To prepare:
Effective leaders must remain current within the early childhood field. Leaders need to understand changes and opportunities within early childhood education, as well as the influences of and fluctuations within the broader societal context. There are numerous resources available within the field to support leaders in remaining current; however, leaders must have skills in critical analysis, compilation, and networking in order to use these resources most effectively.
Some of the more accessible resources available to leaders within early childhood education are professional, credible websites. Websites can provide current news, research, job opportunities, evidence-based applications, networking opportunities and resources, and information on critical advocacy issues. As a leader, developing knowledge of websites as an essential resource is critical. Skills in processing and sharing information with others are also important aspects of leadership capacity.
This Assignment requires that you begin to explore and develop advocacy topics you are interested in, with the goal of developing an initial advocacy action plan. In Module 4, you will be responsible for developing an advocacy action plan for your Learning Outcomes Plan. As this point in your course, you will explore advocacy topics in which you are developing an interest and begin to develop competencies needed to become an effective advocate.
To complete your Assignment, consider an advocacy topic you are interested in learning more about, carefully reflecting on your interests and passions, and where you would like to devote time and effort to make a difference in the lives of young children, their families, and the field. Consider something you would like to study, a topic about which you would like to connect with others, and where you would like to invest time and effort in order to make a difference.
After selecting your topic, you will use professional websites as a tool to increase knowledge of that topic. Also, you will compile websites and resources, which will allow you the opportunity to build, or add to, your own professional “tool kit” of resources and connections.
This Assignment is designed to support your skills in advocating regarding an issue you are passionate about, as well as your leadership skills in the areas of compiling resources, identifying issues, determining stakeholders, and identifying leadership opportunities.
Professional Organizations and Advocacy
To prepare:
· Consider your passions in the field of early childhood education, (my passion is to become an Early Childhood College Professor) and think about an area of the field where you would like to direct your advocacy efforts. To support you in determining an area of advocacy you would like to pursue, review the websites of the professional organizations listed in the Learning Resources.
· As you review the websites, consider what you would like to know more about, how you would like to support others, and which topics presented seem to fit best with your current passions and professional interests. You may select topics and websites other than those presented. The professional organization websites in the Learning Resources are designed to serve as a guide.
· Select three organizational websites and three resources from one or more of the websites you chose that complement your selected advocacy topic. These resources may include such items as positions statements, articles, videos, etc., providing research, information, and insights that relate to your topic. Your goal in selecting these resources is to provide an overview of your topic, familiarize yourself with advocacy work that has been conducted on the topic, and analyze how the information presented can assist you in working toward your advocacy goals.
To complete this Assignment:
· Provide a brief overview of the advocacy topic you selected and a rationale for your selection. As you develop your overview, consider the following:
· Why is the topic you selected important for young children, families, professionals, and/or the field of early childhood education?
· What draws you to the advocacy topic you have selected?
· Based on the organizational websites you selected (3 total), provide a summary that includes the following:
· A general overview of how the work of the organization complements your advocacy goal
· Opportunities for engagement/collaboration with the organization around your selected advocacy topic
· How becoming involved with the organization might assist you in achieving your advocacy goals
· For each of the resources you selected from one or more of the organizational websites (3 total), provide a summary that includes the following:
· A general overview of information from the resource that relates to your advocacy topic
· Three to five main points that you feel would support your advocacy goals
· A citation
Be sure to cite appropriate references in APA format to substantiate your thinking.
Amanchukwu, R. N., Stanley, G. J., & Ololube, N. P. (2015). A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management. Management, 5(1), 6–14. doi:10.5923/j.mm.20150501.02
Beyer, B. (2012). Blending constructs and concepts: Development of emerging theories of organizational leadership and their relationship to leadership practices for social justice. Retrieved from http://cnx.org/contents/CZKCR71m@4/Blending-Constructs-and-Concepts
Bloom, P. J. & Abel, M. B. (2015). Expanding the lens—leadership as an organizational asset. Young Children, 70(2), 10–17.
Hallet, E. (2013). We all share a common vision and passion: Early years professionals reflect upon their leadership of practice role. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 11(3), 312–325. doi:10.1177/1476718X1349088
Hard, L., & Jónsdóttir, A. H. (2013). Leadership is not a dirty word: Exploring and embracing leadership in ECEC. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(3), 311–325. doi:10.1080/1350293X.2013.814355
Leeson, C. (2014). The pressures of leading early years services in a changing world. In J. Moyles, J. Payler, & J. Georgeson (Eds.), Early years foundations: Critical issues (2nd ed., pp. 143–154). Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264688756_
Lewis, J., & Hill, J. (2012). What does leadership look like in early childhood settings? Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/our-publications/every-child-magazine/every-child-index/every-child-vol-18-4-2012/leadership-look-like-early-childhood-settings/
McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. (2015, Summer). An international perspective on early childhood leadership. Research Notes. Retrieved from http://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RN-Summer-2015
Muñoz, M., Boulton , P., Johnson, T., & Unal, C. (2015). Leadership development for a changing early childhood landscape. YC Young Children, 70(2), 26–31.
