterviews,alongwith

thosewiththe‘elite’participants,werethentranscribed.Forallinterviews,anyparalinguistic

features,suchaslaughteroremphasis,whichwouldaidunderstandingoftheinterviewee’s

perceptionsorvaluesweredetailedinthetranscription.

WhiletheanalysisofQualitativeDataaspromotedbyLewins(Lewins,2007)on

CAQDASsoftwarewouldbepertinenttoalargercollectionofinterviewdata,Idecidedtousea

moresimplisticapproachtoanalysis.Iidentifiedaseriesofkeystrandsfromaninitial

rereadingofthebrokers’interviewtranscriptsfromPhase2oftheresearchdesign,then

highlightedwherethesestrandsemergedinanyoftheinterviewtranscriptsusingacolour

codethatwasassignedtoaninitialletterofthealphabet.Theusefulnessofsucha“grounded

theory”approach,asoutlinedbyBabbie,isthatitallowstheoriestoevolveasdataisanalysed,

andsomeadditionalstrandsforanalysisemergedasreviewedthetranscripts(Babbie,2013).I

thencompiledkeyquotationsfromeachinterview,organizingthembytheinitialletter

assignedtothestrandforanalysisandbythestrataforanalysis(atthemacro-,meso-or

60

micro-level).Thisallowedmetoderiveanunderstandingofthekeyfactorsaffectingbrokering

ofSLEs“fromananalysisofthepatterns,themes,andcommoncategoriesdiscoveredin

observationaldata…”andthusfusea“naturalist”approachwitha“systematicsetof

procedures”(Babbie,2013)Withanextensivesetofdataassembled,Ithensynthesisedand

paraphrasedtheinterviewfindingsasappropriate;however,bybeginningChapter5withan

extensivesetofdata,Iwasabletoavoidtheover-simplificationandembracethe“thick

descriptionswhichCohenpromotes(Cohenetal,2011)p.17

IalsoheededanotherofCohen’swarningswhenprocessingandanalyzingthedata

collectedduringtheadditionalphaseof‘eliteinterviews’:that“inequalitiesofpowerare

frequentlyimposeduponunequalparticipants”throughflawsinpheno-andethno-

methodologies(Cohen,2011).Whiletheexpertiseofthoseinterviewedwillbeacknowledged,

Iwasmindfultoensurethatpertinentinterviewdatafromallparticipants,regardlessoftheir

powerposition,wasincludedinthefindingschapters.

Thefindingsarepresentedoverthenexttwochapters.Chapter4providesacontext

foreachcasestudyTSA,andpresentssomeinterestingfindingsfromthedeploymentdata;the

varietyandcomplexityofthesefindingsillustratethestarkdifferencesbetweeneachTSAin

termsofoperationatthemeso-level.Chapter5presentsthefindingsfromtheinterview

phasesoftheresearch;despitethedifferencesinoperationaforementioned,some

overarchingfactorswhichaffectSLEbrokeringwillbeidentified.

62

4 ResearchFindings:ContextandDeploymentData

4.1ContextualFindings

ThecontextsofthethreecasestudyTSAsaredetailedAppendix2,TheCharacteristicsofCase

StudyTeachingSchoolAlliances.ThehierarchicalchartsinAppendix2illustratethatthe

organisationalstructureofeachTSAiscomplicatedandthatthissmallsampleofthreeTSAs

differfromeachothersignificantly;howthisimpactsuponthefactorsaffectingthebrokering

ofSLEswillbeevidencedinthischapterandinChapter5,wherethesefindingswillbe

triangulatedbytheinterviewdata.WhiletheWhitePaper(DepartmentforEducation,

2010)andensuingthinkpieces,suchasHargreaves’aforementioned,promotesufficient

vaguenessintheSelf-ImprovingSchoolSystem(SISS)forAlliancestoadapttolocalneed,the

findingsofthisstudywillsuggestthatthelackof‘blueprint’andcommissioningbodieshave

significantlycontributedtoinefficiencieswhichimpactonthebrokeringofSLEs.

AsmentionedinChapter3,thebrokersandSLEsareidentifiedbytheTSAforwhich

theywork.Ofparticularrelevancetocontextualisingthefindingsatmeso-levelisthe

reorganisationoftheresponsibilityforSLEbrokeringinTSA1,whichtookplaceafterthe

windowforanalysisofthedeploymentdata,butpriortothephaseoftheresearchdesignin

whichtheinterviewstookplace.Therefore,findingsfromtheinterviewsthatwereconducted

withallthreeTSA1leadersareincluded,here,astheyoffercomplementaryperspectiveson

thechallengespresentedatthemeso-level,inthesystemsoftheTSA,andtherationalefor

restructuring.Broker1.1heldthestrategicleadforSLEbrokeringduringthetimespanofthe

deploymentdatacollection;shewasanNLEandHeadteacherofanAlliancememberschool,

10miles’distancefromtheTS.ShewasalsoamemberoftheNLEFellowship,thuswasan

instrumentaldriverinthemovetoaschool-ledsystem,fromthetimeofEdBalls’roleas

SecretaryofStateforChildren,SchoolsandFamiliesin2007-10.Shewasa‘loneNLE’priorto

becomingmemberofTSA1,ofwhichanotherNLEistheexecutiveleadoftheTeachingSchool

atthecentreoftheAlliance.Broker1.2tookupanewly-createdroleofSLECo-ordinator

aroundEaster2014,takingontheday-to-dayrunningofthiselementfromBroker1.1.Broker

1.2wassemi-retiredandpart-timeandhadpreviouslyworkedatAssistantHeadlevelatthe

TS;shewasalsoleadingonthequalityassurancefortheSCITTofanotherTSAintheregion,so

hadbroadexperienceatstrategiclevel.Intherevisedsystem,Broker1.2workeddirectlyto

Broker1.3,theDirectoroftheTS,aroleatDeputy-Headlevel,whileBroker1.3workeddirectly

totheNLEofthehubTS.

63

TheBrokerofTSA2(Broker2)fulfilledtheSLEbrokeringresponsibilityaspartofher

roleasDirectoroftheTS,workingdirectlytotheNLEatthehubTeachingSchool.LAand

ChallengePartnersarestrategicpartners–thedeploymentdatasuggeststhatthisparticular

arrangementhadconsiderableimpactonmeso-levelsystemsandtheensuingdeploymentof

SLEs.TheorganisationalstructureofTSA3,meanwhile,placedresponsibilityforSLEbrokering

withanon-teachingAssistantHead(Broker3)atastrategicmemberschool,whobecame

‘LeadSLE’forTSA3intheacademicyear2013-14.Broker3reportedtotheDirectoroftheTS,

whointurnreportedtotheNLEatthehubTS.AfteraslowstarttoSLErecruitmentand

deployment–withonlythreeSLEsrecruitedinthefirstthreecohorts–theTSAnowplanned

rapidexpansionoftheSchool-to-SchoolSupportandSLEstrategicarmsoftheTSA.Broker3

wastobecomeafull-time,non-teachingleadforTSA3,andtechnicallyleavetheemployment

ofhiscurrentschool,inSeptember2014,promptedbythescaleoftheexpansion:15new

SLEshadbeenrecruitedtojointheexistingthreeSLEsbytheendofthetimeframeforthe

deploymentdatastudy,withatotalof41recruitedbythetimeoftheinterviewwithBroker3.

ThekeyvisionoftheTSAcentredonimmersive,project-basedlearning,fuelledbytheworkof

atrend-settingpartnerinCalifornia.ItalsopromptedaclosecollaborationwiththeUniversity

ofDurhamonapilotforproject-based-learning.

WithregardtothescaleandpaceofSLErecruitmentintheothercasestudyTSAs,

bothbecameTSsinthefirstWaveofdesignationandbegantheirSLErecruitmentmore

immediatelythanTSA3.TSA1haddesignated15SLEsbytheendofthescopeofthestudy,the

majorityinthefirsttworecruitmentrounds.TSA2recruited10SLEsinthefirstround,then

slowedthepaceofrecruitmentbeforeexpandingthenumberofSLEsto23bytheendof

recruitmentCohort4.AswithotheraspectsoftheearlyevolutionofTSAs,thevarietyof

approachesaddsbothcomplexityandpotentialconfusiontothesystem.

4.2FindingsfromDeploymentData:Meso-level

AnalysisofthedeploymentdataprovidedbyeachTSAprovidesilluminatinganswerstothe

threekeyresearchquestionsofthisstudy:

64

4.2.1FrequencyofSLEDeployment

Thedeploymentdata,assummarisedinTable4.1,revealsthatallthreeTSAshavedeployed

SLEsforconsiderablylesstimethanthepolicyof‘upto15daysperyear’suggestedbythe

SystemLeadershipProspectus(NCTL,2013).TSAs1,2and3deployedtheirSLEsfor37%,33%

and16%,respectively,ofthetotaltimeavailable.WeknowthatTSA3wasintheearlystages

ofexpandingtheSLEelementofitsoutreachwork,TSA1andTSA2weremoreestablishedin

therespectatthisjuncture.ThisthenraisesthequestionofwhethertheSLEsineachTSA

werenotbeingbrokeredtocapacityduetoalackoflocalneed,orwhethertherewereother

factorswhichposedbarrierstotheirbeingbrokeredand,byextension,thefrequencyoftheir

deployment.FurtherdiscussionofthedatainTable4.1willfollowinthischapter.

Table4.1SummaryofAnalysisofDeploymentData:Meso-level1

6Sincethedurationofdeploymenttoeachclientschoolvaried,theaveragecalculationsinthistableareweightedtoreflectthisduration.Forexample,theaverageOfstedgradingwascalculated:

TSA1 TSA2 TSA3Totalno.ofSLEdaysavailableinscope 263.1 392.3 95.4%ofavailabledaysusedinanytypeofdeployment 36.9 33.0 16.1%ofdaysSLEsdeployedspentinSCHOOL-TO-SCHOOLSUPPORT%ofdaysSLEsdeployedspentinCPDevents

88.6 97.6 3.311.4 2.4 96.7

%ofdaysSLEsdeployedtoprimaryclients%ofdaysSLEsdeployedtosecondaryclients

79 57 10021 43 0

WeightedaverageOfstedgradingofclientschools6 2.3 1.31 3.7%ofdeploymentdaystoschoolswithGrade3/4/SpecialMeasures

66.8 13.9 100

65

4.2.2TargetingSchoolsinNeedofSupport

ToframethefindingsregardingthefrequencyofSLEdeployment,itisusefultoidentifythe

degreeofneedforschool-to-schoolsupportintheregionofthecasestudyteachingschools,

sincetherationaleofaself-improvingschoolsystemistoprovidesupportatalocallevel.(DfE

2010;Hargreaves2003).Withinthetimeframeoftheresearchstudy,May2012toMarch

2014,therewereatotalof23TeachingSchoolAlliancesintheEastMidlandsregion,ofwhom

10wereveryrecentlyformedinthespringof2014.

Ofsted’sofficialstatistics(Ofsted,2013;Ofsted,2014)provideacontextforestimating

thenumberofschoolintheEastMidlandsregionwhorequiredsignificantsupporttoimprove

duringthistimeframe:

Table4.2OfstedInspectionGradingofMaintainedSchoolsandAcademiesintheEast

Midlands,2012-14

AcademicYear TotalSchools

Inspected

3:Requires

Improvement

4:Inadequate Total3+4

2012-13 1,983 411 53 464

2013-14 1,985 350 62 412

Sincethoseschoolsthatweregraded3or4during2012-13willhavebeenre-inspectedduring

2013-14,thenitdoesnotnecessarilyfollowthattherewereinexcessof800schoolsgraded3

or4withinthetwoacademicyears.However,aconservativeestimate,presumingveryfewof

thoseschoolsgraded3or4in2012-13madethejourneytoagradingof2(Good)thefollowing

year,wouldsuggestthatupwardsof500schoolsintheEastMidlandsregionwouldhave

potentiallybenefittedfromthesupportofaTSA.Suchasupportpackage,ledbyaNLEor

LocalLeaderinEducation(LLE),shouldincludeSLEdeploymentswhereappropriate,toboost

leadershipcapacityatmiddleleaderlevel.

𝑂𝑓𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑥 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑒

66

Asoutlinedabove,analysisofthedeploymentdataprovidedbyeachcasestudyTSA,

representingthreeofthe23TSAsintheregion,suggeststhataverysmallproportionofthese

potentialclientschoolswerereceivingsupportfromadeployedSLEduringthistime.TSA1

deployedSLEstoatotalof17schoolsduringthescopeoftheproject;TSA2deployedSLEsto

16schools;TSA3deployedTSAstotwoschools;thus,35schoolsintheEastMidlandswere

supportedbythreeofthe23TSAs.Acknowledging,butdismissingforthesakeofconjecture,

thepossibilitythatsupportmightbebeingprovidedbyprivateconsultants,Ball’s“private

actors”(Ball,2007),ordirectlybyaLAwithdwindlingresources,averyroughcalculation

wouldindicatethateachoftheregion’sTSAswouldneedtobesupportinganaverageof22of

theseschoolsmostinneedofimprovement,so66acrossthethreecasestudyTSAs.However,

thecollateddeploymentdatadetailsthat,oftheschoolsthatreceivedSLEsupportfromthe

threecasestudyTSAsduringthescopeofthestudy,onlyfourofthesehadbeengradedat4

(Inadequate)byOfstedduringthescopeofthestudy,withafurther20schoolssupportedwho

hadbeengradedat3(RequiresImprovement).Therefore,thethreecasestudyTSAscouldbe

saidtohavesupportedlessthanhalfoftheschoolsthat,onaverage,wemighthaveexpected

themtotarget;yet,onaverage,theirSLEswerebrokeredforonly29%ofthedeploymentdays

thatthepolicyintended

AsTable4.1illustrates,theTSA1,whichhastwoNLEs,supportedschoolsmostinneed

for67%ofthedaysinwhichtheydeployedSLEs.WhileTSA2wasmoreactiveinthe

deploymentofitsSLEsthanTSA3,thetwoTSAssupportedthesamenumberofschoolmostin

need,namelythreeeach.

4.2.3Organisation,LocalPoliticsandFunding

ThedatainTable4.3,below,clearlyillustratesthathubTSsofdifferingstatusinteractwith

otherlocalschoolsindifferingways,intermsofsupportoffered.Firstly,thedatasuggests

thatTSA2andTSA3haveendeavouredtoorganiseSLEdeploymentsthatareinkeepingwith

theintendednatureoftheSLEroleasoutlinedinChapter2:withineachorganisation,97%of

SLEdeploymentdaysweretocarryoutschool-to-schoolsupportwithmiddleleaders.

