Mr. Paddy Flood, LDS
The Profession
Key Stakeholders
Policy
 Professional
associations
 Professional
development
 Leadership
in inspection reports
 Salary
improvements
 Strong
management bodies
 Provide
inspiration to aspirants,
clarifying their expectations about
the profession
 Offer
guidance to those seeking to
improve practice
 Articulate
the complexity of school
leadership to the outside world
 Contribute
to policy development
 Affirming
professional status
 Articulate
the knowledge, skills and
attributes required of practitioners
 Focus
for professional learning
 Enhance
professional self esteem
 Accountability
to self and the profession
Matters in terms of the quality of outcomes
for pupils
Requires a focus on learning centred
activity – requires change
Requires a clarity of purpose among all
stakeholders
Level of autonomy requires consideration
 Tasks
 Job
v attitude
description v moral purpose
 Office
v site of learning
 Not
a job for one person
 Lack
of evidence on distributed
leadership
 Roles
of all stakeholders
 Patterns
of distribution matter
 Work-life
balance is a key factor
 Dependence
 Other
on support and direction
career pathways are attractive
 Is
dependent on impact on student
achievement
 Recruitment
requires professionalisation
Succession Planning
• Notice of Succession
• Continuity v Discontinuity
Succession Management
• Promoting leadership capacity among staff
• National initiatives to promote future leaders
Issues to be addressed
• Length of tenure and retaining capacity
• Professional associations as support
 Needs
for focus on the continuum
 Has
significant contribution to make to
professionalisation: Toraíocht
 Variety
and creativity in delivery
methods
 Is
a crucial policy lever in the system

Clarity and Professionalism
 Linking
the four strands of the report
 Consideration
of leadership in the
change process
 Leaders
as a system resource
 Leadership
as an attractive career option