National Policy Board for Educational Administrati
Orr, T., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2015). Appreciative leadership: Supporting education innovation. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(4), 235–240.
on. (2015). Professional standards for educational leaders. Retrieved from
http://www.ccsshttps://www.proquest.com/docview/1789785813?accountid=14872&forcedol=trueo.org/Documents/2015/ProfessionalStandardsforEdu
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=87017544&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=shib&custid=s6527200
Save the Children Action Network. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2016, from https://www.savethechildrenactionnetwork.org/
American Educational Research Association. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.aera.net/
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/
Zero to Three. (2016a). Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/
National Association of Elementary School Principals. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.naesp.org/
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/
National Institute for Early Education Research. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.nieer.org/
Harvard Family Research Project. (2016). Early childhood education. Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/early-childhood-education
California Department of Education (Producer). (2013). Invitation to leadership in early childhood [Video file]. Retrieved from http://ececompsat.org/competencies/lead/lead.html
Note: This video is part of a series of California ECE competencies
Varhaiskasvatuksen
Tiedelehti
Journal
of
Early
Childhood
Education
Research
Vol.3,
No.1,
2014,
65−
81
©
2014
Suomen
Varhaiskasvatus
ry.
–
Early
Childhood
Education
Association
Finland.
Peer-‐review
under
responsibility
of
the
editorial
board
of
the
journal
ISSN
2323-‐7414;
ISSN-‐L
2323-‐7414
online
65
Being
and
Becoming
Early
Childhood
Leaders:
Reflections
on
Leadership
Studies
in
Early
Childhood
Education
and
the
Future
Leadership
Research
Agenda
Manjula
Waniganayake
Institute
of
Early
Childhood,
Macquarie
University,
Sydney,
Australia
e-‐mail:
Manjula.waniganayake@mq.edu.au
ABSTRACT:
In
Australia,
educational
leadership
studies
emerged
as
a
core
area
of
study
within
early
childhood
bachelor
degree
courses
during
the
1990s.
This
inclusion
was
supported
by
findings
from
newly
emerging
research
on
leadership
involving
early
childhood
educators.
A
handful
of
Australian
and
Finnish
scholars
joined
researchers
based
in
the
USA
to
actively
research
leadership
focusing
on
the
early
childhood
sector.
In
this
paper,
reflections
on
what
has
been
achieved
over
the
past
two
decades
in
promoting
leadership
studies
in
the
early
childhood
sector
is
analysed
as
a
starting
point
to
evaluate
learning
and
stimulate
further
discussion
on
additional
work
necessary
in
preparing
future
leaders.
This
analysis
will
be
based
on
exploring
key
assumptions
about
distributed
leadership
models
being
favoured
by
policy
planners
and
practitioners.
In
identifying
gaps
in
our
knowledge
base,
possibilities
for
further
research
are
presented
by
drawing
on
developments
in
Australia
and
elsewhere
as
appropriate.
Keywords:
early
childhood
leadership,
leadership
research,
leadership
preparation.
Theorising
leadership
in
early
childhood
Leadership
is
a
word
used
all
around
the
world.
Its
abstract
nature
has
however
meant
that
there
is
no
single
universal
definition
or
agreement
on
what
leadership
is
and
how
it
can
be
assessed
and
understood.
Researching
leadership
is
also
challenging
because
it
is
difficult
to
identify,
quantify
or
observe,
and
as
Rodd
(2013)
declares,
sometimes,
66
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—
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Tiedelehti
—
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3(1)
2014,
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“effective
leadership
is
enacted
by
standing
back,
saying
or
doing
nothing.”
(p.
233).
Nevertheless,
leadership
is
often
identified
as
a
key
element
in
delivering
high
quality
early
childhood
programs
(Hujala,
Waniganayake
&
Rodd,
2013).
In
effect,
conceptualisations
of
leadership
are
best
understood
when
nuanced
within
the
local
contexts
of
enactment.
Writing
about
leadership
within
early
childhood
settings
in
Australia,
Waniganayake,
Cheeseman,
Fennech,
Hadley
and
Shepherd
(2012,
p.11)
have
suggested
that
when
exploring
leadership
one
must
take
into
account
the
person
(the
leader),
the
position
(authority
to
make
decisions)
and
the
place
(the
organisational
setting).
Which
of
these
three
elements
are
emphasised
or
prioritised
within
the
daily
practice
of
early
childhood
leadership
is
however,
highly
variable
and
context
specific.
This
view
is
encapsulated
in
the
definition
of
early
childhood
leadership
presented
by
Nivala
(1999
cited
in
Hujala,
2013,
p.
53)
as
“a
socially
constructed,
situational
and
interpretive
phenomenon.”
These
Finnish
early
childhood
scholars
are
pioneer
researchers
who
recognised
the
importance
of
context
in
researching
leadership.
Their
contextual
leadership
model
integrates
the
structural
components
of
early
childhood
organisations
by
drawing
attention
to
the
vision,
mission,
core
tasks
and
responsibilities
of
early
childhood
leaders.
This
article
aims
to
present
critical
reflections
about
the
importance
of
preparing
early
childhood
educators
for
leadership
enactment.
Given
the
increasing
complexity
of
challenges
encountered
by
today’s
early
childhood
educators
in
the
frontline
of
service
delivery,
it
is
imperative
that
those
in
leadership
roles
are
well
prepared
in
order
to
respond
effectively
to
support
the
education
and
wellbeing
of
children
and
families
in
their
communities.
Adopting
a
contextual
approach,
pathways
to
being
and
becoming
leaders
in
Early
Childhood
Education
(ECE)
are
examined
against
a
backdrop
of
developments
in
Australia
and
other
countries
as
appropriate.
Changing
profile
of
the
early
childhood
educator
Globally,
there
is
no
consensus
or
clarity
on
what
is
expected
of
ECE
graduates
at
the
time
of
graduation
from
a
three
or
four
year
bachelor
degree.