67

Table4.3SummaryAnalysisofDeploymentData:Meso-level2

TSA1 TSA2 TSA3%ofdeploymentdaysbyschooltype:AcademyLAMaintainedOfwhich,LAMaintainedChurchSchools

52.7 0 047.4 100 10023.7 3.5 0

%ofdeploymentdaystoclient:AlliancememberNon-member

47.9 65.8 052.1 34.2 100

WeightedaveragedistanceofclientschoolfromTSperday’sdeployment(miles)

11.9 1.6 13.4

Weightedaveragedistanceofclientschoolfrombrokerperday’sdeployment(miles)

13.8 1.6 12.6

%SLEdep.daysbyhomeschoolbytype:AcademyLA

37.1 6.2 10062.9 97.8 0

%SLEdep.daysbyhomeschool:AlliancememberAlliancenon-member

73.2 82.2 89.76.8 17.8 10.3

Ontheotherhand,11%ofSLEdeploymentsdaysinTSA1wereforthedeliveryofCPDor

conferencepresentations.TSA1diddeploySLEsforthegreatestpercentageofavailabledays,

comparedtotheotherTSAsinthestudy,soactualschool-to-schoolsupportworktookplaceat

arateonlyslightlybelowthatofTSA2;interviewdatawilldetailthattheintentionofBroker

1.1todeploySLEsinCPDworkwasanattempttoestablishandmarketthe‘brand’ofSLEsin

thelocaleducationalcommunityand,thereby,increasethefrequencyofdeploymentin

School-to-SchoolSupport.

Intermsoflocalpolitics,andthe‘balkanisation’ofeducationalterritoryasexploredin

Chapter2,thedatasuggeststhatallegiancesvarygreatly:TSA1,whosehubTSisanAcademy,

hasfairlyequalproportionofdeploymentstobothAcademiesandLAschools;TSA2,whose

hubTSisaLAschool,hasnodeploymentstoAcademies,eventhoughtherewereanumberof

AcademiesinLeicester.AsaseniormemberoftheSchoolCommissioner’sofficerevealed

duringinSeptember2014,60%ofsecondaryand17%ofprimaryschoolswereacademiesat

thatpoint.AsreferencedinChapter5,interviewdatarevealedthatTSA2receivesdirect

fundingfromitsLAtosupporttheworkofSLEs,whichmayaccountforthebiastowardsLA

schoolssinceanyfinancialbarrierisremovedforLAclientschools.Interviewdatawill

demonstratethatTSA3’srelationshipwithitslocalLAisveryfraught;ithas,initssmallnumber

ofdeployments,onlyworkedwithtwoLAschools.However,oneofthesetwoprojectswas

withanotherLAatsomedistancefromtheTS.Thegeographicalfactorsofdeploymentwillbe

discussedinmoredetaillaterinthischapter.

68

AsevidencedinTable4.3above,TSA1,meanwhile,hascarriedoutanotable

proportionofitsworkwithclientschoolswhoarebothprimaryschoolsandalsoChurchof

Englandvoluntaryaided/foundationschoolswhicharemembersofthelocaldiocese.That

Broker1.1isHeadteacherofCofEsecondaryschoolsuggestsanaturalbiastosupportChurch

schoolsduethecontextandnetworkswithinwhichthisleaderoperates.7

4.2.4AllianceMembershipandCollaborationwithOthers

AreviewofkeyfeaturesoftheAlliancemembershipofeachcasestudyTSArevealthe

relationshipbetweenthecharacteristicsoftheschoolswhobelongtoeachAllianceandthe

characteristicsoftheschoolswhoreceiveSLEsupportfromtheTSA.TSA3hadbrokeredavery

smallnumberofdeploymentswithinthescopeoftheproject;however,itisworthnotingthat

thesedeploymentsaretonon-memberschoolswhoareinsignificantneedofimprovement,

which,coupledwiththeinterviewfindingsofthenextchapter,suggestthatBroker3

representsaveryoutward-lookingteamof“alliancearchitects”(D.Hargreaves,2012b,p.5).

TSA1,meanwhile,brokeredapproximatelyequalnumberofdays’deploymenttoAlliance

memberandnon-memberclientschools.Interestingly,TSA1hasrecruitedSLEsalmost

exclusivelyfromitsAlliancemembers,yetthedatarevealsdiversityinclientschool

characteristicsand,byextension,greaterdiversitythantheclientschoolsofTSA2.

ItwasnotedabovethatTSA2hasdeployedSLEsexclusivelytoLAschools;the

organisationalcontextdata,collatedinAppendix2,detailsthatonly18%ofAlliancemember

schoolsareAcademies.Similarly,17%ofSLEsdesignatedbyTSA2areemployedbya‘home’

schoolthatisanAcademy.Itisinterestingtonote,therefore,thatTSA2hasthehighest

percentageofdeploymentdaystoitsownAlliancememberschools,at66%.Whilethiscould

beaconsequenceoftheLAfundingofSLEdeployment,theAlliancedoesmarketitsSLEstoall

schoolsintheareathroughtheLA’ssupportdirectory.Itmightsuggest,therefore,that,in

additiontotheAcademieswhomaynotbedrawingonthesupportofTSA2,therearea

numberofnon-memberLAschoolsthatarelikewisenotdrawingonitssupport.Thepossible

contributionofthegeographicalrangeofeachTSA’soutreachnetwork,asafactorimpacting

onSLEdeployment,willbediscussedlaterinthechapter.

7FurtherreasonsforthisemphasisaredetailedinthefindingsfromtheinterviewwithBroker1.1inthenextchapter.

69

4.2.5PhaseofClientSchools

Oneofthemostoverwhelmingtrendssuggestedbythedata,contrarytothefindings

ofQingGusharedinChapter2(Guetal.,2014),isthatschoolsintheprimaryphasebrokered

thesupportofSLEsmorefrequentlythansecondaryschools.AllofTSA3’sdeploymentswere

toprimaryclients;however,thismightbearesultoftheTSAbeingledbyaTSintheprimary

phase,andtheAlliancebeingprimary-focusedintermsofitsmembership8.Movingonto

considerTSA1andTSA2,though,eachofwhichhaveasecondaryschoolasthehubTS,the

predominanceofprimaryclientsisevident.TSA1hasapproximatelyequalnumberofprimary

andsecondarySLEs,yet79%ofdeploymentdaysweretoprimaryclients;TSA2has16

secondarySLEscomparedtosixintheprimaryphase,yetstill57%ofdeploymentsdayswere

totheprimarysector.BothTSA1andTSA2deployedsecondarySLEstosupportprimary

clients,buttherewasnoevidenceofcross-phasebrokerageoccurringtotheconverse.The

brokers’reflectionsonthecausesforthistrendaredetailedinthenextchapter.

4.2.6GeographicalFactors

ThroughanalysisofthegeographicalspreadofeachTSAitself,aswellasthedistanceofclient

schoolsfromtheTS,anunderstandingcanbegainedofthewaysinwhichthecohesionofan

AlliancemightimpactuponthefrequencyofSLEbrokering.Furthermore,analysisofthe

distanceofaSLE’shomeschoolfromthebroker9,whoisattheheartofbrokering

deploymentstoclientschools,offersusefulinsights.

Inbroadterms,thegraphforeachTSAinFigures4.1.1-4.1.3demonstratethatSLEs

whosehomeschoolislocatedclosertotheirbroker’sschoolaredeployedmorefrequently,

andthatverylittleornodeploymenttakesplacewhereanSLEislocatedinexcessof40miles

awayfromthebroker.Figure4.1.1showsthatTSA1hasaspikeofdeploymentactivityfor

SLEslocatedat30-40milesdistancefromBroker1.1;however,mycollateddeploymentdata

demonstrates3oftheseSLEsarebasedatahomeschoolwhichhasitsown‘lonewolf’NLE,

who,accordingtoBroker1.1duringinterview,isbrokeringworkfortheseSLEsinadditionto

therequestsfor,ortargetingof,supportwhicharebrokeredviatheTSA1’shubschoolNLEor

Broker1.1herself.

8SeeAppendix2.59Fromthecollecteddeploymentdata,Iinitiallyextractedtwosetsofscattergraphs,oneplottingthedeploymentactivityrelativetodistancefromthehubTS,onerelativetodistancefrombroker,wherethisisdifferent(TSA1and3).Sincebothsetsofdatasuggestedverysimilarfindings,IhaveincludedonlythegraphspertainingtodistancefromBrokertoaidconcision,asIbelievetheperceptionoftheBrokeriskeywhenSLEsarebeingidentifiedforS2SS.

70

Amorevisualunderstandingoftherangeofnetworkactivity,andthegeographical

relationshipbetweentheTS,Broker,SLEhomeschoolsandclientschoolscanbegainedfroma

reviewofFigures4.2.1to4.2.3.Thesescale-comparableoverviewsclearlydisplaythatthe

activityofTSA2isconfinedwellwithinthe20-mileradiusfromBroker2’sschool;thereisone

outlyingdeployment,of4+days,butallothersaretightlycentredrounditsurbanbase.This

raisesthequestionofwhetherotherTSAsaresupportingthoseschoolsthatarebeyondthe

cityboundaries,orwhetherTSA2is,consciouslyorunconsciously,operatingwithinthe

historicalbarrieroftheLA’sboundaries.

71

Figure4.1.1to4.1.3-Totaldays’deploymentperSLE,bydistancefromBroker(inmiles)

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

TotalD

aysD

eployed

DistanceSLEHomeSchoolfromBroker

TSA1

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

TotalD

aysD

eployed


TSA2

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

25.0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Totaldaysd

eployed


TSA3

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Table4.4-KeytoFigures4.2.1to4.5.2,NetworkMapsofSLEDeploymentActivity

TeachingSchool

Broker’sSchool

SLEHomeSchool

ClientSchool

20mileradiusfromBroker’sSchool

50mileradiusfromBroker’sSchool

JourneybySLEtoPrimaryClientSchool

DeploymentofLessthan1Day

JourneybySLEtoSecondaryClientSchool

Deploymentof1to1.5Days

Tracesofthefadedmaplayershow:yellowcirclesfortownsandvillages;bluerectanglesformotorways.

Deploymentof2-3Days

Deploymentof4+Days

TSA1andTSA3eachhaveactivityreachinginexcessof20miles.AlthoughTSA3’sdeployments

are,asaforementioned,morelimitedinnumber,theyaremoreambitiousintermsofscope.

AswellasnotingalongerjourneybyanSLEwhosehomeschoolisat/closetothecentre,the

close-upinFigure4.5.1detailsthatoneofthelengthierdeploymentsSLEtravellingintocentre

fromamoreoutlyinghomeschool.ItwouldseemthatTSA3’slocation,inasemi-urbanrather

thanthecity-centrelocationofTSA2,promptsagreaterinclinationtotraveltosupportother

schools.TSA1’smapsshowittohavetowidestgeographicaloutreach,withonejourney

extendinginexcessofthe50-mileradiusboundary.However,itslongestjourneysare

associatedwithdeploymentsofshorterduration,suggestingthatlongertraveltimesare,or

areperceivedtobe,abarriertofrequentbrokeringinthisAlliance.10AreviewofFigures4.3.1-

4.3.3showsthatSLEsfromthehomeschooltotheSWoftheBroker1.1’sschool,whichhasits

ownSLEasdiscussedearlier,makeregularjourneys,andsomeforlongerdeployments,to

clientswhoarebothcentredaroundtheBroker’sschoolandaroundthehubTS,aswelltoa

clienttotheNE.ThisprovidesfurtherevidencethatanAlliancewithmultipleNLEscanbean

effectivebasisforcollaborativeoutreach.

10ThistopicwillbeexploredfurtherinChapter5.

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Figures4.2.1to4.2.3,OverviewofNetworkMapsofSLEDeploymentActivity(1:800000)

74

Figures4.3.1to4.3.3-DetailedviewsofDeploymentActivityforTSA1

75

Figures4.4.1and4.4.2-DetailedviewsofDeploymentActivityforTSA2

76

Figures4.5.1and4.5.2-DetailedviewsofDeploymentActivityforTSA3

77

4.3 FindingsfromDeploymentData:Micro-level

Theinterviewdatawillprovearichersourceforidentifyinghowindividualcharacteristics

withinschoolscanimpactuponthebrokeringofSLEs.However,certainfactorscanbe

identifiedthroughfurtheranalysisofthedeploymentdata,inadditiontothegeographical

locationofindividualswithinAlliances,asexploredabove.

4.3.1 PhaseandSpecialismofSLE

Thepredominanceofdeploymentstoprimaryclientswasdiscussedearlierinthechapterand

canbeviewedinthedarkrednetworksofFigures4.4to4.5above.AnalysisofSchool-to-

SchoolSupportbyspecialismcanilluminatethedegreetowhichthespecialism(s)offeredby

anSLEcanimpactontheirlikelihoodofbeingbrokeredfordeployment.Ifweconsiderthat

‘PrimaryAssessment’incorporatestheappropriateassessment,moderationandmonitoringof

thoseaspectsoftheprimarycurriculumwhicharenationallyreported,thenwecaninferthat

anSLEprovidingsupportinPrimaryAssessmentisprovidingsupportinEnglishand/or

Mathematics.ThoseSLEsinTSA1andTSA3whooffersupportinprimaryEnglish,Mathematics

orAssessment,therefore,weredeployedfor58%and90%,respectively,ofthetotaldays

available.WithinTSA2,SLEdeploymentstoprimaryschoolshadadifferentfocus,withovera

thirdofclientsrequestingsupportinEarlyYearsprovision,whichwouldincludethecurrent

preoccupationwiththeteachingofphonics,orwiththedeliveryofMFL.Withregardtothe

latter,itcouldbearguedthatoneofthefactorsresultinginaprimaryleadermorereadily

acceptingthesupportofasecondarySLEisthattheprimarypractitionerdoesnotconsider

themselvestobeexpertsinafieldsuchasMFL,soperceptionsofstigmafromaskingfor‘help’

areminimaland,byextension,barrierstochangearediminished(Kotter,1996).Conversely,

itisperhapssurprisingtoseethatSLEsspecialisinginEnglishandMathematicsinthe

Secondarysectorarenotbeingdeployedasfrequently,ifatall,despitethepressureon

accountabilityforthisphasewhichwasoutlinedinChapter2.11Thedatacannotreveal

whetherthebarrierstobrokerageareonthepartofaschool’sHeadteacheroritsmiddle

leaders–or,indeed,toentirelyseparatefactors–butthisphenomenonwillbediscussed

furtherintheinterviewfindings.

Onefurtherevaluationofsomeinterest,atthemicro-level,isthefrequencyofSLEdeploymentbygender,asdetailedinTable4.5.WiththeexceptionofTSA3,therewere

11ThecombinedbrokerageforSecondaryMathematicsandEnglishwithineachTSAare:17%TSA1;12%TSA2,althoughthisisallforMathsasnoneforEnglish;0%fortheprimary-centeredTSA3.

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significantlymoremalesthanfemalesdesignatedatthetimeofthestudyand,moreover,thefemaleSLEswerebrokeredforsignificantlymoreofthedeploymentdays.

