Headteacher Recruitment and Retention Working Group minutes: March 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Jennifer Crockett, Association of Directors of Education Scotland (Chair)

• Aleksandra Jonca, Scottish Government

• David Leitch, Scottish Government

• Zoè Robertson, Scottish Council of Deans of Education 

• Lesley Whelan, Education Scotland

• Iain McDermott, Education Scotland

• Seamus Searson, Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association

• Elaine Napier, General Teaching Council for Scotland

• Valerie Inkster, Educational Institute of Scotland

• Lindsey Stanley, ADES Personnel Network

• Karen Emmett, AHDS

• Suzanne McLeod, COSLA

• Graham Hutton , School Leaders Scotland

• Barbara Coupar, Scottish Catholic Education Service

• Stuart Bain, COSLA

Items and actions

Welcome & Introductions

The Chair extended a welcome to all members, acknowledged recent membership changes, and led introductions

Minutes of Previous Meeting (08/12/24)

The Secretariat apologised to members for the missing minute and confirmed that the actions from the previous meeting will be circulated amongst members shortly.

Update from the Scottish Government on the current strategy and next steps for leadership policy

Scottish Government provided an overview of the current policy landscape for leadership and professional learning and development within Scotland. While the education system is undergoing significant reform, with a current focus on curriculum and qualification design, it was emphasised that ensuring educators are skilled, equipped, and supported to implement reform changes is crucial.

The Scottish Government is currently assessing areas within the education system requiring improvement and focusing on establishing clear ownership and roles within the leadership policy. The importance of effective structures and right people in place to ensure a functional education system was highlighted by the members of the group.

It was confirmed that no immediate changes are anticipated regarding Scottish Government funding for leadership programs.

The Head Teachers Recruitment and Retention Working Group (HTRRWG) was recognized for providing valuable insights into necessary leadership policy improvements and highlighting areas needing renewed attention.

It was confirmed that with the upcoming elections, the government's focus in the coming months will be on evaluating the delivery of key Manifesto and Programme for Government commitments, including reduced class contact time, the refreshed National Improvement Framework, and the Pupil Equity Fund and Scottish Attainment Challenge.

The group's crucial role in influencing and informing policy decisions on learning, leadership, and broader education reform implementation was acknowledged.

The need for greater visibility and connection between various education system groups, including Workstream 3 of the Scottish Board for Teacher Education (SBTE), Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), Education Scotland (ES), and this group, was emphasised.

The impact of withdrawn Masters funding on professional learning direction was noted.

The group's lobbying and influencing potential was highlighted, along with the opportunity for significant change.

The need to address recruitment and retention challenges separately was highlighted.

The group was urged to prioritise the recommendations outlined in the "Creating a Framework for Teacher Education and Development" paper.

Actions

• Scottish Government to provide the group with clarification on the decision-making authority of various groups within the Scottish education system.

• Secretariat to redistribute the " Creating a Framework for Teacher Education and Development" paper, to members for review prior to the June meeting, where the group will discuss strategies for advancing this work.

Update from the Sustainable School Leadership Project

Education Scotland provided the following update on locality case studies. It was confirmed that Interview transcripts from locality case studies have been processed and coded, with completion targeted before Easter. Seven detailed locality case studies are planned for completion by summer 2025 and Country Reports are scheduled or publication in autumn 2025.

It was also highlighted that workshops were conducted in southern localities during March and April, inviting all original interviewees.  The attendance at these workshops ranged from 3 to 13 participants.  An overarching implications and recommendations document form the workshops will be developed and shared with the advisory group during the summer meeting.

It was confirmed that the leadership survey ran from November 1, 2024, to the end of January generated a total of 1,623 responses across the UK (Scotland: 333, Northern Ireland: 242, England: 1,003 and Wales: 45) from headteachers, middle and senior leaders, executive heads, and local authority leads.

It was reported that progress on the secondary data analysis is slower than anticipated. SG colleagues were asked to facilitate data access to ensure the Scottish analysis is completed by summer 2025.