The
Australian
Children’s
Education
and
Care
Quality
Authority
(ACECQA)
is
responsible
for
the
accreditation
of
course
content
in
this
country.
The
pay
and
conditions
of
employing
ECE
graduates
are
linked
to
industrial
awards
but
this
system
is
fragmented
due
to
the
involvement
of
a
mix
of
trade
unions
with
inadequate
national
coordination.
The
limited
recognition
of
masters
degrees
within
the
current
awards
is
a
particular
concern
as
there
is
no
formal
approval
of
the
value
of
undertaking
postgraduate
studies
reflected
in
the
pay
scales,
leaving
it
to
employers
to
validate
staff
achievements
through
advanced
studies.
Overall,
the
absence
of
a
national
professional
registration
system
for
ECE
graduates
has
also
meant
that
there
is
no
systematic
way
of
assessing
the
employment
expectations
of
these
graduates.
In
effect,
there
has
been
limited
movement
in
addressing
issues
of
public
visibility
and
validation,
career
pathways
linked
to
formal
studies,
as
well
as
67
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Tiedelehti
—
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3(1)
2014,
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professional
registration
and
licensure,
as
identified
particularly
in
terms
of
leadership
development
nearly
two
decades
ago
(Waniganayake,
1998).
The
roles
and
responsibilities
of
ECE
graduates
working
in
childcare
centres
have
varied
overtime.
About
thirty
years
ago,
being
a
teacher
of
young
children
was
clearly
defined
as
an
autonomous
role
carried
out
by
an
ECE
graduate
who
was
responsible
for
designing
and
delivering
an
education
program
for
pre-‐schoolers.
In
contrast,
the
contemporary
profiles
of
ECE
graduates
incorporate
education
and
care
responsibilities
more
explicitly
and
cover
a
wider
age
range
of
children
birth
to
five
years.
Government
policy,
through
the
National
Quality
Standard
(ACECQA,
2012)
and
its
predecessor,
the
Quality
Improvement
and
Accreditation
System
(QIAS)
in
1993,
has
reinforced
this
open
profile
since
the
1990s.
The
emphasis
on
working
in
partnership
with
families
and
the
wider
community
and
the
inclusion
of
service
management
and
leadership
responsibilities
(ACECQA,
2012)
reflects
the
expanding
roles
of
ECE
graduates,
requiring
engagement
with
a
wide
range
of
stakeholders.
The
once
clearly
defined
teacher
responsibilities
focusing
exclusively
on
the
education
of
young
children,
has
therefore
widened
in
scope
with
increasing
demands
from
parents,
government
and
other
professionals
working
in
different
ways
with
children
in
early
childhood
settings.
As
reflected
in
Figure
1,
traditionally,
in
Australia,
those
graduating
with
an
ECE
Diploma
or
Degree,
found
employment
in
a
preschool
or
kindergarten
working
with
children
between
three
to
five
years
age.
Since
the
1980s
however,
with
the
large
scale
expansion
of
childcare
centres
employment
opportunities
for
early
childhood
graduates
emerged
in
settings
catering
for
children
from
birth
to
five
years.
Traditional
preschools
or
kindergartens
offered
half-‐day
educational
programs,
and
are
closed
during
school
holidays.
In
contrast,
childcare
centres
are
open
for
longer
hours,
often
from
7am
to
6pm
and
remain
open
for
at
least
48
weeks
of
the
year
in
order
to
obtain
government
funding.
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Tiedelehti
—
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3(1)
2014,
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Traditional
Profile
Contemporary
Profile
Pre-‐1980s
Since
the
1990s
FIGURE
1
Changing
profile
of
ECE
graduates
Research
conducted
during
the
1990s
on
exploring
workplace
responsibilities
of
early
childhood
educators
is
limited.
Initial
leadership
studies
conducted
by
those
such
as
Hayden
(1997),
Rodd
(1998),
and
Waniganayake,
Morda
and
Kapsalakis
(2000)
suggested
that
soon
after
graduation
with
little
or
no
work
experience
in
the
sector,
but
as
the
highest
qualified
person,
ECE
graduates
were
frequently
expected
to
jump
into
the
role
of
a
centre
director/manager.
Reflecting
on
these
studies
now
it
becomes
apparent
that
unenviable
demands
were
placed
on
new
and
inexperienced
graduates
in
managing
and
leading
as
a
childcare
centre
director.
This
situation
was
exacerbated
further
for
teaching
directors
of
small
centres
where
the
director’s
responsibilities
included
regular
classroom
work
with
children.
Importantly,
research
by
Rosier
and
Lloyd-‐Smith
(1996,
p.
i)
revealed
that
“low
pay
and
low
status
relative
to
high
level
of
responsibility
inherent
in
the
job”
contributed
significantly
to
staff
dissatisfaction
and
high
turnover
rates
(cited
in
Waniganayake,
1998,
p.111).
This
pattern
was
also
reflected
in
other
countries
such
as
the
USA,
where
Jorde-‐Bloom
(1994)
reported
on
concerns
on
expecting
teacher
education
graduates
to
take
on
broader
responsibilities
without
adequate
preparation
for
leading
and
managing
centres.
Almost
two
decades
later,
the
assessment
of
workplace
demands
on
early
childhood
graduates
I
made
in
1998
still
stands:
For
many
child
care
centre
directors
in
Australia,
the
responsibilities
they
shoulder
as
the
‘chief
executive
officer’
of
a
small
business
enterprise
are
not
reflected
in
their
job
descriptions,
wages
nor
conditions
of
employment.