Figures4.6.1to4.6.3-PercentageofTotalDays’DeploymentbySpecialism

POST160%

PRIMARYLITERACY

26%

PRIMARYASSESSMENT

32%

PRIMARYLEADERSHIP

7%

PRIMARYMATHS0%

SECBEHAVIOUR

0%

SECENGLISH3%

SECHUMANITIES

4%

SECMATHS2%

SECMATHS14%

SECMFL6%

SECSCIENCE6%

TSA1

PRIMARYMATHS0%

SECHUMS13%

SECTECH1%

SECSEN1%

SECSCIENCE18%

SECPE5%

SECMFLTOPRIMARIES

28%

SECMATHS12%

SECITT0%

SECENGLISH0%

SECBUSINESSMANAGER

8%

PRIMARYT&L6%

PRIMARYEARLYYEARS

8%

TSA2

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Onasimplelevel,thiscouldbesaidtocorrelatewiththehigherlevelsofdeploymentof

primarySLEs,whoarepredominantlyfemale;however,itmightbearguedthatthepersonal

drivetoengageinsystemleadershipisacontributingfactortothefrequencyofdeploymentin

thisphase,ofwhichgendercouldbekeyelement,asopposedtotheopennessofprimary

leaderstoengageandclientsandbeopentochange.

Table4.5-SummaryofAnalysisofDeploymentData:Gender

WhileithasalreadybeenacknowledgedthatthelimitedvolumeofdeploymentdataforTSA3

isproblematicintermsofstatisticalcomparisonstotheotherTSAs,itisinterestingtonote

that,inrespectofgender,thedeploymenttrendisreversed.Astheinterviewdatareveals,

thisisdueBroker3brokeringhimselftocarryoutmostofthedeploymentsduetohis

perceptionofhisgreatercapacity,inanon-teachingrole.Thereisfurtherdiscussionoftime

andcapacityatthemeso-andmicro-levelsinthenextchapter.

PRIMARYMATHS66%

PRIMARYASSESSMENT

24%

PRIMARYBEHAVIOUR

0%

PRIMARYEARLYYEARS0%

PRIMARYLEADERSHIP

10%

PRIMARYLITERACY

0%

PRIMARYMFL0%

PRIMARYMUSIC0%

PRIMARYT&L0%

TSA3

TSA1 TSA2 TSA3%ofSLEsdesignatedbyTSbygender:malefemale

31.0 13.0 12.069.0 87.0 78.0

%SLEdeploymentdaysbygender:malefemale

17.0 6.0 65.583.0 94.0 34.5

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4.3.2SystemLeadershipCharacteristics

Anotherpossiblefactortoimpactonthefrequencyofdeployment,recentlyalludedto,isthe

driveofindividualleaderswhoareengagedinthesystemleadershipofSchool-to-School

Support.Analysisofthedeploymentdatahasdemonstratedthat,inthosecircumstances

wherethedeploymentofSLEsismostfrequent,thereisstrongevidenceofMatthewsand

Berwick’ssystemleadershipcharacteristics(Matthews&Berwick,2013)discussedinChapter

2;mostnotably,theseincludethemotivationofaBrokertoarrangecollaborativesupport,

suchasthedriveofBroker1.1tobrokersupporttoChurchofEnglandschool,orthesenseof

moralpurposesuggestedbythecomparativebusynessofprimarySLEs.

4.4Summary

Inshort,theanalysisofthedeploymentdatahasprovidedaclearanswertomyfirstresearch

question:duringthescopeofthestudy,SLEswerebeingdeployedforonlyafractionofthe

capacitywhichpolicyintended.Furtherdiscussionofthedatahasprovidedsomeinsightsinto

thefactorswhichmayhaveaffectedthis,largelyatthemeso-level;itcouldbearguedthatthe

diversity,whichthepolicyintendedtofacilityanorganicgrowthofthesysteminorderto

matchlocalneed,isinitselfpreventingaclearidentificationofthatlocalneed.Frequencyof

supportforsecondaryschoolsinneedofimprovementisoverwhelminglylow.Analysisofthe

interviewdata,inthenextchapter,willpresentanopportunitytobothtriangulatewithandto

expanduponmyfindingsthusfar.

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Chapter5 FindingsfromInterviewData

HavingidentifiedlowerthananticipatedlevelsofdeploymentinresponsetoResearch

Question1,analysisoftheinterviewdatainthischapterwillprovidefruitfulinsightsintothe

twootherkeyelementsofthisstudy:

Thefindingsfromallstagesoftheinterviews,withbrokersandSLEswithineachAlliance,and

theeliteinterviewswithmembersoftheDfEandtheTSC,aresynthesisedandpresented

accordingtothemacro-,meso-andmicro-levelfactorstheyconvey.

HavingoutlinedthenatureoftherolesandresponsibilitiesofeachTSA’sbroker(s)in

Chapter4.1,above,acontextualportraitofeachoftheSLEswhoparticipatedintheinterviews

isincludedinAppendix2.7toinformperceptionsoftheinterviewfindings.Inaddition,the

roleofeachintervieweewithintheorganisationoftheirrespectiveTSAisoutlinedin

Appendices2.1-2.3.WhilethecontextanddeploymentactivityofeachcasestudyTSAvaries

widely,asdiscussedinChapter4,theinterviewdatarevealsahighlevelofcorroborationwith

regardtothefactorswhicharedeterminingthefrequencyofdeploymentand,byextension,

thebarrierswhichareinhibitingfullandefficientimplementationofthepolicyforSCHOOL-TO-

SCHOOLSUPPORTlaunchedintheWhitePaper(DepartmentforEducation,2010).

5.1FindingsfromInterviewData:Macro-level

Onreviewingtheinterviews,themajorityofparticipantsfeltstronglythatthelackofaclear

“blueprint”fromthepolicy-makers,theDfEandtheNationalCollege,forsettinguptheTSAat

meso-level,impacteddirectlyandadverselyonthebrokeringofSLEs.Thiswasexpressedby

theregionalleaderoftheTeachingSchoolsCouncil(TSC),brokersfromalloftheTS,and

severaloftheSLEsthemselves.Broker1.1feltthat,unlikethepredecessorsofTS,London

ChallengeandManchesterChallenge,therewasalackofmoneytoappropriatelybuildupthe

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“centralinfrastructure”,andthatthenationalexpansionoftheprogrammewasbeingdone

“onthecheap”.Broker1.1expressedherconcernsthatthevisionofaself-improvingschool

systemintheWhitePaper(DfE,2010)“is…justhappeninginanon-strategicway.”Moreover,

withthescaleand“complexity”ofallthestrands,shefeelsitis“unhelpful”totryanddeliver

onallofthe“Big6”atonce.Inasimilarvein,Broker3reflectedthattheformationofnewTSA

networksisbasedon“whoyouknow”andseems“haphazard”.SLE1.1statesthathis

evaluationofthesituationismore“stoical”as:“…greatideasarealwaysfollowedbyaperiod

ofupsanddowns…it’sjustashamethingsweren’tsortedoutenoughoriginally…asan

embryonicposition.”Broker2commentedonthedifficultiespresentedbythe“oddand

complex”processfordesignatingSLEsviatheNC,andalsothe“moneywasted”onwhatshe

deemedtobeaverycomplicatedandinefficientNConlinecommunity,intendedtosupport

leaderinTSAs,whichwaswithdrawnandreplacedandfurthercost.

Broker1.1stillfeltthat,whileimproved,thecomplexityinthevarietyofthewaysin

whichtheworkflowofdeploymentscanbecommissionedbythoseoperatingatthemacro-

level-theNationalCollege,theDfE’sMinisterofStateforSchoolsand/orOfsted-stillbrought

confusiontothemeso-level.Broker1.1wasgettingNLEdeployments,forwhichshewould

typicallybrokeroneormoreSLEs,directly,notviatheTSA;theNLEatthehubTSofTSA1was

alsogettingdirectdeploymentsandbrokeringsupportfromSLEs.

Whendiscussingtheroleofthenewly-formedRegionalSchoolsCommissioners,a

seniormemberofFrankGreen’sofficesharedthathe:

willbemanaging…therightlevelofconsistency,becausewe’renotlookingfora

consistentapproach.Thewholepurposeisthattherewilldifferentcertainregional

variations.

Whiletheremitofthisofficeonlyincludesacademiesandfreeschools,andnotTSAsdirectly,

thepoliticalmomentumfordecentralisationatamacro-levelisevident.FrankGreen,Schools

Commissioner,reflectedontheimpactoftheScottishIndependencedebateintheHouseof

Lordsthepreviousweek:

Thedebateaboutregionalisationanddecentralisationhasreallyhottedupandgone

tothetopofthepoliticalagenda….I’mabsolutelydelightedaboutthat,becausethe

regionalisationofeducationisareally,reallyimportantdriver…Oneofthereasons

we’vegonedownthispath,thepathwaytoacademiesandnowtheself-managing

system…isbecauseofthelong-termfailureoflargepartsofthelocalauthorityto

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improvemanyoftheirschools….Themajorityofthefirst200academieswereschools

whohadhadfailurefor…atleasttwogenerationsofchildren.

However,asechoedbySLE1.1,heconcedes:“Idon’tthinkthere’senoughunderstandingin

mostTeachingSchoolAlliancesoftheirroleinthenewsystembecausewhentheyaskedto

becomeTeachingSchools,…thesystemhadnotbeencreatedinasense.”

BeingattheforefrontofsystemicchangebroughtmanyfrustrationstoBroker1.1in

theearlydaysoftheNLErole.SheandotherNLEsexpressedtotheFellowshipCommission

meetings,withtheDfE,theneedforaninfrastructure“toenableyoutobedeployedinto

schoolsthroughalocalauthority,withcleartermsofreference,andwithclearcriteriaand

somesortofoverviewofwhatishappening.”Furtherreflectionsontherelationshipswith

LAs,atthemeso-level,willbedistilledlaterinthischapter.

ItiscleartotheTSCrepresentativethatthelackof“intelligence”and“guidance”ata

macro-levelimpacteduponhismanagement,asanNLE,ofanewly-establishedTSandonthe

deploymentofSLEs.Withhindsight,thismeantthatSLEswererecruitedwhodidnot,asit

transpired,matchlocalneed,buthenowfeelsthattheyaregettingbetteratmatching

recruitmentto“theneedsoftheschoolsthatweserve.”HefeltstronglythattheGovernment

wantedtodevolveresponsibilityforthe“Big6”areasofschoolimprovement,“butwe’renot

goingtotellyouhowtodoit.”However,hewaskeento“usethissystem”togetthe“lookout”

heneeded,aswellasbelievingonlyexistingteacherscouldcrediblygivethesupportthat

othersneeded,atthemeso-leveloftheSISS.ThispioneeringperspectiveissharedbyBroker2:

WhenwefirstappliedtobeaTeachingSchool[laughs]Idon’tthinkanyofusreally

knewwhatitwasgoingtolooklike…itwasaleapoffaith…But…ifyougetinearly

enough,youcanmakesureit’sreallygoodbecauseit’snotdevelopeduntilyou’vehad

asayinit.

Broker2remainedunclear,however,astohowthoseatthemacro-levelwouldholdTSsto

accountwithregardstoschool-to-schoolsupport:ifthefocuswillbeoneffectiveness,“in

whichcasewe’llbeabletomaintainourpuristview”,oriftheywill“lookatthenumber”of

deployments.“Andiftheylookatthenumberwewill,likeeverybodyelse,beforcedtodilute

thewaythatweusethem.”FurtherviewsonthenatureoftheroleofSLEswillbeexploredin

duecourse.

Thetensionbetweenfinancialaccountability,atmeso-level,andthedrivetoserve

others,atmicro-level,willcolourmanyoftheensuingfactorsthatparticipantsbelieveaffect

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thebrokeringofSLEs.FrankGreenremainedconfidentthatthesystemcouldfindawayto

evolve:

I’mquiteconvincedthere’senoughmoneyinthesystem…I’mnotsurewe’reusingit

asefficientlyaswecould….Theamountofmoneyineducationtodayis40%more,in

realterms,morethanintheyear2000.AndIdothinkthere’senoughwillinthe

systematthemoment,there’senoughenthusiasm.

5.2FindingsfromInterviewData:Meso-level


Allofthebrokersinterviewedattributedtheaforementionedlackofaclear“blueprint”to

supportorganisationalprocessesandprioritiesforearlywavesofTSAstoalackofstrategic

efficiencyontheirownpart.Broker2summarised:“Idon’tthinktherehasbeenthatlevelof

joined-up-ness:NLE;LLE;SLE…”AkintoBroker1.1previously,shethenreferredto

predecessorsoftheTeachingSchoolmodel,statingthatbecausetheNC’sexemplarschoolfor

SLEdeploymentswasapartofGreaterManchesterChallengeitmeantthey’vehad“moretime

togetitright”.Broker1.1feltthatcommunicationbetweentheNCandNLEs/TSAshadbeen

veryfractured,becausepolicywasevolvingrapidly:“Andthen,gradually,theystartcatching

upwithwhat’shappeningontheground.”

Intermsoftherealityofwhatwas‘happeningontheground’,theactualalliance

make-upwasinastateoffluxinallthreeTSAsstudied.AsBroker2shared:“We’vegotendless

diagramswhichchange,almostdaily,”andadded,“It’sbeenalearningcurveforus,togetinto

theadminmind-set.”Ofparticularrelevance,eachTSAwasrequiredtodevelopsystemsfor

monitoringSLEdeployments.“…Asschools,we’veneverusedthosesystems,ritualistically.”

Eachschoolhavingtoexpanditsownadministrationteam,anddevelopitsownadministrative

systems,which,asmycollationofSLEdeploymentdatademonstrated,allvariedandthus

variedintherobustnessofdataheld.

Broker2,alsotheTeachingSchoolDirectoratTSA2,reflectedthatthereweremany

“overlays”inthesystematmeso-level,andtheirLocalAuthority’sEducationImprovement

Partnership(EIP),whichhadbeenoperatingsuccessfullyforaroundeightyears,couldhave

beenthe“mechanism”fordeliveringtheschoolimprovementagendaoftheTeachingSchools

initiative.TSA2wasthemostintricateofsystemsintermsofthemodelforalliance

membership;onlythemostsuccessfulschools,intermsofOfstedgradingandpeerreviews,

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arepermittedtojointhelayerofstrategicmembership,withthoseschoolswhoaredrawing

onthesupportelectingtojoinalayerofmembership,eithersubscription-basedor“payasyou

go”,dependingontheircircumstances.Addingtothe“overlays”,allofTSA2’sstrategic

membersarealsomembersofthenationalnetworkofChallengePartners.Whetherbecause

ofthe“overlays”,ordespitethem,andbecauseoftheeffervescent,micro-leveldriveofBroker

2,SLE2.2feelsthatTSA2’sorganisationandday-to-daymanagementhasbeen“fantastic;the

problemhasbeengettingotherschoolstoengage.”

