Struggling schools can now apply for a leadership development programme run by Teach First, with funding available for specialist support.
Nick Gibb, schools minister, announced the launch of the Leading Together programme today. Teach First won money for the programme from the Teaching and Innovation Fund last September.
Schools graded ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ in low-income areas can apply, starting in the north-west and Yorkshire and the Humber. The programme is set to expand to other regions after the first year.
First, each school will undergo a needs analysis. Then a nearby senior school leader known as an “achievement partner” will work with the school for two years.
Throughout the programme, schools’ leadership teams will learn about best practice through face-to-face and online learning modules and meet other local school leaders.
Schools will also have access to a pot of funding to bring in specialist support, according to Teach First’s website, and will get a “bespoke package” of on-going support and coaching.
Gibb said the programme was “one of thousands of new training opportunities that we have created through our £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund”.
Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said that “too often, schools in disadvantaged areas miss out on the support they need to build their leadership teams.
“Thanks to generous support from the Department for Education we’re working in partnership with exactly these schools to help them succeed.”
For more information about the programme, contact Lisa Gregory, school partnerships manager for Leading Together at Teach First.
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