Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

To be eligible for this module, all students must satisfy the recruitment criteria for the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership with the North East Teaching Schools Partnership.

This module that can be used towards the PG Certificate in Educational Leadership. Alternatively, students already registered for a Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Leadership, MEd (Practitioner Enquiry) or MEd (Practitioner Enquiry) Leadership can apply for this module.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

To allow school leaders to reflect upon their school improvement work, using their National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership as the focus. They contextualise this by making links between practice evidence, research evidence and theory in relevant fields.

Participants will be able to use the credits from this module against other qualifications: Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Leadership; MEd (Practitioner Enquiry); MEd (Practitioner Enquiry) Leadership.

Outline Of Syllabus

The module will cover the following six content areas;

• Strategy and Improvement with a focus on Personal Drive;
• Teaching and Curriculum Excellence with a focus on Commitment;
• Leading with Impact with a focus on Resilience;
• Working in Partnership with a focus on Collaboration;
• Managing Resources and Risks with a focus on Awareness;
• Increasing Capability with a focus on Integrity and Respect.

Teaching takes the form of facilitated face-to-face days on the NPQSL programme.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will have:

• A detailed understanding of tools and techniques to design and implement sustainable change across a school;

• An in-depth awareness of the impact of research on professional senior leadership practice in relation to pupils, teachers, parents and other stakeholders;

• An awareness of domestic and international empirical literature (including grey literature) relating to teaching strategies, pedagogical approaches with a proven impact and effective leadership practice;

• A critical understanding of key legal requirements and statutory guidance at senior leadership level. This will be informed by cutting edge research and professional practice.

Intended Skill Outcomes

By the end of the module, students will be able to:

• Analyse performance data to identify the causes of variation within a school and against comparative schools;

• Work with the governing body effectively to identify and agree approaches to designing and implementing change across a school;

• Use a range of techniques to gather evidence on teaching quality and impact of interventions across a school in order to develop and maintain a rich, high-quality curriculum;

• Identify partners and implement systems, processes or structures to facilitate knowledge transfer and share best practice;

• Realise the benefits of collaborating with others and support their team to build and sustain relationships with others;

• Deploy and monitor resources across a school in order to deliver school priorities and systematically mitigate risks;

• Identify excellent professional development practice, identifying talent and putting arrangements in place to develop and retain it.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The blended approach to learning recognises that students’ range of prior learning experiences will be as diverse as they are different. It provides differentiated opportunities for them to begin, complement and/or extend their learning about and through effective leadership practice at team level. Online materials will form the basis for each face-to-face day, facilitated by school leaders, at least one of which will be serving. Serving school leaders from a range of contexts will enable challenge and support at an appropriate level for each student. Pastoral support will be available through the Newcastle University North Leadership Centre administration team. Optional sessions to prepare assessment submissions will be led by the NETSP Programme Director and academic member of staff at Newcastle University. This approach helps to deliver the learning outcomes at the level of the individual. It also allows possibilities for networking, collaboration, peer support and continuous learning.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Students will include supporting documents/material in appendices of their portfolio (5,000 words) from their work in school as evidence of the module’s learning outcomes (knowledge and skills). Their written accounts of the initiative will be evidence of their applied learning about leadership practice. It will include evidence of critical thinking around key issues for their on-going personal professional development.

General Notes

N/A