FrankGreen,SchoolsCommissioner,firmlystatedthatdifferentalliancestrategic

memberschoolsshouldsharetheresponsibilitiesofthe‘Big6’,ratherthanthehubschool

attemptingtoleadonallsix.ForTSA1,however,delegatingtheSLEbrokeringtoanalliance

memberschoolcausedfragmentedcommunication,askeydecisionsweresometimesmadeat

meetingswhenBroker1.1wasnotpresent,soshelaterfeltshewas“notinonthewayyousee

thisdeveloping”andthatshemissedoutonthemoreinformal,continualcommunicationthat

tookplaceatthehubTS“becausethey’reallthere,buttheyneedtocommunicatetoother

peoplewhat’shappening…Andthenthere’sthishugelag…I’mnotapportioninganyblame,

here,butIthinkthestructure’soverlycomplex…althoughdonewiththebestpossible

intentions”toinvolvestrategicmemberschoolssothey“buyin”.Brokers1.1and1.2both

acknowledgedtheimpactthatstaffrelocationorchangeofroleresultedincomplicationsto

thestructuresand,byextension,theefficiencyofcommunicationacrossthealliance.Both

alsofeltthatsuchchanges,includingalliancememberswhohadbeendesignatedasTSsin

theirownrightandsowereabouttoleavetheAlliance,influencedwhetherSLEshadthe

capacitytobedrawnuponfordeployments,withtheSLE’sHeadteacherscommunicatinga

lackofcapacitytoTSA1’sNLEs.

ContinuingthereviewofdistributedleadershipatTSA1,Broker1.3recognisedthe

challengetoBroker1.1of“tryingtobalanceheadship”withthebrokeringrole,andrecognised

thattheco-ordinationofschool-to-schoolsupporthadgrowntobecome“ajobinitsown

right”.AlsoBroker1.1sharedthatherschooldidnotfullyhavethecapacitytomanagethe

administrativetasks,astherewasnofundingforhertoincreaseadministrationhours;she

hopedthatthereorganisationofbrokering,tobemanagedbythehubTeachingSchool,would

improvecommunicationandthereforebrokeringsystems.Brokers1.2and1.3feelthat

“fragmentation”inrecordkeepingandSLEdeploymentprocedureshasmadeitachallengeto

demonstrateimpact,whichinturninhibitseffectivemarketing.SLE1.1’sviewdrawstogether

severalkeyfactorswhichwerefelttoimpactonthefrequencyofSLEbrokering:

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Asisthecasewithanideathat’smayberevolutionary…Ididn’tfeeltherewasagreat

dealofforethoughtgiventoexactlyhowthebrokeragewouldtakeplace….The

administrativedetail…butalsothephysicaldetailbehindit.Itwasalmost:“Let’sshove

awholeloadofcashandawholeloadofideasintothepot,”butno-onehadactually

doneagreatdealofplanningtomakesureitwasparticularlysuccessfulatthe

beginning.TheoriginalTeachingSchoolswereverymuchlefttotheirowndevicesto

makethingsupastheywentalong.

SLE1.1doesnotblameTSA1fortheperceivedinefficiencies,insteadsharingthatherecognised

the“guilty”reactionsofNCrepresentativesatthefirstSLECoreTraining“ofnothavingputa

structureinplacetosupporttheTeachingSchools.”

RestructuringinaconversemannertoTSA1,TSA3movedthebrokeringoftheSLEsto

astrategicpartnerschoolpriortotheexpansionoftheirSLEteam,withBroker3jovially

commenting:“Maybeitwasapoliticalmovetodrawusin.”Theorganisationaldecisionalso

madestrategicsenseintermsoftheBroker3’scapacity,asanon-teachingAssistant

Headteacher.Thatsaid,TSA3wereabouttoappointafulltimeOperationsManagerto

commenceSeptember2014,toallowBroker3tofocusonbrokeringandsupportingschools

“ratherthantheamountofadminwe’vehadtodo.”ThekeyleadersoftheTSA3wouldsoon

bebasedin“anofficespace”,centraltotheirregion,ratherthaninoneoftheschools.Frank

Green’sviewisthat,whilesomelocalauthorities“stillprovideexcellentself-improvement

services”andtheservicesofseparatecompanies,suchasCfBTandCambridgeEducation,can

bepurchased,“Ithinkthatthecore,thebackboneofit,hasgottobe,inthefuture,Teaching

SchoolAlliances.”Now600TeachingSchoolsand452Alliances,theNC’sTeachingSchool

AdvisersneedtoliaisewiththeTeachingSchoolCouncilwhichhas“greatpeople”onit,“with

perception,visionand…systemleadershipskills.”ThecollaborationbetweenTSsandtheir

respectiveLA’s,however,wasamootpointformostofthebrokerswhowereinterviewed.

Broker1.1shared:“IntheearlydaysofNLEitwasverydependentonyourlocalauthority…

therewasnot,asfarasIwasconcerned,properbrokerageofNLEs.”Thiswasdeemedtobe

becausetherewasnotthelevelofcollaborative“buyin”betweentheLAandtheNCasthere

hadbeen,forexample,inafriend’sexperienceinTowerHamlets,forLondonChallenge.

MirroringFrankGreen’sview,shefeltittookastrongRegionalAdviserfromtheNCwho“took

over…andworkedwiththelocalauthority.”

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TheTSCrepresentativefeelsthereisstillajourneytocollaborationwithhisLA,causedbythe

TeachingSchoolsbeing“given”theschoolimprovementresponsibilitiesthathadpreviously

beentheroleoftheLA.

So,atfirst,Iwouldsaythatwasalotofpeopletryingtheirbesttocatchusoutreally,

ortryingtomakeithardforus,ratherthanactuallyembracingthefutureandseeing

howitcouldwork.Er,thatisonlyapersonalfeelingthatIhave–otherauthorities

werebrilliant–butpersonallywefoundit,initially,verymuchabattle…Cos,ifyou

thinkaboutit,you’vegotaself-improvingschoolsystemthat,inessence,willwork

brilliantly,thatthey’realllookingoutforeachother…whatyouaretherefore

suggesting,ifthatworks,thatyoudon’tneedthemiddletier,soyoudon’tneed…any-

anyschoolimprovementfrom[theLA],sothepeoplewhoyouareasking,tobe

sharingwithyouthefuturedirectionofschools,it’sliketurkeysvotingforChristmas,

isn’tit?Sothatistheelephantintheroom.

Healsoemphasisedtheneedforallpartiesto“playthegame”andmovethingsforwardfor

children.However,hereiteratedthatthelackofblueprintandtheconflictwiththeLAwere

thetwokeybarrierstoschool-to-schoolsupport:“you’vegotpeople,whethertheyknowthey

aredoingitornot,are…puttingthemselvesoutofajobiftheschool-ledsystemworks.”

Ultimately,theTSCrepresentativedistilledthisdilemmaas“CollaborationversusCompetition”

andquestionedtheextenttowhichsystemleadersare“reallycollaboratingtomakean

extremelyschool-ledsystem,orareyoulettingyourownneeds,yourcompetitiveurge,getin

thewayofafair,school-ledsystem.”Furtherreflectionsoftheimpactofmicro-leveltensions

willbecoveredattheendofthechapter.

TSA2differsfromtheothercasestudyTSAs,andbelievestheirrelationshipisquite

unusual,inhavingitsLAasastrategicpartner.Broker2sharedthat,“…becauseXissucha

politicalcity…ifwedidn’ttakepeoplewithus,they’dbeagainstus.”However,shehashad

“quiteabattle”withsomeofthosepeopledueto“anideologicalresistance”,whereshefelt

theywere“exhausting”themselvesdebatingapotential,philosophicalissuewhichhadnot

actuallymanifesteditself.However,thecollaborationhashadadiscernibleimpactonthe

brokeringofSLEs.AllofTSA2’sSLEsfeatureintheLA’sschool-to-schoolsupportdirectory,

whichiscirculatedtoallLAschoolsandtoacademies,thusaidingthemarketingofSLEs.

SLE2.1becamefrustrated,however,athavinginvestedmucheffortintoaregionalHistory

conferencethatthen“brokedownduetolackofinterest”,perhapsdueto“lackof

advertisementandpromotion”bytheLA.Hefeelsthe“LAhasbeen…somethingofan

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albatrossaroundthenecksforsomeschoolsforsometime.”HefeelsthattheLApreviously

putalotofmoneyintodeployingASTs,likehimself,withoutnecessarilymeasuringimpact.He

sensesthattherearemixedmotivesintheLA’sintentionstocollaboratewiththeTS:

WhentheASTfundingwent,thepeoplewhowouldco-ordinatethatattheLAwere

stillinpost,buthadnobodytodeploy,andveryquicklylatchedontotheTeaching

SchoolasawayofpluggingthegapleftbytheASTs.

AnotherbarriertobrokeringraisedbySLE2.1wasthelackofclarityinthebrokeringrequested

fromtheLA,and“linesofcommunicationwereshut”byboththeschoolandtheLA,sothe

deploymentdidnottakeplace.Hecallsforforgreaterclarityandconsistencyinthebrokering

system,as“often…I[was]notsurewhosetuneIwasdancingto.”

AlthoughcommissionedbyaLAinanothercounty,Broker3feelsthatitis“verypolitical”inhis

ownLAandcounty.Hestatedthat“youneedtoclawthem[clientschools]awayfromtheLA”

butitwouldbe“averybravestep”forLAschoolstoallocatesomeoftheirbudgettoget

supportfromteachingschoolsduetothe“safetynet”ofhavingworkedalongsidetheLAfora

numberofyears.TSA3’saimisto“softlybuilduptheclientbase”ofmembersasthey“don’t

wanttoputpeopleoff”withtoostrongasteerfromtheTSA.Broker2believes,asdoallof

thebrokers,thatreputationisimportant,buthopedthatthe“securityblanket”ofknowingthe

TSAisaccountablefortheimpactoftheSLEswouldencouragetheirdeployment.

5.2.2AllianceMembership,TargetingSupportandCollaborationwithOthers

Aswellasthesecomplicationsregardingorganisationandlocalpolitics,acommonconcernfor

allofthebrokerswashowtotargettheSLEsupporttothoseschoolswhomostneededit,both

withinandwithouttheAlliance.Broker1.1felttheappointmentofaregionalleaderofthe

NC,afewyearspreviously,hadhadanimpactoncollaboratingwithherLAtohelptargetthe

commissioningofNLEandSLEsupport,butthatthemultiplicityoffundingstreamsmeantthat

themacro-to-mesosystemwasstillcomplexandinhibitedclearstrategyatameso-level.She

suggestedthatImprovementPartnersorsimilarneedtobeavailabletobrokersupportfrom

theTSA,tothoseoutsidetheAlliance,whichisintunewiththenotablycollaborativenatureof

TSA2’srelationshipwithitsLAandEIP.TheTSCrepresentativeraisedthecomplicationof:

apotentialdouble-fundingissue…ifyou’vegot,say,aschoolwho’sbeenidentifiedby

thelocalauthorityasneedingsupport,sothey’reputtingpeoplein,andtheteaching

school,you’veidentifiedaschoolthatneedssupport,andit’sthesameschool,so-so

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you’vegotyourSLEsgoinginandthensomeconsultantsfromthelocalauthority,so

it’stakenquiteabitofworkingouttogetitsortedstrategically.And,inturn,I’vegot

exampleswherewe’vedonethatbrilliantlywiththelocalauthority,butI’vealsogot

exampleswhereithadn’tworkedverywell.

Contrarytothecurrentpolicyofschoolsmanagingtheirownoutputofsupport,Broker3

raisedtheissueof“howpeoplecandistributeorapportionthatfairlysotherightschoolis

supportedandbytherightschool–It’sgottobecontrolled,somehow,fromupabove.”He

feltthatallschoolsknowingaboutthesupportthatisavailablefromSLEswouldbeavitalstep.

SeveralbrokershopedthattheformationofEastMidlandsTeachingSchoolAlliancewould

underpincollaborationbetweenTSAsintheregion.TheTSCrepresentativealsoemphasised

theneedforaco-ordinatedapproach:

…gettingtheTeachingSchoolstogetherandalmostpoolalltheSLEstogether,ifwe’re

beingverystrategic…everybody,insteadofthinkingforthemselves,…whoisthebest

grouptosupportthisschool.Anditmaybeme,itmaynotbeme.

Hisperceivedproblemwiththisapproachwasthat“itmayturnintoabunfight”with

competition,ratherthan“what’sbestfortheschool.SotheroleoftheTeachingSchool

Councilistobringsomestrategytotheprocess….Checksandbalances.”Oneofthebrokers

feltthattheTShadmadeanerrorofjudgementbyhavingaclientschool,inneedofsupport,

asastrategicmember:anSLEwastryingto“hammerdownthedoor”toprovidesupport,but

theschoolwasnotreceptivetothatsupport,perhapsnotrecognisingtheirownneed.The

brokerreflectedthat,“Ifwe’redoinganythingwithanybody,itshouldbewiththem,surely?...

Idon’tunderstanditatall.”

Meanwhile,TSA1originallyagreedthatSLEworkwouldonlybedoneforalliance

members,sotherewasnoimpetustomarketSLEstopotentialclientschoolsoutsideofthe

group,hencelimitingthefrequencyofdeployments.SLE1.2wasperplexedthathehadnot

receivedanydeploymentsdirectlyfromtheTS,perse;hehadbeendeployedthrough

Broker1.1’sindependentworkasanNLE,orthroughhisowncontacts,“eventhroughchurch.I

gettheimpressionthatthisisarelativelylighttouch,thatit’snotnecessarily…themost

importantthingonthemindofthesepeople[theTSA].”SLE1.2felt“moreused”asanAST

becauserequestsforSLEsupportare“justnotreallyhappening”;thisviewwassharedbyall

threeoftheSLEswhowerepreviouslyASTs.SLE3.2waspreviouslyanASTandreflectedthat

hewaspaidanenhancedsalary,and“thingsworkedmoresmoothly…whereasnowmoneyis

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thebigfactor”whichimpingesonthebrokeringofsupport.Also,SLE3.2representedthe

viewsofmanyoftheSLEsinthathewasnotcomingintocontactwithschoolsthatneed

support,sofeltitwasnotfeasibleforSLEstodotheirownbrokering,asuggestionofthe

revisedSystemLeadershipProspectus.

Theissueoffinanceisonethatwasvoicedbyallinterviewrespondentsinsomeway.

Broker3wasconcernedabouttheissueof“blurredlines”betweenacademiesandnon-

academiesand“wherethesupportiscomingfrom.”HequestionswhetherLAschools,who

maystillbebuyingintoLAsupport,canaffordtocometoteachingschoolsforsupport?”Due

totheaforementioned“political”situation,TSA3isnotbeingcommissionedbytheir

neighbouringLA,buthavecarriedoutanumberofsustainedNLEandSLEdeploymentsinfive

schoolsforaLAwhichiscentred45milesaway.Thebrokerdescribedthisasa“brilliant

project”whichwasbothenjoyableinitslongevityandprovideda“guaranteedincome.”

Broker.1feltthatthemovetoafinanciallystrategicwayofthinkingwasaprobleminplanning

theSLEdeploymentprocesses,andstressedtheimportanceofaTShavingabusinessmanager

whoclearlyseeshowthe“fundingmodelwouldwork”.Thepresenceof“conflicting

messages”atmeetingsforalliancemembers,withSLEsupportoriginallyfreetomembers,but

thebecomingchargeablefromSeptember2013,maynothaveaidedbrokering.Moreover,for

TSA1,themonitoringoffinancialtransactions,withpaymentpassingfromclientschool

directlytoSLE’shomeschool,madeitdifficulttoTSAtomonitor.