It was highlighted that comparative findings and a technical report are planned for publication in autumn 2025.

It was highlighted that a technical report with survey findings is scheduled for publication in June/July 2025.  A technical report with secondary data analysis will be published in autumn 2025.  Individual country technical reports, including locality case studies and national survey data analysis, will be published in autumn 2025.

 The final report is scheduled for publication in January 2026.

There are also planned academic publications including:

• An article in the London Review of Education.

• An article in the British Education Research Journal.

• A book on sustainable leaders and sustainable schools, to be published in autumn 2025.

Education Scotland confirmed collaborating with the team to conduct an external review of the In Headship programme, using focus groups with participants and facilitators of the programme. This review, the first of its kind, revealed a consistent need across programmes to develop sustainable and agile leadership, emphasising the cultivation of agency and adaptability for the future of the education system at both local and national levels.

Leadership Professional Learning Programme Overview

Education Scotland (ES) presented an overview of its leadership development programmes, designed to support practitioners from middle leadership to system leadership. Aspiring to Middle Leadership (AML) and Middle Leaders Leading Change (MLLC) have remained consistent since 2018, with over 4,000 participants taking part so far.

These open-access programmes cater to emerging leaders, developing foundational middle leadership skills, with 1,600 participants in AML and over 2,000 in MLLC. Local Authorities utilise these resources to create localised learning packages, which has been well-received, and these programmes encourage inquiry, strategic opportunity exploration, and networking.

A significant number of participants progress from these programmes to the Into Headship Programme. This Scottish Government-funded programme, delivered by seven university partners and Local Authorities, prepares aspiring headteachers to meet GTCS Standard for Headship. The Design Group and Strategic Oversight Board ensure Into Headship programme quality and stakeholder engagement. Running for 10 years, the programme has allowed 1,500 participants to achieve Standard for Headship, with cohort 10 having 266 participants, and cohort 11 currently recruiting. Its rigorous, SCFQ level 11 learning is recognised internationally, with 95% of cohort 8 participants reporting a significant positive impact on their strategic school leadership.

The In Headship programme, delivered by three universities, is currently running cohort 8.

Leading the How of Change, evolved from Excellence in Headship, focuses on strategic change leadership, open to all Standard for Headship holders, and builds confidence through network learning communities, with 340 participants, who value the networking opportunities for skill recalibration.

The Connected and Collaborative System Leadership programme encourages reflection on leading beyond school boundaries, with the 2024/25 cohort including 52 school and system leaders engaging in collaborative inquiry.

 Actions

• Secretariat to include the Sustainable School Leadership Project update as a standing agenda item, enabling ongoing evaluation of project outcomes.

• Education Scotland to provide the group with a breakdown of programme participant numbers across different Local Authorities. This data will facilitate the identification of gaps in professional learning provision.

• Chair too request that the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland (ADES) provide an overview of each local authority's leadership development pathways.

It was acknowledged the need for improved connection between the group's workplans and the Into Headship Design Group and Oversight Board to avoid work duplication.

It was also noted that the current ES leadership pathway emphasises recruitment over retention and more interventions to support existing leaders are required.

The group must address the needs of leaders at all career stages, and the lack of targeted programmes for depute heads presents a gap that needs addressing, despite challenges related to capacity, funding, and programme content.

It was acknowledged that there are leadership learning provisions that are not directly linked to local authorities like SCES Catholic Dean in Scotland and these need to be explored by the group as well.

Review workplan progress/ Setting Vision and Aims:

The Chair summarised the workplan's action items. Members were reminded that data packs should include evaluation forms to gather Local Authority feedback for continuous improvement. To enhance data collection on headteacher sustainability, the Chair proposed inviting individuals with lived experience to future meetings, including former Into Headship participants.

It was further agreed that denominational representation, not necessarily from denominational schools, should be included among the invited participants.

Actions

The Chair to engage with the SCES member to determine how the group's work can effectively address the needs of Catholic Headteachers.