For many Head Teachers and their team of Teachers the new realities of the teaching profession are stark realities. Schools and education establishments in the UK are now facing a number of key issues. These include:
- The Government’s Building Schools for the Future Initiative.
- The need to work with other schools to deliver new diploma lines for 14 to 19 year olds.
- Work – related learning including the use of Para-Professionals and Business Partnerships.
- The introduction of a remodelled examination structure.
- Schools working in partnership with other schools and other providers of learning.
- Teachers with new Teaching and Learning Responsibilities working in new structures.
- Inclusion of non – teachers on the staff of a school.
- The Government’s “Every Child Matters” agenda.
- Raising of the school leaving age.
These transformational changes will create major challenges for those running schools with increased devolved responsibilities. These challenges include:
- Working in new learning environments with sophisticated ICT.
- Responding to the new trend toward working in a partnership cluster in a competitive market-place.
- Developing business partnerships for mutual support and resource sharing.
- Creating a senior leadership team within a school or within a cluster with a vision for 21 st Century Education.
- Obtaining commitment to both a school and cluster vision, and the strategy for delivering both.
- Creating a plan for making the necessary changes and equipping teachers with the skills to implement change at their level.
- Acquiring the necessary leadership, influencing and change management skills to work effectively in a new interdependent environment.