FrankGreenbelievesthatallTSAsneedtohave“agoodschoolimprovementbusiness

going”,whetherornotitchargesforthatbusiness.12ForBroker1.1,however,itcosts“quitea

lotofmoney”forsecondaryschoolstosubscribetoTSA1to“subsidise”it.Sheadds:“The

primaryschoolsaregettingthischeaply,actually,“cosalotofitwe’redoingfortheprimary

schools.”Differentfundingstreamsfordeploymentsfurthercomplicatethefinancialsystems.

Forexample,Broker1.1,asanindividualNLE,andthelocalDiocesesuccessfullyappliedfor

moneyfromtheNCtosupportSLEdeploymenttodiocesanprimaryschools;Broker1.1

securedaNCbursarytosupportaprimaryschoollocaltothebroker’sschool.Intermsof

targetingsupport,thiswaslargelysubjective,aslettersinvitingExpressionsofInteresttoapply

forNCFundingwerecirculatedto“NLEsandprobablylocalauthoritiesanddioceses”andnot

directlytoschools,soschoolsneedtobeidentifiedbysomeoneatameso-leveltodrawdown

thefundingtodrawonthesupportofNLEsandSLEs.Inrespectofthis,SLE1.1cited“lackof

12ThebarrierposedbythediscomfortofeducationalprofessionalswithregardtodiscussingthefeesinvolvedinS2SSisdiscussedinthemicro-levelsectionofthischapter.

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cleardirectiveovertheactualfundingandpayment”,andthesystemsandresponsibilityfor

this,asabarriertocementingapotentialdeployment.

DuetotheircollaborativerelationshipwiththeLA,TSA2attemptedtoremovethe

financialbarrierstoSLEdeployment.Therefore,inadditiontotheTSA’sCollaborativeFund

andtheNLEDeploymentfundcommontoallTSAs,theLA’sEIPfundedupto£70,000forSLE

deploymentsfortheyear2013-14.However,Broker2wassurprisedthat“evenwhenitwas

freetherewerestrugglingschoolsthatdidn’ttakeitonboard.”ThebrokerofTSA2hadhoped

that,“likeSainsbury’s”theywould“buybelievers”inthepotentialofSLEs:bysubsidisingthe

costviatheLA,“thenpeoplereallyloveit”andwouldpayforitoncethebrandhadbeen

established.SLE2.1andSLE2.2bothconcedethattheLA’sSLEfundinghasbenefitted

brokering,butnottotheleveleitherofthemwouldhaveanticipated;allofSLE2.1’s

deploymentshavebeencommissionedbytheLA.

WhileadditionalfundingmaynothaveimpactedonTSA2totheextentenvisaged,

TSA1haslostpotentialdeploymentsduetothecosttotheschool.Broker1.2statedthatthey

hadhad“some”speculativeapproachesfromschools,viaphoneore-mail,torequestSLE

support.Ofthese,fouroftherequestsfordeploymentwerewithdrawnduetofinancial

barriers,andallfourwereprimaryschools.SLE2.2expressedhisexasperationwiththeSLE

fundingissue,whichisunliketheASTsystem,wherethefundingwasdirectlybytheLA:

Withschool-to-schoolsupportnowbeingabudgetaryconsiderationfortheschool,I

thinkit’sjusthadsuchamassiveimpact.Alotofschoolssimplycan’tafforditunless

theygointospecialmeasures,andthere’sextrafundingcomingin,atwhichpointit’s

toolate.Youknowthedamagehasbeendone,andpeoplearejustoncatchup…

Peopleareverykeenuntiltheaspectoffinancecomesup.

Broker3similarlyacknowledgedthat,withtheexceptionofthosecommissionsforSLEsfroma

LAortheNC,therewerenot“ahugeamountofrequestscomingin.”SLE2.2thinksthat

schoolswouldratherspendthemoneytheydohaveonresourcesthanonanindividual.To

improveuptakeinSLEdeployments,hisadvicewassimple:“Don’tchargeschools.Iwasused

alotmoreasanAST.Ihadtimeinordertoactuallydoit.”

Intermsofmarketingmethods,SLE2.2reflected:

Yousendoutendlessflyersandinformationande-mailstoprimaryschools,andthey

justdon’tseemtogetthroughtotherightperson…we’venothadthetakeupthatwe

wouldhaveanticipated,consideringitisanareasthatreallyneedsdeveloping.

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However,shefeltconfidentthat,afteraninitialcontacthad“gotthrough”,thoseschoolswere

always“keentobesupported”.ShesuggestedthattheycoulduseLANetworkMeetingsto

promoteSLEs,butschools“nowhavetopaytoattend,andthosewhoattendareprobablynot

theoneswhoneedthesupportanyway.”


Asaforementioned,Broker1.2foundthatspeculativeapproachesfromprimaryschoolswere

withdrawnduetolackoffinancialcapacity.However,itisevidentfromthedeploymentdata,

detailedinthepreviouschapter,thatasubstantialamountofSchool-to-Schoolsupportwas

fundedbytheNCtosupportprimaryclients;withregardtothis,Broker1opinedthatpolitical

prioritiesatthemacro-leveldirectlyimpactontheflowoffundingtoNLEsatthemeso-level.

Shesharedthatthe“academisation”ofprimaryschools,asapoliticalagenda,is“fairlyexplicit

insomeoftheNLEstuff”.

Wherethefinancialbarriertobrokeringhasbeenremoved,Broker1.2firmlystated

thatprimaryschoolsaremorewelcomingofthesupportthansecondaries,as“beingsmaller,

tendnottohaveapoolofexpertisefromwhichtheycandrawinternally.”Whereas,she

thinkssecondaryschoolswillprefertodrawoninternalstrengthsiftheycan;Broker1.1added

thatthisisacheaperoptionforthem,aswellassensing“thefearoflettingsomeonefrom

outsidein”toexposeanyweaknesses.Onamorepragmatic,micro-level,Broker1.1noted

thatprimaryleadershadbetterattendanceatmeetingswhereSLEdeploymentsweremade,

dueto“keenness”whichmaycontributetotheincreaseddeploymentofSLEsfromthe

primaryphase.SLE2.2feelssecondariesperhapsdon’tengageinsupportdueto“lackof

time”,oraperceptionofthis,whichmightbeduetothepaceandpressuresofreforminthis

phase,detailedinChapter2.


Finally,theperceivedimpactofthegeographicalspanoftheTSAscanbeexplored.Broker1.1

believedthatgeographically-closenetworksandoutreachareimportantand,aswillbefurther

exploredinthemicro-levelfindingsbelow,believesthatdistancesbetweenSLEandclienthave

presentedsomenotablebarriers.TSA2,havingtheclosecollaborationwiththeLAasdetailed

above,hasarelativelyfocusedgeographicalspan.However,TSA3isfoundedonapowerful

visionofimmersivelearningconceivedonaglobalscale,withcollaborativepartnersinthe

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USA;India;andAustralia.WhileacknowledgingthattherecentlydesignatedsecondarySLEsin

EastAngliawillposemarketingandproceduralchallenges,thebrokeris“excited”bythis

development;moreover,planningTSA“hubsinCornwallandNewcastle”,eschewing

collaborationonamorelocallevelbecause“it’spolitical”intheirowncounty.SLE3.1is

geographicallydistantfromTSA3(33miles),andfeelsthisis“anissuebutnotabarrier.”She

wasreceivingdeploymentsdirectfromthem,butnotedtherewerealsothosethatarecoming

“wordofmouth”fromherownLA.

5.3FindingsfromInterviewData:Micro-level

5.3.1Location,PhaseandSpecialismofSLE

FurthertothediscussionsoftheimpactofgeographicalcontexttheorganisationofeachTSA

atthemeso-level,Broker1.1felt“geographicalproximitymatters”whenselectingwhichSLEto

deploy,thuslimitingwhichSLEsitwasappropriatetobrokertoaparticularschool.Sheadded:

“inordertogettheregularmeeting,theregularchecksonimpact,sothatyou’renotwasting

hourstravellingand,actually,allthetimeyou’regivingisinthediscussionswiththepeopleat

theschool….Itjustbecomesalogisticalnightmare,ifyou’renotcareful.”Shestatedthat

SLE1.2’sproximitytoaparticularclientschoolallowsregularityofcontact,byphoneaswellas

inperson,andthereforefostersapositiverelationshipwiththemiddleleaderbeing

supported.ThisopinionistriangulatedbytheinterviewdataforSLE1.1,whofeltthatthe

distance,inexcessofanhour’sdriveaddedtothechallengeofcarryingoutadeploymentthat

hadbeenbrokeredtosupportasecondarycolleague.Havingperseveredtoestablisha

relationship,however,theschoolthendecidedtointernallyrestructureinsteadofengaging

withtheSLE,andthemiddleleaderinneedofsupportwasabsolvedoftheirresponsibility.

Broker1.1reflectedthattheaccountabilitypressureplaceduponNLEstodemonstratevalue

formoneymightbeafactorforonlydeployingthoseSLEswhoare‘knownquantities’:“You

wanttodeploysomebodyyouknowisgoingtogiveyourapidimpactonthatproject…abit

unfairbecause,sometimes,theremaybepeopleyouhaven’ttestedyet.”Theconsequenceof

thisisthatthoseSLEswhoarebasedatotherschools,especiallythosethataregeographically

distantfromtheBroker,arenotbrokered.

TheapparentprioritisingofanarrowsetofneedsforwhichSLEsupportwouldbe

purchasedwasdiscussedinChapter4.Inthesamevein,SLE1.2opinedthatHistoryisnota

particularareaofneed,buthasbeendeployedbyhisbroker,instead,toofferTeachingand

Learningsupportintheprimaryphase.ThisadaptabilityrequiresBroker1tobewell-

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acquaintedwiththeSLE’sstrengths,orthisSLEwouldhavebeendeployedless;itcouldbe

argued,therefore,thatthisSLEisfavouredintermsofdeploymentsbecausehishomeschool

isthebroker’sschool.Thisisaninterestingexampleofaprimaryclientreceivingsupportfrom

asecondarycolleaguewhen,asmentionedpreviously,nocross-phasedeploymentstookplace

whereprimarySLEssupportedsecondarycolleagues.Meanwhile,Broker3attributesthe

frequencyofhisdeployment,unlikehisotherSLEswhohaveaveryspecificspecialism,tothe

flexibilityofhisspecialismofLeadership.Hisviewisthathisflexibility,asaprimaryleader,

allowshimtooffermoregeneric“cheapleadershipsupport”bybuildingcapacityina

strugglingschool.


Oneofthemostrevealingaspectsoftheinterviewanalysiswastheinsightitprovidedintothe

characteristicsandmotivationsofindividualswithinthesystem;asthesystemleadership

literaturereiterates,itisessentialforindividualstoshareamoralandsocialpurposewhich

promoteshealthycollaboration.Tothisend,whenselectingwhichSLEtobroker,Broker3’s

keycriteriaare“abestfitofskillsandpersonalities[to]underpinthedeployments”whichhe

brokers.HebelievesthatmatchingSLEstodeploymentsinthiswaywillminimisebarriersto

engagementand,therefore,reducethebarrierswhichmaycauseapotentialdeploymentto

breakdown.FrankGreen,SchoolsCommissioner,opinedthat:“Therearecertainlycultural

barrierstodealwith…foralotofpeople,admissionofweaknessisanissue,whereas,inmy

book,admissionofweaknessis,tome,astrength.”MrGreenbelievesthatallleadersneedto

beworkingtowardswhatJimCollinsterms“Level5Leadership”(Collins,2001),whichMr

Greenparaphrasesas“abnegationofself”;however,hebelieves,throughexperience,that

manyleadersaregoodat“hidingtheholes”,butneed“personalstrengthofskill…beingopen

whenthingsaretough,andsharingdifficulty.”Therefore,itcouldbearguedthatakeybarrier

tobrokeringcouldbeattributedtolackof‘Level5Leadership’atHeadteacherlevel,which

inhibitsHeadteachersfrom“beingopen”tosupport.Broker2’sexperiencegivesfurther

weighttothishypothesis;shefounditsurprisingthat“it’sbeenindividualswithinschools

requestingus;weimaginedthatitwouldbemuchmorestrategic–thatheadteacherswould

beapproachingus.”Inthesecases,theHeadsdidthensupportthebrokeringoftheSLE“inall

cases”,butitwasthemiddleleaderswhohadreachedoutforsupport.Conversely,whenthe

supporthadbeenrequestedbyaHead,themiddleleaderappearedtosabotagethe

deployment,andtheSLEusedthe“entiredeploymenttime…justtryingtogetameeting;

they’reclearlynotengaged.”ThisSLEalwayscitedlackofavailabilityasareason;itisfeasible

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thattheHead,whilerequestingthesupport,hasnotensuredthatthestrugglingmiddleleader

hasthetimethatisessentialtoengageintheprocess.Similarexperiencesweresharedby

Broker1.1,whostatedthatthemostsignificantbarrierstobrokerageareraisedbyclient

Headswho“paylipservice”totheofferofsupportbutare“notactuallyreleasingthestaffto

dothings”.

ConsideringthereputationofindividualSLEs,Broker1.1doesnotbelievethatthecost

ofanSLEwouldbeinhibitivetoHeadteachers,but“somebodyI’veneverheardof”wouldbe.

Therefore,shebelievesitisimportantfortestimonialstounderpinthemarketing.Inherown

experience,requestforSLEdeploymenthasneverbeenataHeadteacher’sbehest,and

enforcement“inaniceway”fromanexternalsource,suchasOfstedortheNC,empowersthe

NLEtoputinasupportpackage,includingSLEs,witha“morerobustframeofreference”.

Furthermore,central“externalbrokerage”fromNCorOfstedforcesthesupportthatshe

believeswouldhavebeendeclined.Shehasencounteredarangeofreactionsfrom

Headteachers,but,akintoBroker3,identifiedthatpersonalrapportand“mutual

understanding”withtheclientHeadisvitaltoasuccessfulcollaborativerelationship.An

examplewasgiven,wheretheclientHeadhasbeen“extremelyantipathetic[wrylaugh]and

hassaidit’sworsethanOfsted…clearlytheheaddoesn’tthinksheneedsit.Shedoes,

clearly.”Inthiscase,theschoolwas“takenover”asasponsoredacademy;thismightsuggest

thatfearsoflossofcontrolandofidentitymightbedrivingthebarrierstoengagement.

SLE3.1shareddetailsoftwocontrastingexperienceswhichemphasisehow

perceptionsofpowercanimpactondeploymentsatthemicro-level.Averypositive

deploymentsawhersupportingnewlyorrecentlyqualifiedcolleagueswithfewerthantwo

yearsofteaching,whowere“extremelyreceptive”tothesupportoffered.Conversely,the

brokeringofaanotherdeploymentwouldhavebrokendownhadtheSLEbeenlesstenacious;

thiswastoprovidesupporttoamoreexperiencedcolleague,withanagedifferenceof20+

years,whowasfarmore“negative”andfeltthiswasthe“singlebarrier”,although“staffethos

wasverylow”astheywereinspecialmeasures“withOfstedlooming.”

