Women’s Leadership Programme and Network 2019/20

Overview

After a very successful pilot programme in 2018/19, EborHope Teaching Schools Alliance (EHTSA) has secured further funding from the Equality and Diversity Fund. This is to provide bespoke support for female teachers wanting to explore possible leadership pathways to take the next step in their career.

It is expected that recipients of the funding will be keen to explore wider professional development, additional responsibility and/or are looking to secure a leadership position, to support their career progression, over the next 12 months. This may be within their current role.

We are able to allocate £380 per participant to support individual action plans and to contribute towards cover costs to attend the network meetings. There are 28 funded places available.

Cast Study of a WLPN Participant

Who is the programme for?

This programme is open to all female colleagues, both Primary and Secondary, at any stage of their leadership journey.

This programme is delivered in partnership with the Women Leading in Education coaching programme. There is an expectation that all successful colleagues will join the coaching programme to support them in the delivery of their action plan. EHTSA, supported by other partners, will match you with an appropriate coach who would work with you, in person or remotely. This would be for approximately three hours in total, taking place between now and July 2020. It may be appropriate for your SLT mentor to be your coach.

This programme is supported by Pathfinder TSA, Diocese of Middlesbrough TSA, Huntington Research School and York Local Authority.

Structure of the programme

There are three, 2 hour network meetings, in which you will share learning from your action plan and discuss the opportunities and challenges you have experienced. Guest speakers will provide support and share their experiences in leadership – this was well received last year. Attendance at meetings is compulsory. Funding is provided to support cover costs.

• Meeting 1 – Friday 29 November 2019 – 1.15pm to 3.15pm
• Meeting 2 – Tuesday 3 March 2020 – 1.15pm to 3.15pm
• Meetings 3 – Monday 15 June 2020 – 1.15pm to 3.15pm

Feedback and outcomes from the pilot programme 18/19

From our end of project evaluation:

• 35% of participants achieved promotion during the 18/19 programme
• 47% of participants are actively looking for additional responsibilities/promotion over the next 18 months
• Participants found it empowering to be in a place where they could talk specifically about female issues and feel confident to consider themselves for progression.

Participant feedback:

• ‘It has been really impactful meeting new colleagues, spending time thinking about me and my drivers.’
• ‘It has increased my aspirations and the confidence I have in myself. I successfully applied for a promotion with whole school responsibilities from Autumn 2019’

What do you need to do next?

To access the funding you will need to identify your specific development needs and/or area of interest.  This could be based on your current area of responsibility in school (e.g. literacy). You will then submit a costed action plan (using the proforma) demonstrating how the funding might support these priorities.

It is important that senior leaders in your school support your development and have an awareness of your career aspirations and interests. You will need to provide the name and contact email of the SLT colleague overseeing and supporting your project.

When writing your action plan you should consider how you will:

• access appropriate development opportunities which are manageable with your current work commitments
• ensure the support is impactful, for you and your school, and how you might demonstrate this

Reporting

In preparation for the network meetings, you will be required to submit a short update on your action plan. Learning from individual action plans will then be discussed and shared at the network meeting with the TSA, supporting partners and peers on the programme.

Action Plan

The action plan will start in November 2019 and must finish by end of June 2020. Please see example action plan for support with completing this.

Examples of how you might use the funding:

• Release time to shadow best practice in another context
• Travel expenses to visit best practice
• Undertaking professional development programmes
• Resources (books relating to your area of development/interest)

Funding cannot be used for:

• Capital gains expenditures e.g. laptops

Your commitment:

• Complete actions as detailed on your action plan
• Submit a short reflection and update ahead of termly network meetings
• Attend termly network meetings
• Complete any necessary surveys (baseline, midpoint and endline)
• Be an advocate for the programme

You may be contacted by the Equality and Diversity fund holders as part of their quality assurance.

Next steps:

1. Discuss the programme, your career aspirations and draft action plan with your line manager and your school.
2. If you are interested in finding out more about the programme or would like to receive an exemplar Action Plan please contact r.snowden@eborhope-tsa.org
3. SLT sign off action plan
4. Action plan submitted to EborHope TSA with TRN. Applications process opens 23 September 2019. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
5. Application process will close 5pm, 16 October 2019