Observing
similar
trends
in
Europe,
those
such
as
Oberhuemer
and
Ulich
(1997)
as
well
as
Abbott
and
Pugh
(1998)
call
for
a
review
of
early
childhood
training
which
takes
into
account
contemporary
realities
of
wider
societal,
economic
and
political
contexts
which
require
early
childhood
professionals
to
have
skills
far
AUTONOMOUS
• Well
defined
as
a
teacher
of
young
children
• Self
contained
to
the
setting
OPEN/UNBOUNDED
• Ill-‐defined
as
a
teacher/
manager/leader/other?
• Multiple
roles
involving
children,
families,
staff,
and
community
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Tiedelehti
—
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2014,
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beyond
working
with
young
children
in
small
isolated
settings.
(Waniganayake,
1998,
p.
117)
The
nationalization
of
early
childhood
policy
reforms
in
Australia
during
2007-‐2013,
has
also
placed
increasing
demands
on
centre
directors
(Productivity
Commission,
2011).
Their
role
today
includes
not
only
providing
pedagogical
leadership
in
supporting
the
implementation
of
the
national
curriculum
known
as
the
Early
Years
Learning
Framework
(DEEWR,
2009),
but
also
satisfying
compliance
with
legal
responsibilities
and
managing
the
centre
as
a
viable
business.
Whilst
in
school
education
it
is
well
understood
that
small
schools
“are
not
miniature
versions
of
large
schools”
(Mohr,
2000
cited
in
Dinham
et
al,
2011,
p.
149)
this
is
not
yet
fully
appreciated
in
the
early
childhood
sector.
Accordingly,
it
is
not
surprising
that
a
pattern
of
accidental
managers
in
leadership
positions
which
emerged
in
the
1990s,
continues
in
practice
today.
The
challenge
remains,
how
to
grow
early
childhood
leaders
who
can
perform
diverse
and
complex
functions
and
do
it
well,
and
how
to
produce
sufficient
numbers
of
leadership
capable
graduates,
quickly.
The
sense
of
urgency
was
captured
in
the
Productivity
Commission’s
Report
(2011)
which
was
cognizant
of
the
flow
on
effects
of
the
national
reforms
requiring
both
a
review
of
existing
qualifications
and
the
need
for
“a
substantial
volume
of
training
to
be
delivered
in
a
short
time
frame”
(p.
xxxiv).
School
leadership
research
shows
that
effectiveness
of
leadership
can
be
assessed
against
student
learning
outcomes
and
indeed,
high
stakes
testing
of
school
performance
highlights
the
key
role
school
principals
play
in
student
achievement
(Dinham
et
al,
2011;
Marsh,
Waniganayake,
&
De
Nobile,
2013).
Within
ECE,
there
is
no
longitudinal
research
on
measuring
the
impact
of
leadership
on
children’s
learning
other
than
linking
it
with
broader
service
quality
as
reflected
in
research
by
Siraj-‐Blatchford
and
Manni
(2008).
The
Early
Childhood
Development
Workforce
Research
Report
prepared
by
the
Productivity
Commission
(2011)
informed
the
Australian
government’s
strategic
directions
in
supporting
the
development
of
its
Early
Years
Workforce
Strategy
(DEEWR,
2012).
Since
the
change
of
government
in
2013,
the
status
of
this
strategy
in
driving
future
directions
is
unclear.
Nevertheless,
under
the
National
Quality
Framework
(ACECQA,
2011)
‘an
educational
leader’
is
defined
as
someone
who
“is
suitably
qualified
and
experienced
…
to
lead
the
development
and
implementation
of
the
education
program
(curriculum)
in
the
service”
(p.85).
Nupponen
(2006,
p.92)
refers
to
leader
behaviour
being
important
in
“empowering
staff
and
motivating
them
to
have
more
responsibility
in
their
decision-‐making.”
Likewise,
Fennech
(2013)
argues
that
the
identification
of
an
educational
leader
position
through
national
policy
standards
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction.
Obviously,
centre
directors
can
play
a
key
role
in
attracting
and
retaining
staff.
The
high
levels
of
casualization
of
the
early
childhood
workforce
and
the
shortage
of
well
qualified
staff
however
presents
challenges
in
terms
of
building
teams,
promoting
innovation
and
achieving
consistency
in
practice
within
a
centre.
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In
Australia,
until
recently,
the
availability
of
professional
development
courses
targeting
leadership
responsibilities
in
the
early
childhood
sector
has
been
sparse
and
inadequate.
Some
key
stakeholder
organisations
have
noted
this
by
way
of
stating
that
“there
is
no
systematic
mentoring
and
leadership
programs
to
provide
genuine
professional
support
to
staff.”
(KPV,
2011,
sub.
72,
p.7,
as
cited
by
Fennech,
2013).
A
cumulative
body
of
research-‐based
evidence
has
however
strengthened
the
global
call
for
the
systematic
provisioning
of
continuous
professional
development
and
support
(PD&S)
for
early
childhood
educators
(OECD,
2006;
2012).
Exploration
of
connectivities
between
quality
outcomes
for
children
and
staff
PD&S,
provided
the
focus
for
a
national
research
study
involving
childcare
centre
directors/managers
in
Australia
(Waniganayake
et
al,
2008).