Finally,akeycharacteristicwhichissharedbymanyindividualswithintheeducation

sectorisareluctancetotalkaboutSLEbrokeringfees.Broker1.3reflectedon“this

unwillingnessforteacherstotalkaboutfinances.It’salittlebittaboo,wedon’tliketosell

ourselvesinthatway,asproducts–that’snotwhywebecameteachers.”Similarly,thebroker

ofTSA3findsit“crude”totalkaboutbusinessmodels,andfeelsthatthisis“awholenew

world”thatwillrequireconsiderableadjustmentinoutlook.SeveraloftheSLE’sclearly

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communicatedthattheyweretoouncomfortabletobrokertheirowndeploymentsduetothis

taboo;SLE2.1joviallyremarked:“Istaywelloutofthoseconversations,whenitcomestothe

commercialnitty-grittyandwhatmymotherwouldhavecalled,“Thecrasssideofthe

conversation.””ThissentimentisechoedbySLE1.2,forwhomthefinancialaspectof

brokeringisaconflictofethosandpersonalpolitics:theemphasisonsupportbeinga“fiscal

responsibility”heseesasa“averyretrogradestep”;heisnotpreparedtogoout,and

abandonhisownstudentstobe“basicallyapplyingfortradeandfindingonlythosethatcould

affordme.ItgoesagainsteveryfundamentalvalueofwhyIdidthisjob.”

5.4Summary

Whileitisevidentthatallthekeyplayersinthesystemcommunicateastrongsenseof

commitmenttothemoralimperativethatneedstodriveaSISS,therearemany

barrierstobrokeringSLEsatalllevelsofthesystem.Notably,thelackofa‘blueprint’,

whichwasintendedtopermitadaptationtolocalneedhas,instead,causedmany

organisationalandpoliticalbarrierstoefficientbrokering.Haphazardorganisation

fromtheamacro-levelhasresultedinalackofgeographicalcohesionatthemeso-

level;despitethevarietyinorganisation,transparencyandstrategyintargetingand

financingNLEandSLEsupportemergeascriticalissues.

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Chapter6ReflectionsandConclusions

Thischapterwillreviewsandreflectsonthefindingsoftheresearch.Theresponseto

ResearchQuestion1(RQ1)willbesummarisedin6.2.1,below,whileresponsestothe

remaining2(RQ2andRQ3)questionsareproposedthroughoutconclusionsatthemacro-,

meso-andmicro-level.Acritiqueofthesuccessandlimitaitonsoftheresearchprojectwill

thenbeoffered,alongwithsomerecommendationswhichcanbedrawnfromthestudy.

6.1 Macro-levelConclusions

Therapidandpronouncednatureofreformsinthestateeducationsysteminrecentdecades,

the“discursive-strategicshifts”commenteduponbyBall(Ball,2007),hasresultedina

decentralisededucationsystem,commencingin1988withEducationalReformAct

(DepartmentforEducationandScience,1988).This,accordingtopolicy(Departmentfor

Education,2010),shouldhaveallowedschoolstoadaptandtoforgetheirownlocalnetworks

tobuildaschool-ledSISS.However,thisfindingsofthisstudyshowsthattheresulting

balkanisationoftheeducationsector,andthebarriersofcompetition,perpetuatedadistrust

oftheacademiesmovement,perhapsgroundedinperceptionsofelitism(Walford,2011).The

ensuingmarketisationandcompetition(Abbott,Middlewood,&Robinson,2013b)resultedin

distrustofTSAs,andafearof‘beingtakenover’atmeso-andmicro-level,whichisfurther

compoundedbyschoolleaders’senseoftaboowhen‘talkingmoney’,duetoaconflictof

ethosatmicro-level.Furthermore,thisstudyfound,inonlythreecasestudies,greatvariance

inapproachwhich,itcouldbeargued,addobscuringcomplexitytothesystem.Theseissues

arefundamentalfactorswhichhaveimpacteduponthebrokeringofSLEsbytheseTSAs.

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Furthermore,theseniorfigureoftheTSCandallbrokerswhowereinterviewedclearly

identifiedthevaguenessoftheoriginalpolicy,specificallythelackof‘blueprint’inhowthe

pioneeringelementsofthenewpolicyshouldbeimplemented,tobeakeyweakness.This

wassaidtohaveresultedinconsiderableorganisationalinefficiencyatthemeso-level,and

errorsinjudgement,suchasrecruitingSLEswhodonotmatchlocalneedintermsof

specialism.Furthermore,severalTSAleadersopinedthattherequirementtodeliveronall

aspectsofthe‘Big6’atoncewastoogreatachallenge.Thisreinforcesmyinterpretationof

theliteraturepresentedinChapter2,thatHargreaves’andBerwick’s‘concept’ofhospital-

inspiredteachingschool(Matthews&Berwick,2013)wasnotwell-considerednorprescriptive

enoughtoallowthepolicytobeeffectivelyrolledout.Alongwiththepaceofchange,several

intervieweessharedtheviewofAbbottthatthepressureofaccountabilitycouldcause

potentialclientHeadstoresistcollaboration(Abbott,Rathbone,&Whitehead,2013a),and

citedthisisafactorwhichpreventedbrokeringofSLEs.Thisfindingdirectlychallengesthe

viewexpressedbyGilbertthataccountabilitypressurespromotecollaboration(Gilbert,2012).

Whenreflectingonthestrengthsoftheeducationalsystemsin,forexample,Finlandand

Victoria,Australia,itcouldbesaidthatthepolicyadoptedforschoolsinEnglishschoolsselects

onlythoseelementsofinternationalpolicythatreflectitsbroaderpoliticalmotives,while

failingtorecognisethatthepoliciesmustbeadoptedmorecomprehensively,andwithdue

considerationofsocio-economiccontextsiftheyaretobesuccessfullytransferred.

Toconsideranotherfactoratthemacro-level,itisevidentfromtheresearchfindings

thatthefundingofSLEsupportisacrucialfactoraffectingthefrequencyofbrokering,withthe

vastmajorityofSLEdeploymentstakingplaceonlywhenadditionalfunds,viatheNCortheLA,

weremadeavailabletotheschoolinneedofsupport.Broker1.1firmlyheldtheviewthatthe

directionofgovernmentfundingstreamsforNLEandSLEsupportwasbeingheavilyinfluenced

bytheGovernment’sagendatoincreasethenumberofprimaryschoolswhichareconverting

toAcademystatus.TheTSC’sRegionalLeaders,oranothercommissioningbody,perhaps

workingwiththeEducationalImprovementPartnershipsalreadyinexistence,willneedto

haveamandate,supportedbytheDfEandNC,tostrategicallyplantargetsupportwheremost

needed,regardlessoftheschool’sstatus.

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6.2Meso-levelConclusions

6.2.1FrequencyofSLEDeployment

InresponsetoRQ1,findingsdemonstratedthatacrossthethreecasestudyschools,theSLEs

weredeployed,onaverageforlessthanaquarterofthetimeoutlinedinthepolicyand

proceduresregardingthedesignationandbrokeringofSLEs.Thefactorsthatcouldbe

deemedtobecontributingtothisunder-usearesummarisedthroughoutthischapter.The

findingsfromthecasestudyTSAs,albeitasmallsample,wouldsuggestthat,indeed,some

TSAsaredeployingtheirSLEsmorethanothers:TSA1andTSA2aredeployingSLEsforaround

athirdofthetimeintendedbythepolicy,whileTSA3,attheearlystageofitsexpansion,is

deployingitslargernumberofSLEsforonly16%ofthetime.Laterinthischapter,Iwillreflect

thattheselevelsofdeploymentmightnotbetypicaloftheSLEbrokeringbyotherTSAs.

6.2.2TargetingSchoolsinNeedofSupport

Inadditiontotherequiredshiftwithregardtofundingstreams,theresearchfindingsindicate

thattheremustbegreaterconsistencyindetermininghowSLEdeploymentisfundedacross

TSAs.Discussionmusttakeplace,atGovernmentlevel,ifitisanappropriateuseofpublic

fundstobrokerSLEsupporttoGoodorOutstandingschools.FrankGreen,schools

commissioneropinedthatthereisenoughcapacityand“goodwill’inthesystem,butitneeds

tomarshalledmoreefficiently.Itcouldbearguedthatimprovingareasofweaknessina

successfulschool,inordertomaintainitsoveralleffectiveness,isasimportantasraising

standardsinthoseschoolswhohavebeenawardedOfstedgrades3and4.However,with

limitedfinancialandtimeresources,andthevastmajorityofstrugglingschoolsintheEast

MidlandsnotengagingwithSLEsduringthescopeofthestudy,Iwouldarguethattheymust

takepriority.Machinhasexpressedconcernthat“coalitionacademies”donotengender

improvementsinthemostdisadvantagedpupils(Machin&Vernoit,2010).Byextension,the

evidenceofthisproject’scasestudiessuggeststhattheTSAsystemisnotyetbrokeringSLEsto

theirfullcapacitytonarrowtheperformancegapbetweenschools,thuslevellingthe

prospectsofpupilsregardlessofwhichschooltheyareabletoattend.

However,whileTSA1wasfoundtobeless‘pure’initsapproachtodeploymentthan

TSA2and3,inthatmoreofitsdeploymentdayswereutilisedtodeliverCPDratherthan

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School-to-SchoolSupport,approximately70%ofitsdeploymentdaystargetedsupportto

schoolsmostinneedofsupporttoimprove.;Therefore,itcouldbesaidthattheyhavecarried

outthegreatestvolumeofworkwithappropriately-targetedschools.Intermsofcontext,

TSA1hasthegreatestnumberofNLEsassociatedwithbrokeringclientschools:theNLEbased

attheTS,theNLEatinaneighbouringtown(Broker1.1),andathirdNLEbasedsome33miles

furtheraway.ItcouldbededucedthattheseNLEs,whospaneducationalphases,have

collaboratedtogethertoformanoutward-facingnetwork.


Asdiscussedinthemacro-levelconclusions,theTSA-ledSISSandthebroadereducational

landscapeareinastateofflux;withoutclearorganisationalsystems,andwhilerelyingonkey

individualdriversoftheself-improvingschoolsystem,theorganicapproachadoptedbythe

DfEresultsininstabilityandinconsistencyatthemeso-level.Inparticular,havingeachTSA

growitssystemsinisolationandwithoutaclear‘blueprint’hasresultedinacottageindustry,

witheachcasestudyTSAhavingtoinvestinincreasedadministrativeandnon-teaching

leadershipcapacity.DespitetherelativesuccessofTSA1,asdefinedin6.2.2above,theTSA

faceddifficultyincommunicationandworkflowthatwasfelttoimpactonefficiencyofSLE

brokering;inpart,thiswasduetoextraadministrativecapacitybeingbuiltintotheTSitself,

butnotthebroker’sschool.

6.2.4AllianceMembershipandCollaborationwithOthers

WiththelackofstrategicplanningregardingwhichschoolsjoinaparticularAlliance,thisstudy

raisestwokeyquestions:aretherightschoolsineachAlliance?Andwhathappenstothose

schoolswhicharenotmembers?WhilethecostofsubscribingtoAlliancemembershipmaybe

inhibitivetosomeschools–perhaps,ironically,tothoseingreatestneedofthatcollaboration

–IwouldarguethatitisvitalthatTSAsspantheboundaryofmembershiptoengagewithnon-

memberneighbours.Theinterviewfindingsreportedthatfewersecondaryschoolswere“on

board”inTSA1becausethecostofsubscriptioniscalculatedperpupil,sothetotalcostis

deemedtobeprohibitive.

Notably,TSA1hadanequalnumberofmemberandnon-memberclientsandthe

interviewwithBroker3demonstratedanambitiousgeographicalscopeforitsnetwork.In

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differingwaysthese“alliancearchitects”(D.Hargreaves,2012b-b)aredemonstratingthe

micro-levelcharacteristicsrequiredof“boundaryspanners”(Lee,2012).


Fromanalysisofdeploymentandinterviewdata,itwouldseemthatprimarycolleagueswho

aredelegatedasSLEswithTSA1arebeingbrokeredmorefrequentlythanthoseofuswhoare

specialistsinthesecondaryphase.Iwouldsuggestthatpressuresofperformance-table

accountabilityforsecondaryschools,especiallyinthelandscapeshapedbyrecent

ConservativeSecretariesofStateforEducation13,mightmakeschoolsandacademiesless

inclinedtocollaborateacrossboundaries.EveninTSA2,wherethecostofSLEdeployment

wasmetbytheLA,andthehubTSAwasaLAschoolandnotanAcademy,secondaryschools

werestillnotengagingwithSLEsupport.Inrespecttophase,myfindingswerecontraryto

thoseofQingGu(Guetal.,2014);mineproposedthat,asprimaryschoolsareoftensmaller

theyare,therefore,morenaturallyoutward-lookingandpossessgreaterinclinationsfor

networking,qualitiesdeemedbyHargreavestobeessentialinamaturingSISS(D.Hargreaves,

2012b-b).


Inmanyrespects,thefindingsoverwhelminglysupporttheconclusionthatefficientSLE

deploymentstakeplacewhenthejourneytime,fromhometoclientschool,isnotinhibitive.

TheaforementionednationalandglobalvisionofBroker3couldsuggestthatthegeographical

concernsofBroker1.1arepsychological;however,withinthescopeofthisproject’sdata

collection,TSA3wasyettodemonstratethattheirSLEswouldeffectivelybebrokeredacrossa

widegeographicalcontext.SincemanyTSAsarenowwell-established,some,suchasTSA1,

withalliancemembersand,therefore,SLEs,atsomegeographicalremovefromthebroker,I

propose,in6.5,thatactionneedstobetakentominimisethedegreetowhichgeographyisa

barriertodeployment.

