Ashton on Mersey School
Vicky Beer
Headteacher
vbeer@aom.trafford.sch.uk
Standards
8 Secondary
43 Primary
50% £
Beacon School
Sports College
High Performing Status
Applied Learning
Training School
National Secondary Support School
Pilot National Teaching School
Teaching School
Collaboration
50% Mentors
61% £Outreach
NW Network
‘Continuous Improvement is better
than delayed perfection’
Mark Twain
Remaining Successful
=
B
Change
A
Sigmoid curve - Handy,1994
School to School Support
Beacon School ... Specialisms ... HPSS ... NSS... Teaching School
Teacher Training / CPD
ITT
GTP
School Experiences
Enrichment phase
PGCE/BEd.
Open Schools
Associate Head/NPQH
Teach First
Transition to Teaching
Student Associate Scheme
Open Schools
Maths MMU project
LJMU PE project
Parrs Wood School - Manchester
Westhoughton - Bolton
Levenshulme – Manchester
Flixton – Trafford
Outreach
Broadoak – Trafford
Egerton - Trafford
Middle Leaders
Senior Leaders
NLE / LLE / SLE
Governor
Champion
All staff
Forest Gate – Trafford
Families of Schools
Good to Great
Trafford NQT
North West Training Schools
Improving Teacher Programme
Outstanding Teacher Programme
Outstanding Facilitation Programme
Specialist Leaders of Education
Facilitation Hub Training
Research Team Hubs
Gaining Ground
SLE Pilot
Operational Programme Leads
Strategic Lead GMLS
The role of Teaching Schools ...
 Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
 Leadership development and talent management
 Support for schools
 Coaching and mentoring
 Initial teacher training (ITT)
Ashton-on-Mersey is an outstanding school…
Outstanding leadership and management have enabled the
school to go from strength to strength in developing the
services it provides for students. The collaborative
partnership that makes up the school’s leadership, with
unstinting support from governors, has given the school a
clear direction for continuous improvement.
The system of distributed leadership, accompanied by high
levels of accountability, works exceptionally well in all aspects
of the school’s work.
‘One of the barriers to distributed leadership is
how leadership distribution is viewed by heads
and teachers’
Harris 2008
Delegation …
off-loading extra work to staff?
erosion of power & loss of control?
protection of ‘strategic space’?
creation of a shared purpose?
succession planning?
‘Growing leaders is like growing fruit trees. Other
owners may one day have the benefit of your trees,
but maybe you will benefit from other unknown
owners of orchards.
The best organisations take pride in the fact that they
grow more leaders than they need; they are net
exporters of leaders.’
Steve Munby 2008
Distributed Leadership
System Leadership
Distributed System Leadership
‘Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a
fruit, wisdom is knowing that you don’t put
it in a fruit salad’
Eric Cantona
Co-operation vs Competition
Increased challenge
Opportunities for reflection
CPD
Developing distributed leadership
Recruitment & Retention
Stronger partnerships
Supporting the system
Increasing standards & attainment
Collaborative group = Acceleration of performance
Trafford
Sixth Form College
Blackburn
Trafford
Warrington
Trafford
Alliance
A on M
Teaching School
Cheshire East
HEi (M’chester)
Wigan
Manchester
Warrington
Bolton
Trafford
HEi (L’pool)
Manchester
Stockport
Cheshire
Kent
Trafford
London
Leeds
Sixth Form College
Blackburn
Trafford
Warrington
Trafford
Alliance
Trafford
A on M
Teaching School
Cheshire East
HEi (M’chester)
Wigan
Trafford/Oldham
Manchester
Warrington
Bolton
Trafford
HEi (L’pool)
Stockport
Manchester
Oldham
Networks
Oldham
Developing a teaching school ethos ...
Trust
Attitude to risk
Consistency
Clarity
Standards
Commitment
Frequently Asked Questions
• What will I be committed to providing?
• By offering staff time and support, will standards and achievement slip at
my school?
• I’d like to be part of a Teaching School Alliance but I can’t see where I have
the capacity to release staff.
• How do I know my staff can make a difference in another school?
• Can this become a funding stream for my school?
• Does my school have to be ‘Outstanding’ to be able to offer support?
• What about if my school needs support, how does that affect our staff’s
credibility for working in other schools?
• Who will Quality Assure our Teaching School’s Alliance support offer?
• Will there be a mechanism to both assess need, to tailor provision, and
assess impact, through measurable outcomes, of support provided?
• How do I find out who my nearest Teaching School is?
• Do I approach them or will they approach me?
Why bother?
Annual grant from National College
Opportunity to shape regional and national practice
Strengthen relationships with key partners
Improve the quality of Teaching & Learning
Increase Standards & attainment
Moral purpose
Annual School Improvement Plan
‘To sustain outstanding overall effectiveness by
improving our school and community through
consistency, collaboration and collective responsibility’