In
identifying
leadership
and
management
as
an
area
of
high
priority
for
professional
development,
the
participants
in
this
study
also
indicated
a
strong
preference
for
customised
sessions
delivered
to
all
staff
at
their
own
centres
as
being
more
beneficial
than
participating
in
one-‐off
external
sessions
attended
by
some
(but
not
all)
staff
on
an
ad
hoc
basis.
These
findings
are
being
reinforced
through
recent
research
by
Colmer
(2013)
who
has
found
that
distributed
leadership
flourishes
through
collective
engagement
in
professional
development
linked
with
practitioner
inquiry
projects
conducted
within
early
childhood
centres.
In
analysing
leadership
within
the
USA
contexts,
Kagan
and
Bowman
(1997)
were
among
the
first
to
clarify
the
importance
of
developing
leadership
theories
that
are
relevant
and
meaningful
to
early
childhood
audiences.
Although
others
have
reinforced
this
view
over
time
(eg.
Ebbeck
&
Waniganayake,
2003;
Rodd,
1998;
2006;
2013),
to
date,
the
level
of
theorizing
continues
to
lag
behind
other
sectors,
especially
in
comparison
to
school
leadership.
In
seeking
an
explanation,
many
would
agree
with
Mujis
et
al
(2004)
that
the
diversity
of
organisational
settings
exacerbates
the
complexities
of
advancing
theoretical
explanations
within
ECE.
They
also
refer
to
the
relatively
small
organizational
size,
as
well
as
the
predominance
of
women
in
management/leadership
positions
within
early
childhood
centres.
Their
assessment
that
a
gender-‐based
argument
may
not
be
fully
supported
by
referring
to
the
work
by
head-‐teachers
in
UK
schools,
however,
requires
further
investigation
–
especially
from
a
cross-‐cultural
perspective,
based
on
research
in
a
wider
sample
of
countries.
Preparation
of
early
childhood
leaders
Inclusion
of
leadership
and
management
units
in
ECE
bachelor
degree
programs
in
Australia
can
be
traced
back
to
the
1990s.
This
trend
parallel
the
expansion
of
childcare
centres
and
the
growing
interest
in
quality
assurance,
entrepreneurship
and
corporate
involvement
in
early
childhood
service
provision
(Brennan,
1998;
Sumsion,
2007).
Focus
on
centre
administration
in
the
1970s,
shifted
to
business
management
during
the
1980s,
which
in
turn
merged
into
leadership
in
the
1990s
(Waniganayake
et
al,
2012).
Throughout
this
period,
ECE
bachelor
degrees
retained
their
primary
focus
on
teacher
preparation
and
attention
on
leadership
development
was
at
best
ad
hoc
and
limited
to
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raising
awareness
of
potential
challenges
instead
of
an
adequate
preparation
for
a
vigorous
role
in
leading
an
early
childhood
organisation.
Much
has
been
written
about
early
childhood
teachers’
reluctance
to
embrace
leadership
roles
(Dunlop,
2008;
Ebbeck
&
Waniganayake,
2003;
Hayden,
1997;
Mujis,
Aubrey,
Harris
&
Briggs,
2004;
Rodd,
2006).
Mujis
et
al
(2004,
p.161)
were
also
struck
by
participants’
emphasis
on
“maintenance”
or
management
roles
in
contrast
to
“development”
or
leadership
tasks.
Confusion
between
centre
management
issues
concerned
with
day-‐to-‐day
functions
often
meant
a
limited
focus
on
long-‐term
strategic
planning,
involving
an
emphasis
on
organisational
development
through
a
shared
vision
and
mission
that
require
leadership
(Waniganayake
et
al,
2012).
Much
of
the
1990s
research
in
essence,
reflects
a
focus
on
management
rather
than
leadership
responsibilities.
There
is
now
substantive
research
evidence
to
show
that
high
quality
early
childhood
service
provision
is
built
upon
having
a
well-‐qualified
workforce
(Adamson,
2008;
OECD,
2006;
2012).
Formal
qualifications
in
ECE
can
also
make
a
difference
in
supporting
leadership
decision-‐making.
Wagner
(2008)
however
believes
that
teachers,
unlike
any
other
professionals
such
as
architects,
engineers,
doctors
or
lawyers,
have
not
been
adequately
prepared
to
analyse
and
solve
every
day
routine
problems
encountered
during
their
professional
practice.
Instead,
teachers
have
been
regulated
to
be
responsive
and
compliant
to
external
steering,
reinforced
through
working
in
isolation
within
organizational
settings
that
validate
individual
teacher
performance.
The
changing
nature
of
early
childhood
organizational
contexts
however,
reflects
the
importance
of
collaboration
and
teamwork
and,
demands
a
reconceptualization
of
workforce
responsibilities.
Innovation
also
demands
taking
risks,
and
making
use
of
opportunities
to
learn
from
both
successes
and
failures.
Likewise,
instead
of
simply
being
reactive
consumers
of
knowledge,
leadership
means
becoming
knowledge
producers
who
can
design
variable
strategies
to
deal
with
the
ambiguities
and
complexities
of
today’s
society.
Teachers
in
Finland
have
professional
autonomy
and
accept
responsibility
for
their
decision-‐making.
These
are
characteristics
that
Hargreaves
and
Shirley
(2011)
also
found
in
high
performing
school
systems
in
other
countries
such
as
Singapore
and
Canada.
Sahlberg
(2013,
p.37)
writes
“Teachers
in
Finland
enjoy
what
they
do”,
and
job
satisfaction
is
connected
with
the
absence
of
external
control
and
monitoring
that
can
restrict
professional
freedom
in
everyday
practice.