13ThosePrincipalSecretariesofStateforEducationpertinenttoscopeofstudy:MichaelGove(2010-2014);NickyMorgan(2014-present)(DepartmentforEducation,2014b)

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6.3Micro-levelConclusions

6.3.1Location,PhaseandSpecialismofSLE

Tocontinueinasimilarvein,thedataclearlydemonstratesthatsomeSLEsarebeingdeployed

lessfrequently,ornotatall,becausetheyarebasedinahomeschoolatsomedistancefrom

thebroker.AswellsomeSLEsnotbeingwell-knowntothebroker,perceivedconcerns

regarding‘valueformoney’raisetheissueoftoomuchofthedailyfeebeingspentontheSLEs

traveltime.Furthermore,therearemanySLEswhoweredesignatedwithaspecialismwhich

appearstonotbeindemand.Insomecases,Iwouldarguetheremustbealocalneed,suchas

insecondaryEnglish,butthosewiththeneedarenotengagingwithSLEs;inothercases,

interviewdatasuggeststhattheGovernmentmayhavenotsufficientlyguidedTSAstoonly

recruitanddesignateSLEswhosespecialismisindemandinthelocalcontext.Muchhas

alreadybeendetailedregardingthelessfrequentbrokeringofsecondarySLEs;Iwouldjust

add,here,thatthereisalsoprofessionalidentitytobeconsidered:theleadersandteachersof

secondaryeducationmaybelessamenabletosupportthanprimarycolleaguesastheyare

expectedtobespecialists,andthereforepresentgreaterresistancetochangeasproposedby

scholarscitedinChapter2(Fullan,2005a;Kegan&Laskow-Lahey,2001;Kotter,1996).Further

researchwithpotentialclientscouldperhapsidentifywhetherdenialorfeararethe

overwhelmingmicro-levelbarriers


Managingthepsychologicalstagesofchangeisnaturallyakeyissue;however,interviewdata

revealedthatthepressuresoftimeandineffectivecommunicationresponsesfromindividuals

attheclientschoolcanpreventthementoringconversationsfromtakingplaceatall.While

thiscouldbeapracticalissueoftimecapacity,theexcusecouldberaisedasabarrierto

settingupaSLEdeployment,atthepointofbrokering,asaproductofthe‘changefatigue’

(Kotter,2014)broughtonbythebreadthandpaceofreform,asdetailedinChapter2.

Chapter5discussedthethreatstoprofessionalidentityandafearofstigmathatall

brokersperceived,largelyintheHeadteachersofpotentialclientschools.Unlikethebrokers

inthisstudy,itcouldbearguedthatpotentialclientheadswhoareresistanttochangearenot

“Level5”leaders(Collins,2001),inthattheyareafraidtoadmitweakness,byextension,it

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couldbesaidthat,iftheywerestrongerleaders,theymightnotbeinneedofsupportinthe

firstplace.Itisvital,therefore,thattheSISShasastrategiccommissioningforcetoovercome

barriersatthemicro-level.ItshouldbeacknowledgedthatthereluctancetowelcomeSLEs

intotheirschoolsisinterwovenwithathreattotheheadteachers’ownjobsecurity;thiscould

beakintokeypersonnelinLAsbeingperceivedtoworkagainsttheSISS,and,byextension,

thebrokeringofSLEs,asafully-developedSISSwouldmaketheLA,anditsstaffredundant.

6.4ReflectionsandCritiqueofStudy

AsdetailedinChapter3,itwasnottheintentionofthisstudytoprovideanationwide,

comprehensivesetofquantitativefindings,norwouldthisbepragmaticallypossibleasasingle

researcherconductingastudyofthissize;insteadthegroundedtheoryapproachsoughtto

gainaqualitativedepthofinsightintothefactorsaffectingthefrequencyofbrokering.I

believethatmyoriginalrationaleforenquiry-ifandwhyotherSLEswerebeingbrokered

morefrequently–hasbeensatisfiedthroughtheresearchwiththethreecasestudyTSAswho

engagedinthestudy.IbelievethatthethreeResearchQuestions,reiteratedattheheadof

thischapterhavebeenansweredtotheextentandreliabilitythatthestudycouldpermit,and

thefindingsofthisstudyarerelevantandusefultothoseinvolvedintheleadershipofTSAs.

Thereare,ofcourse,anumberofissueswhichcouldhaveimpacteduponthevalidity

ofthedatagatheredandthefindingsdrawn.Notably,Chapter3documentsthenumberof

TSAswhowereapproachedinrelationtothisstudybutwhodidnotparticipate.Whilethere

couldbemyriadreasonsforthelackofengagement,itcouldbearguedthatthoseTSAbrokers

aremoreoutward-lookingassystemleaders,atthemicro-level,willingtoengagereflectively

andself-criticallyintheresearchprocesstopromotefutureimprovements.Or,itcouldbe

arguedtheybelievedtheirtrackrecord,withregardstoSLEdeployment,toberelatively

positiveandthereforeabletowithstandscrutiny.Eitherway,itcouldbeinferredthatthose

TSAswhodidnotagreetoparticipatehavenotdevelopedtheSLEarmoftheirhub,focusing

onotheraspectsofthe‘BigSix’firstand/ortheywouldbeprofessionallyembarrassedbytheir

deploymentrates;itcouldfollowthattheattitudinalbarriersthatpreventcollaborative

networksaremoreprevalentinthemajorityofTSAs.Therefore,thedeploymentsrates(RQ1)

ofSLEsacrosstheregioncouldbemuchlowerthanthoseaveragesreportedforthecasestudy

TSAs,andthebarrierstodeploymentofSLEsmoreentrenchedatthemeso-(RQ2)andmicro-

levels(RQ3).

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Movingonfromtheparticipationissuetothevalidityofdata,theproblems

encounteredwithregardtothecollectionofdeploymentdataarecoveredinChapter3.While

thecollateddatacannotbedeemedentirelyreliable,asmallnumberofomissionsor

inaccuraciesinthecollecteddatawouldnotsignificantlyalterthefindingsdrawn.Itisalso

important,heretoreflectonthevarietyofthecontextssurroundingtheinterviews.Broker1.1

isaformerseniorcolleaguewithwhomtrustwasalreadyestablished;asaconsequence,some

linesofquestioningweremoreleadingthanintended,theinterviewwasverylong,andsome

humour,tonesofcollusionandcollaborativeover-lapwereevidentwhenItranscribedthe

interview.Itwasessential,therefore,torecogniseanypotentialbiasinmyinterpretation.

However,apositiveoutcomeofthispriorrelationshipwastheinterviewee’swillingnessto

sharebothboldopinionsandinformationregardingtheNC’sfundingstreamsforNLEandSLE

work,informationthatwasnotavailabletomeotherwise.Otherissuessurroundedmy

plannedinterviewwithBroker1.2:attheoutset,Broker1.3offeredtojointhemeetingand,

whileIwasmindfulofpossibleself-censorshipofbothsides,Iagreedtoestablishtrustand

buildrapport.However,responsesseemedfluidandlinesofquestioningwererespondedto

in,attimeself-critical,depth;thecomplementaryinsightsofferedprovidedusefulinterview

dataacrossmanykeyanalysisstrands.TheinterviewwithBroker2wasinterruptedatone

stage,withthecolleagueremainingpresentintheroomforsometime;however,Ididnot

detectanyself-censorship,astheinterviewee’sresponsesremainedfullandcandid.Dueto

timeconstraintsandsomechallengetoengageSLEsasinterviewees,itwasnotpossibleto

selectparticipantstoprovideabalancedrepresentationofphase,location,specialism,gender,

etc.Instead,theapproachadopted,asdetailedinChapter3,wastogatherperspectivesfrom

thoseSLEswhohadbeenbrokeredmoreorlessfrequently,butotherpersonalcharacteristics,

ratherthansimplydeploymentfrequency,couldhavecolouredtheirperceptions.Sincethe

SLEinterviewswereconductedviatelephone,withmuchshortertimeallowed,at20minutes,

therewaslessopportunitytoprobeforresponsesthaninthebrokerinterviews;furthermore,

itwasmorechallengingtoestablishrapportwithoutface-to-facecontact.Inonecase,anSLE

whohadbeenreluctanttoengageexpressedherconcernof“sayingthewrongthing”,whichI

interpretedasareluctancetocriticisetheTSAorothercolleagues;however,oncerapportwas

established,theintervieweedidprovidesomecandidresponsesregardingbarriersshehad

faced.

Reviewingthestudymorebroadly,iftimeparametershadallowed,Iwouldhaveliked

toextendtheactionresearchphasetoidentifynearbyschoolswhoweregraded3or4by

Ofsted,sodeemedinmostneedofsupportfromSLEs.Thiswouldthenpresentthepossibility

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ofsurveyingtheHeadsofthosepotentialclientschoolstoexplore,fromtheirperspective,the

factorswhichhavepreventedbrokeringfromtakingplace.Ofcourse,itmustbe

acknowledgedthat,ifthefactorsincludereluctancetochangeandasenseofstigmain

needinghelp,thenitcouldbearguedthattheseschoolleadersareunlikelytohaveengagedas

participantsintheresearchstudy.Itwouldhavebeencontextuallyilluminating,also,toplot

allschoolsandTSAsinthegeographicalregionssurroundingmycasestudyTSAs,notingwhich

aremembersoforworkingwithAlliances,inordertorevealwherethereare‘gaps’inthe

collaborativeSISSwhichwasenvisagedinthe2010WhitePaper(DepartmentforEducation,

2010).However,asasingleresearcher,withoutaccesstothedataheldbytheNC,suchan

auditwasnotpossiblewithinthisstudy.

Mostsignificantly,however,thisstudydoesnotattempttoanalysetheeffectiveness

ofSLEdeployments,oncetheyhaveactuallybeenbrokered;itmustbeacknowledgedthatthe

impactofSLEs,tobuildtheintendedcapacityatmiddleleaderlevelandtoimproveoutcomes

forchildren,willimpactuponthefrequencyofthebrokeringofSLEs.

6.5Recommendations

Reflectingonthefindingswithinthisnarrowstudy,therefore,therearekeyrecommendationsthatcanbedrawn.

Atthemacro-level:

1. TheGovernmentneedtoprovideaperiodofstabilitywithintheeducationsystem:itisimperativethatthepaceofreformishalted,toallownewsystems–includingtheSISS,curriculaandqualificationredesignstobecomeembedded.

2. Itisessentialtoacknowledgethat,ifwewishtohaveeducationaloutcomesonaparwithcountriessuchasFinlandandChina,weneedtoadoptotheraspectsoftheireducationalculture.Itmustberecognisethattheaccountabilitypressures,especiallybutnotexclusivelyonthesecondaryphase,preventthecollaborativeideologiesofFinlandinthattheydamagethemoralandsocialfabricofamutuallytrustingSISS.

3. TSAsshouldbepermittedtoimplementthe‘Big6’inaphasedapproach,toallowthemtobuildcapacityandeffectivelyplanforthedeliveryofeachinturn.

4. Thereneedstobeclearerguidanceoneffectivesystemsforbrokering,coupledwithgreatertransparencywithregardtofundingstreams,topromotefairnessandequalityofopportunityforallschoolsinneedofsupport.

5. Torecoverinefficienciescausedbylackofclarityorimprecisionintheearlystagesofpolicyimplementation,theNCneedstoeitherde-designateSLEswhosespecialismisnotmatchedtolocalneed,ortoadoptalessspecificapproachtothelabellingofsecondarySLEs,recognisingthat,likeprimarycolleagues,theycouldoffersupportinanumberofareas,throughtheirtransferrableleadershipexperiences.

106

Atthemeso-level:

6. TheremustbeastrategicoverviewandcommissioningforceofthebrokeringofSLEstobedeployedinschool-to-schoolsupport.Thebodyresponsibleforthismightbetherecently-formedTSC,butthereisaneedtoeradicateconfusionovertherolesandgeographicalaccountabilityofnewagenciessuchasTSCandRSC.Anexpansionof,orheightenedactivityofexisting,NLEsorsimilarshouldresultintheappropriatetargetingschoolsinneedofsupport.

7. ToovercometheinconsistencyinthenationalcoverageofTSAs,theseneedtobemapped,asdoesthemembershipofthem.Targetedactionisrequiredtosupportthoseschoolswhoareisolatedfromcollaborativenetworks,soallarebroughtintotheSISS.

8. ThecommissioningforcewouldneedtodiminishthedegreeofcompetitionbetweenTSAs,andbetweenTSAsandtheirLA.Thisshouldresultinapoolingofresources,suchasSLEs,sothatthemostefficientsupportsolutionforalocalschoolcanbeactioned.ThiswouldthenallowSLEstobedeployedtohomeschoolswithinareasonabledistancetotheirhomeschool,eveniftheyaredesignatedbyaTSAthatisbasedfurtheraway.

9. Inaddition,torationalisethefactorsoftravelandcommunication,itmightbepertinentforsomeSLEstohavethedesignationtransferredtoamorelocalTSA,onethatmighthavebeenformedsincetheybecameanSLE.

10. AvailablefundingshouldbeusedtodeploySLEstosupportschoolsmostinneed.WhilethatcouldbeacurrentlyOutstandingorGoodschoolthathasaseriousareaofconcernthatwouldresultindeteriorationofstandards,prioritymustbegiventothoseschoolswhohaveanOfstedgradingofRequiresImprovementorInadequate.

11. BestpracticeinandeffectiveoutcomesofSLEdeploymentsneedtobesharedwithallschoolleaders;overtime,thisshouldallowtheconcepttobeestablishedandmistrustoftheAcademymovement,andtherebyTSAsandSLEs,tobediminished.

Atthemicro-level:

12. AreviewoftheprocessforthefinancialaspectsofbrokeringshouldseektoappeasetheconflictofideologiesthatfindsSLEsuncomfortablewiththeconceptofchargingfortheirservices.

13. TheremustbeasysteminplacetoensurethatHeadteacherswhoarereluctanttoengageinSchool-to-SchoolSupport,andreceivesupportfromaNLEandSLEs,arerequiredtoengagewiththesupportandprovidethetimecapacityfortheirmiddleleaderstodoso.Whileenforcementwillnotbelikelytodiminishresistancetochangeorasenseofstigma,deploymentofSLEswilltakeplaceandtherebybuildcapacityandenhancetheleadershippotentialofthemiddleleaderswhoaretheHeadteachersandsystemleadersoftomorrow.

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Appendix1:SLEApplicationFormandCriteria

Specialist leaders of education (SLE)

Application and reference form

108

General guidance

This form is set out in two sections. Section 1 is completed by you, the applicant and section 2 is completed by your headteacher (referee). There is a 300 word limit for each answer. Once you have completed section 1, the form should be emailed to your headteacher to complete the reference section and submit the document on your behalf. This will complete the application process.

It is strongly advised that applicants read the full SLE application guidance before completing their application.

Headteacher reference

It is important that headteachers endorse the applicant’s intention to apply for the role of an SLE. You are therefore required to provide a reference from your headteacher that supports your application and validates both your eligibility and capacity to perform the role.

Once your headteacher has completed the reference section of this form, he or she will need to return the whole document using the instructions provided by the teaching school. Your application will not be fully submitted and therefore cannot be considered until this has been completed.

109

Section 1 Application form (to be completed by the SLE applicant)

Applicant details

Title

Surname

First name

Role

School

School URN

School phase

Address

Phone

Email

Teaching schools will use this information to contact you.

Teaching School Alliance you wish to consider your application.

(Teaching School to insert alliance name)

110

Eligibility criteria confirmation

a) Do you hold a leadership role or responsibility within your school?

Yes No

b) Please indicate how long you have been in this role. If less than two years, please provide details of your previous leadership role or responsibility. Please include the name of the school where the role was held.

111

Your specialism

Please indicate the specialist area(s) that you wish to be designated for.

Specialism Mark your specialism(s) with a cross (X)

Length of time in role (this should be at least two years)

Leadership and management

Academies and academy transition

Assessment

Leadership of continuing professional development (CPD)

School business management and financial management

Leadership of curriculum

Pupil achievement

Art

Closing the gap

Drama

Design and technology

Early years

English

Geography

History

Information and communications technology (ICT)

Maths

Music

Modern foreign languages (MfL)

Personal, social and health

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Question 1

What motivates you to participate in system leadership?