Accordingly,
Sahlberg
(2013,
p.40)
declares
that
“Professional
leadership
will
only
flourish
among
teachers
if
they
have
the
autonomy
to
influence
what
and
how
they
teach
and
to
determine
how
well
their
students
are
performing.”
In
Australia,
there
is
no
mandated
leadership
preparation
for
either
school
principals
or
early
childhood
centre
directors.
In
Singapore,
those
aspiring
to
become
early
childhood
principals
or
centre
directors
are
expected
to
have
completed
an
early
childhood
leadership
diploma
in
addition
to
a
teaching
diploma.
Accumulating
research
evidence
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from
studies
conducted
in
the
UK
and
New
Zealand
may
have
also
influenced
the
recognition
and
support
for
leadership
development
for
early
childhood
practitioners
by
these
Governments.
For
instance,
in
the
‘Educational
Leadership
Project’
conducted
in
New
Zealand,
Hatherley
and
Lee
(2003)
report
on
leaders
having
a
vision
and
building
stronger
links
with
local
neighbourhood
communities,
reflecting
a
change
towards
taking
leadership
roles
beyond
the
confines
of
one’s
own
organizational
setting.
The
early
childhood
leadership
research
agenda
As
noted
by
those
such
as
Rodd
(2013)
and
Waniganayake
et
al
(2012),
about
three
decades
ago,
a
handful
of
Australian
and
Finnish
scholars
joined
researchers
based
in
the
USA
to
actively
research
leadership
focusing
on
the
early
childhood
sector.
Previously,
in
reflecting
on
this
initial
body
of
scholarly
endeavour,
Mujis
et
al
(2004)
contend
that
findings
from
these
early
studies
on
leadership
in
ECE
can
assist
in
explaining
the
limited
nature
of
research
growth
in
this
sector.
This
explanation
also
suggests
that
it
is
easy
to
understand
how
and
why
that
time
and
again,
researchers
(such
as,
Jorde-‐Bloom,
1992;
1994;
Hayden,
1997;
Rodd,
1996;
1998;
2006;
Waniganayake,
Nienhuys,
Kapsalakis,
&
Morda,
1998)
found
that
participants
expressed
reluctance
in
embracing
leadership
roles
expected
of
them
as
centre
directors,
highlighting
a
preference
to
work
directly
with
children
and
families.
It
appears
that
a
mix
of
factors
including
the
lack
of
personal
interest
or
self
confidence
in
imagining
themselves
as
leaders,
or
an
awareness
of
the
complexities
of
modern
leadership
enactment
with
little
or
no
financial
remuneration
can
drive
people
away
from
taking
on
leadership
roles
or
positions.
In
part,
the
above
pattern
in
resisting
leadership
enactment
by
university
qualified
ECE
graduates
may
also
be
a
reflection
of
the
fact
that
these
graduates
came
through
teacher
education
courses
where
leadership
content
was
somewhat
limited
in
quantity
and
quality.
Even
today,
formal
training
of
early
childhood
leaders
is
not
mandatory
in
most
OECD
countries.
Where
national
standards
exists,
as
in
the
case
of
the
Leadership
Capabilities
Framework
developed
by
Early
Childhood
Australia
(2013),
its
application
is
voluntary,
making
it
difficult
to
know
the
extent
to
which
these
frameworks
are
being
used
in
guiding
every
day
practice
or
informing
policy
development
within
centres.
On
the
other
hand,
since
2007,
the
Early
Years
Professional
Status
(EYPS)
established
a
national
standard
in
England,
and
its
application
has
been
wide
ranging,
with
a
government
funded
professional
development
program
implemented
throughout
the
country.
Its
usefulness
as
a
postgraduate
qualification
has
also
been
systematically
evaluated
(Teacher
Agency,
2012),
and
has
since
been
revised
as
the
Teachers’
Standards
(Early
Years);
and
its
continuation
as
a
national
policy
framework
augurs
well
in
terms
of
adopting
a
planned
approach
to
growing
future
leaders.
Likewise,
the
merger
of
teaching
and
leadership
development
under
a
single
agency,
the
National
College
for
Teaching
and
Leadership
(http://www.education.gov.uk/nationalcollege)
also
reflects
the
inextricable
connectivity
between
teaching
and
leading
in
early
childhood
centres.
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Independent
research
findings
such
as
the
study
by
John
(2008)
shows
the
importance
of
active
engagement
in
mentoring
as
a
way
of
developing
and
sustaining
leadership
capabilities
which
can,
in
turn,
contribute
new
understandings
on
leader
preparation.
Research
on
educational
leadership
has
rarely
included
the
voice
of
the
learners
in
the
settings.
In
early
childhood
leadership
research
conducted
in
Australia,
there
are
no
publications
that
incorporate
children’s
perceptions
of
adults
demonstrating
leadership.
One
study,
conducted
by
Morda
(2012)
was
aimed
at
investigating
the
development
of
children’s
leadership
capabilities
within
an
early
learning
centre
in
Melbourne.
It
did
not
however
seek
to
explore
children’s
perceptions
of
leadership
being
enacted
by
the
adults
at
their
centre.
Given
the
power
of
role
modelling,
it
would
be
interesting
to
ask
children
about
what
they
have
learnt
about
leadership
from
the
adults
in
their
lives
–
both
within
their
family
contexts
as
well
as
from
staff
at
the
early
childhood
centres.
When
conducting
research
in
early
childhood
settings,
one
must
be
cognisant
of
the
influence
leaders
can
have
on
everyone
present
–
children
and
adults.
Indeed
by
evoking
Reggio
Emilia’s
philosophy,
in
delivering
her
keynote
address
at
the
Unpacking
Conference
in
Sydney
recently,
Giamminuti
(2014)
reminded
everyone
of
the
centrality
of
children
in
early
childhood
research:
“a
simple,
liberating
thought
came
to
our
aid,
namely
that
things
about
children
and
for
children
are
only
learned
from
children”
(Malaguzzi,
1998,
p.
51).
This
potential
of
new
perspectives
emerging
through
the
eyes
of
the
children
offers
exciting
possibilities
for
future
research
in
early
childhood
leadership.
Creating
a
holistic
and
inclusive
research
culture
with
child
researchers
can
also
enable
the
expansion
of
research
methodologies
to
study
educational
leadership
in
ways
that
has
not
been
tested
to
date.
Of
necessity,
it
is
prudent
to
remember
that
endeavours
involving
children
in
particular
take
time
to
establish
trusting
relationships.
When
dealing
with
an
abstract
phenomenon
such
as
educational
leadership,
it
is
also
wise
to
consider
the
vista
of
techniques
and
tools
used
in
pedagogical
documentation
in
early
childhood
settings
to
get
closer
to
the
participants.
This
approach
offers
possibilities
in
capturing
children’s
perspectives
of
leadership
both
“frozen
in
time
(through
photographs,
drawings
and
descriptions)
and
continuing
to
unfold
over
time
(enabling
the
revisiting
and
reconceptualising
of
experience
under
construction)”
(Fleet,
Patterson
&
Robertson,
2013,
p.
3).
As
a
dynamic
process
without
an
end
point
as
such,
leadership
enactment
also
reflects
a
“pedagogy
of
possibility”,
and
pedagogical
documentation
affords
harnessing
both
unexpected
and
routine
exchanges
amongst
children
and
adults
(Fleet,
Patterson
&
Robertson,
2013,
p.
5).
These
types
of
methodologies
may
also
assist
in
exploring
organizational
cultures
within
early
childhood
settings
as
places
that
promote
or
inhibit
leadership
functioning.
In
keeping
with
the
importance
of
deepening
our
understanding
about
the
relational
nature
of
leadership
enactment,
the
continuing
absence
of
research
focusing
on
gender,
sexuality
and
cultural
dimensions
of
early
childhood
staff
also
require
urgent
investigation.
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Application
of
distributed
leadership
The
theory
of
distributed
leadership
applicable
in
early
childhood
settings,
as
conceptualised
by
me
in
2000,
was
centred
on
placing
specialist
knowledge
at
the
heart
of
organisational
culture
(see
Ebbeck
&
Waniganayake,
2003,
p.
34).
This
approach
to
early
childhood
leadership
was
founded
on
a
platform
of
valuing
the
collective
intelligence
created
through
the
amalgamation
of
expertise
that
individual
educators
bring
to
the
organization.
Moreover,
distributed
leadership
is
often
perceived
as
relational
(Duigan,
2006;
Spillane
&
Coldren,
2011),
and
aims
to
capture
the
multiple
spheres
of
influence
reflected
in
the
structures
and
contexts
of
each
early
childhood
setting
(Waniganayake
et
al,
2012).
This
perspective
is
elucidated
further
by
Siraj-‐Blatchford
and
Manni
(2007,
p.
20)
as
follows:
‘Distributed’,
‘participative’,
‘facilitative’
or
‘collaborative’
models
of
leadership
call
for
a
shift
away
from
the
traditional
vision
of
leader
as
one
key
individual
towards
a
more
collective
vision,
one
where
the
responsibility
for
leadership
rests
within
various
formal
and
informal
leaders.
The
actual
stakeholders
participating
in
a
distributed
way
within
any
given
early
childhood
setting
however,
will
of
course
vary
and
the
dynamics
of
leadership
power
sharing
is
specific
to
each
context.
More
recently,
Shonkoff
(2014)
has
proposed
a
model
of
distributed
leadership
that
incorporates
the
macro
contexts
of
early
childhood
environments,
bringing
together
early
childhood
educators
with
stakeholders
community
wide
and
including
researchers,
policy
makers
and
investors.
In
his
model,
Shonkoff
emphasized
the
importance
of
adopting
a
long-‐term
strategic
approach
in
translating
inspiration
into
concrete
goals
and
plans
developed
collaboratively
and
specific
to
each
community.
The
development
of
alliances
through
networking
is
one
of
the
anticipated
outcomes
of
Shonkoff’s
approach
to
strategic
planning
in
promoting
play-‐based
learning
during
early
childhood.
By
incorporating
both
the
micro
perspective
located
within
an
early
childhood
centre,
and
the
macro
perspective
of
the
environment
beyond
the
centre,
a
new
model
of
distributed
leadership
has
been
conceptualized
as
indicated
in
Figure
2.
In
this
conceptualization
also,
the
centrality
of
knowledge
sharing
has
been
retained,
as
various
stakeholders
bring
with
them
their
specialist
knowledge
and
skills,
and
demonstrate
leadership
in
the
application
of
their
expertise
in
shared
projects
that
benefit
children
and
families
in
their
community.
In
effect,
centres
are
perceived
as
the
hub
or
the
nucleus
that
drive
child
centred
action
within
a
community.