Question 2

Please outline the significant impact of your contribution as a leader to supporting leaders in other schools or to your own school’s performance. Please detail the impact and demonstrate clear evidence of your outstanding practice within your area(s) of expertise or specialism.

education (PSHE)

Phonics

Physical Education (PE)

Science

Special educational needs (SEN)

Support for most able pupils

Religious Education (RE)

Quality of teaching

Initial teacher training (ITT) and newly qualified teacher (NQT) development

Behaviour and safety

Behaviour and discipline

Attendance

Word limit: 300 words

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Question 3

Please provide examples of where you have worked sensitively and collaboratively with peer colleagues using coaching or facilitation skills to grow leadership capacity in others leading to sustainable improvements.


Question 4

Please provide a clear example of a time when you have significantly challenged, collaborated, motivated and/or inspired your colleagues to establish new, innovative working practices. What was the impact?


Question5

Please give excerpts from Ofsted reports if your practice has been cited there and/or performance results/outcomes you have been accountable for in your area of work have been commented on. Please reference clearly the Ofsted report(s) where these comments are made as these may be verified.


Additional information

Please provide any other information that demonstrates your expert knowledge in your field of expertise in support of your application.

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Wordlimit:300words

Additional requirements

If you are successful, you will be invited to a face-to-face assessment by the teaching school alliance you have selected. If you have any special requirements that they should be aware of, please state these below.

Section 2

Reference (to be completed by the headteacher referee)

SLEs are outstanding leaders, with at least two years’ experience and excellent knowledge in a particular field of expertise. They work to support individuals and teams in other schools by providing high-level coaching, mentoring and support, drawing on their knowledge and expertise in their specialist area.

All applicants must meet the essential criteria to be accepted as an SLE. Each application is rigorously assessed against the eligibility criteria. We therefore ask referees to take this into account when making a decision to recommend an applicant for the role.

Headteacher details

Name

Confirmation of role

School name

Email address

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How long have you known the applicant?

1a. Please confirm the applicant’s current role.

1b. Does the applicant hold leadership responsibility within your school?

Yes No

2. Please provide a supporting statement in the box below on how you consider the applicant meets the following criteria:

• The applicant is an outstanding middle or senior leader with at least two years’ experience and excellent knowledge in a particular field of expertise.

• The applicant has a successful track record supported by substantial evidence of impact of working effectively within his or her own school and/or across a group of schools, or working with a range of leaders within a single school.

• The applicant has a commitment to outreach work and the capacity to undertake such work.

• You support their application and the applicant can be released from school for a mutually agreed allocation of time.

• The applicant understands what constitutes ‘outstanding’ in his or her field of expertise.

• The applicant has an appreciation of how his or her specialism and skills can contribute to the wider school improvement agenda.

• The applicant has an analytical approach to identifying needs and can prioritise accordingly.

3. Do you support this application and agree to the applicant being released from the school for a mutually agreed allocation of time?

Yes No

4. Please provide evidence to confirm that the applicant has supported a middle or senior leader or group of leaders from another school or academy.

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Alternatively, please provide details demonstrated with colleagues from within the applicant’s own school.

5. Please tick a box below to indicate which statement matches your support for the applicant:

a. I recommend this person unreservedly to undertake the role of an SLE

b. I recommend this person for the role of SLE, but have some reservations

c. I am unable to recommend this person for the role of SLE

6. Additional comments

Thank you for taking the time to complete this form. If you have indicated that you have reservations in recommending or feel unable to recommend this applicant, the teaching school alliance may contact you to discuss the position.

Please return this form to:

Name: (Teaching School to insert contact details for application return)

Email:

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The application will not be considered until this process has been completed.

Should you need assistance, please contact the helpdesk on 0345 609 0009.

In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the applicant you are providing a reference for has the right to view the reference, should he or she ask to do so. Please do not include any information that you would not be happy to discuss with the applicant as part of a professional conversation.

If you have any queries regarding this application, please refer to the guidance for further help and support.

• Guidance for applicants

(Press control and click to view documents)

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Appendix2:CharacteristicsofCaseStudyTeachingSchoolAlliances

AlldatapertainstothetimeframeoftheSLEdeploymentdata,May2012toMarch2014.

2.1TSA1:CharacteristicsofHubTeachingSchool

Location EastMidlands,suburbanPhase Secondary,11-18Status SponsoredAcademysince2008,formerlyaCTCOfstedgrading OutstandingTSWave 1DesignatedSLEs Total15,ofwhom: Cohort1=5 (May2012) Cohort2=8 (Feb2013) Cohort3=0 (Sep2013) Cohort4=2 (Feb2014)Notablefeatures ThehubTShasitsownNLE,inadditiontoasecondNLEwhowasSLE

brokerduringscopeofresearch;ChurchofEnglandDioceseisStrategicMemberofTSA

CharacteristicsofSLEBrokerandBroker’sSchoolOtherRoles NLE;HeadteacherofAllianceStrategicMemberSchoolLocation 10milesfromTeachingSchool,suburbanPhase Secondary,11-18Status ConverterAcademysince2011,formerlyChurchofEnglandVoluntary

119

2.2TSA2

CharacteristicsofHubTeachingSchoolLocation EastMidlands,urbanPhase Secondary,11-18Status LA,awaitingAcademyConversionattimeofwritingOfstedgrading OutstandingTSWave 1DesignatedSLEs Total23,ofwhom: Cohort1=10 Cohort2=1 Cohort3=7 Cohort4=5Notablefeatures LocalAuthorityanditsEducationImprovementPartnershipareStrategic MembersofTSA CharacteristicsofSLEBrokerandBroker’sSchoolOtherRoles DeputyHead;DirectorofTeachingSchoolLocation BasedatTeachingSchool

120

2.3TSA3

CharacteristicsofHubTeachingSchoolLocation EastMidlands,urbanPhase Primary,3-11Status AcademyConvertersince2012,formerlyLAOfstedgrading OutstandingTSWave 2DesignatedSLEs Total18,ofwhom: Cohort1=1 Cohort2=1 Cohort3=1 Cohort4=15Notablefeatures Alliancemembersinclude1schoolinUSAand4inIndia,andUKschoolsupto 365miles’distancefromTS. CharacteristicsofSLEBrokerandBroker’sSchoolOtherRoles LeadSLE;AssistantHeadofAllianceStrategicMemberSchoolLocation 10milesfromTeachingSchool,semi-ruralPhase PrimaryStatus Academy

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2.4ProfileofAllianceMembers,numberandpercentageTSA PrimaryPhase SecondaryPhase OtherSchools Others Total1 7 37 7 37 1 5 4 21 192 15 43 11 30 2 6 7 20 353 40 67 14 23 6* 10 0 0 60*1SpecialSchoolEngland;1schoolUSA,4schoolsIndia2.5ProfileofAllianceMemberSchoolsbyPhaseandStatus**TSA PrimaryPhase SecondaryPhase SpecialSchools

Academy/FS LAM/VA/C Academy/FS LAM/VA/C Academy/FS LAM/VA/C1 4 27% 3 20% 7 47% 0 0% 0 0% 1 7%

2 1 4% 14 50% 4 14% 7 25% 0 0% 2 4%

3 18 33% 21 38% 11 20% 4 7% 0 0% 1 2%**UKSchoolsonly,asonlythesehaveSLEsoperatingintheregion

2.6NumberofSLEsbyPhaseandAllianceMembershipTSA

PrimaryPhase SecondaryPhase OtherSchoolsTotaln Total

%Memn

Mem%oftotal

Totaln Total%

Memn

Mem%oftotal

Totaln Total%

Memn

Mem%oftotal

1 8 53 7 47 7 47 7 47 0 0 0 02 6 26 1 4 16 70 14 61 1 4 1 43 17 94 14 78 1 6 1 6 0 0 0 0

2.7CharacteristicsofSLEInterviewParticipants

TSA Identifier PhaseandSpecialism OtherContextualFactors

1 SLE1.1 Secondary

Mathematics

Male;SLEhomeschoolis67milesfromTS;

seniorleaderinhomeschool

SLE1.2 SecondaryScience Male;SLEhomeschoolisBroker1.1’sschool,10

milesfromTS;middleleaderinhomeschool;

formerAST

2 SLE2.1 SecondaryHistory Male;SLEhomeschoolistheTS;middleleaderin

homeschool;formerAST

SLE2.2 SecondaryMFL Female;SLEhomeschoolistheTS;inSLEjob-

share

3 SLE3.1 PrimaryKS1Curriculum

andAssessment

Female;SLEhomeschoolis31milesfromTS;in

middleleadershiproleinhomeschool

SLE3.2 PrimaryKS2

Mathematics

Male;SLEhomeschoolis13milesfromTS;in

middleleadershiproleinhomeschool;former

AST

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Appendix3

InformedConsentForm

Title:FactorsaffectingthebrokeringofSpecialistLeadersofEducation(SLEs)

IunderstandthatIambeinginvitedtoparticipateinaresearchstudyconductedbyJulieGrant(the researcher). I understand that the purpose of this research study is to explore andidentify factors which influence the brokering of SLEs, such as the characteristics of theteaching school and the SLEs, as well as the characteristics of client – or potential client –schools.

Iunderstandthat Iwillbeproviding informationthroughasingle interviewinwhichIwillbeaskedquestionsaboutfactorsaffectingthebrokeringofSLEs,suchaspractical,geographical,financialorothermatters.

I understand that I may decline to answer any questions and that I may withdraw myagreement toparticipate at any timeduring the interviewor forup to sevendays after thecompletionoftheinterview,whicheveristhelatest.Atthattime,IknowthatImayindicatewhether or not the data collected up to that point can be used in the study, and that anyinformationIdonotwantusedwillbedestroyedimmediately.

I understand that the interview will be audio recorded, and this recording may later betranscribed. I understand that Iwill have anopportunity to commenton thewritten recordonceithasbeenproduced.Iunderstandthattheinterviewdatawillbehandledandstoredinamannerwhichensuresthatonlytheresearchercanidentifymeastheirsource.Iunderstandthat I ambeingoffered confidentiality in anywritten reportororalpresentation thatdrawsupondata from this research study,and thatnoneofmycomments,opinions,or responseswillbeattributedtome,nortoanyotherpersondiscussedintheinterview.Iunderstandthattheresearcherwilldoeverythingpossibletoensurethatmyidentity,orthatoftheinstitutionfor which I work, cannot be deduced by a reader; however, the geographical position of aschool,orotherof itscharacteristics,couldpossiblyresult inidentificationoftheschooland,byextension,itsstaff.

I understand that, upon completion of the MA thesis in Autumn 2015, the raw primaryinterviewdatawillbedestroyed.Iunderstandthatthisresearchstudyhasbeenreviewedandreceivedethicsapproval followingtheproceduresof theDepartmentofEducationalStudies,University of York. In case of query I should contact, at The University of York, either theresearcher’s supervisor, Dr Paul Wakeling, Department for Education([email protected] ) or the Chair of the Ethics Committee, Dr EmmaMarsden([email protected]).

Doyouagreetoparticipateinthestudy?Yes___No___

Nameofparticipant:___________________________________________

Signatureofparticipant:________________________________________

Date:__________________

123

Appendix4

4.1Semi-structuredInterviewSchedule1

UsedasabasisforallinterviewswithBrokersandSLEs:

• View of 2010-White Paper? Motivation for system leadership? Its potential, in general

terms? • Views on organisation of TSA: successes? Challenges? • S2S Support systems/organisation- views? Views on restructuring of systems? • Successes and challenges of SLEs in S2S support?

o TRENDS in specialism/gender/phase of support? o Brokering from/to a particular school? o Any schools reluctant/refused offers of support?

• Which deployments have been free/chargeable? • How build on successes/overcome barriers to improve system?

o Time? Capacity? Governance? Comms and marketing? • Other thoughts?

4.2 Semi-structured Interview Schedule 2 Used as a basis for interview with the Schools Commissioner:

• View of 2010-White Paper? Motivation for system leadership? • Role of Schools Commissioner? Where fit in politically and organizationally within

DfE? Capacity to promote SCHOOL-TO-SCHOOL SUPPORT? • S2S support systems/organization? Why are RSC regions different to those of NC? • Successes and challenges of SLEs in S2S support? How can deliver on White Paper? • How build on successes/overcome barriers to improve system?

o Time? Capacity? Governance? Comms and marketing? • Other thoughts?

124

Glossary

‘Big6’ ThekeyresponsibilitiesofaTeachingSchool:1. ContinuedProfessionalDevelopment(CPD);2. InitialTeacherTraining(ITT);3. School-to-schoolsupport(S2SS);4. DeploymentofSLEs;5. ResearchandDevelopment;6. TalentManagementandLeadershipDevelopment.

Broker SeniorleaderresponsibleforbrokeringthedeploymentofaSpecialistLeaderofEducationtosupportaclientschool

Broker1.1,etc ThebrokersfromthecasestudyTeachingSchoolAlliances–seeAppendix2forhierarchicaldiagrams

Clientschool AschoolreceivingsupportfromaTeachingSchool,NLE,LLEorSLEDesignation AppointmentasaTeachingSchool,orasanNLE,SLE,etcDfE DepartmentforEducation14Homeschool TheschoolbywhichaSpecialistLeaderofEducationisemployed,

whichmayormaynotbetheTeachingSchoolLLE LocalLeaderofEducationNC NationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership15School Foreaseofreference,thistermisusedtocollectivelyrefertoall

stateschools,FreeSchoolsandAcademiesSLE SpecialistLeaderofEducationSLE1.1,etc SLEswhoparticipatedininterviewsS2SS School-to-schoolsupportSCITT School-centredInitialTeacherTrainingSISS Self-improvingschoolsystemTS TeachingSchool;thisusuallyformsanAlliancewithotherschoolsTSA TeachingSchoolAllianceTSA1,TSA2,TSA3 ThethreeTSAswhoparticipatedascasestudiesTSC TeachingSchoolsCouncil

14Foreaseofreference,thisacronymisusedtorepresentthedifferentnamesoftheGovernmentResponsibleforEducationduringthescopeofpolicyresearchwhichunderpinsthisstudy:

2001–2007 DepartmentforEducationandSkills(DfES)2007–2010 DepartmentforChildren,SchoolsandFamilies(DCSF)2010–present DepartmentforEducation(DfE)

15NCisusedasanacronymbothfortheNationalCollegeforTeachingandLeadership,theexecutiveagencyoftheGovernmentformedinApril2013asaresultofamergewiththeTeacherTrainingAgency,andforitspreviousidentity,theNationalCollegeofSchoolLeadership,thenon-departmentalgovernmentbodyformedin2000.Inbothguides,theNationalCollegehasbeenresponsibleforimplementingpoliciespertainingtoNLEs,SLEs,andTeachingSchools,aswellastalentmanagementprogrammestopromotethegrowthofschoolleadersandHeadteachers.

125

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