What
is
now
different
in
this
conceptualization
is
the
boundaries
of
interactions
have
been
widened
and
the
nature
of
interactions
between
stakeholders
will
also
involve
learning
across
disciplines
as
reflected
in
the
professional
backgrounds
and
workplace
orientations
of
the
diverse
stakeholders
involved
in
each
community.
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K
=
KNOWLEDGE:
that
is
shared
and
made
explicit
Leadership
is
distributed
across
multiple
spheres
of
activity
FIGURE
2
Distributed
leadership
in
early
Childhood
reconceptualised
Dinham
et
al
(2011,
p.
145),
contend
that
transformation
cannot
be
achieved
through
responding
to
centralized
control
or
by
acting
alone.
Instead,
by
allocating
appropriate
resources,
including
sufficient
personnel,
“to
energise
and
sustain”
networks,
schools
in
the
UK
and
Australia
have
been
successful
in
pooling
expertise
and
seeking
solutions
to
problems
together
in
comprehensive
ways.
Accordingly,
by
conceptualising
“leadership
as
capital
formation”
Dinham
et
al
have
reframed
the
preparation
and
professional
development
of
school
leaders
as
intellectual,
social,
spiritual
and
financial
capital
(pp.
145-‐147).
This
framework
represents
another
form
of
distributed
leadership,
as
it
is
also
reliant
on
collective
wisdom
and
collaboration
and
this
can
be
applied
to
ECE
contexts
as
well.
Accordingly,
it
is
proposed
that
interactions
between
stakeholders
as
represented
in
Figure
2,
reflects
this
type
of
shared
learning
with
the
anticipation
of
achieving
a
shared
vision
and
action
plan
on
whatever
the
community
plans
to
do
in
upholding
“the
best
interests
of
children”
(Article
3,
UNICEF,
1989).
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Overall,
distributed
leadership
may
be
perceived
as
being
either
too
easy
or
too
difficult
to
implement,
and
tensions
arise
because
there
is
insufficient
attention
placed
on
the
communications
necessary
to
bring
about
effective
collaboration.
According
to
Hirsh-‐Pasek
(2014)
the
five
essential
21st
century
skills
required
by
all
professionals
consist
of
‘collaboration,
communication,
content,
critical
thinking
and
confidence’.
In
redressing
the
gaps
in
early
childhood
teacher
preparation
identified
earlier,
this
list
could
be
expanded
also
by
adding
‘creative
problem
solving’
skills,
essential
in
transferring
theory
into
practice
(Wagner,
2014).
Although
Wagner
(2007)
has
endorsed
the
use
of
case
studies
in
learning
about
problem
solving,
it
is
argued
that
authentic
experiential
learning/teaching
opportunities
encountered
during
professional
placements
in
early
childhood
settings
can
strengthen
the
development
of
essential
21st
century
skills
in
more
meaningful
ways.
An
important
challenge
is
finding
better
ways
of
accommodating
these
skills
in
leadership
preparation
within
future
teacher
education
courses
and
this
requires
further
investigation
and
close
scrutiny
of
evolving
ECE
course
design
and
development.
In
Finland,
a
“Masters
degree
is
the
basic
academic
requirement
for
permanent
employment
in
a
school.”
(Sahlberg,
2013,
p.
38)
The
extent
to
which
this
is
a
mandated
requirement
of
those
teaching
in
early
childhood
centres
is
difficult
to
know.
Admission
into
teacher
education
courses
is
also
strictly
controlled
to
ensure
quality
at
the
point
of
entry
and
“it
is
difficult
to
become
a
teacher
in
Finland
without
a
high
level
of
general
knowledge,
good
social
skills
and
clear
moral
purpose”
(Sahlberg,
2013,
p.
38).
Accordingly,
it
means
having
more
than
a
single
unit/module
on
leadership
and
adopting
an
integrated
approach
where
professional
placements
focus
on
both
teaching
and
leading
responsibilities.
This
may
in
effect
require
a
clear
demarcation
between
bachelor
degrees
focusing
on
teacher
preparation
and
masters
degrees
emphasising
leadership
development.
Importantly,
participation
in
continuous
professional
development
and
learning
is
essential
for
all
regardless
of
whether
they
are
performing
teaching
and/or
leadership
functions.
Challenges
of
enacting
distributed
leadership
Torrance
(2013)
writes
eloquently
about
the
popularity
of
distributed
leadership
in
school
contexts
as
evidenced
in
education
policy
in
the
UK.
As
noted
earlier,
publications
of
empirical
studies
written
in
English
and
located
within
early
childhood
settings
investigating
distributed
leadership
in
practice
are
rare.
Drawing
on
her
study
of
Scottish
primary
schools,
Torrance
challenges
five
generally
held
assumptions
about
the
practice
of
distributed
leadership.
In
this
paper,
by
considering
its
application
within
early
childhood
settings
each
assumption
is
briefly
critiqued
further
as
follows:
• Assumption
1:
“that
every
staff
member
is
able
to
lead”
(Torrance,
2013,
p.
362).
In
her
research,
Torrance
(2013,
p.363)
found
evidence
to
the
contrary
suggesting
that
it
was
in
essence
“unrealistic
to
conceive
that
all
teachers
can
engage
in
leadership
roles
consistently”
due
to
factors
such
as
personality,
competence
and
confidence.
There
is
anecdotal
evidence
which
suggests
that
some
directors
subscribe
to
the
view
that
‘we’re
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all
leaders’
at
our
centre.
As
noted
previously,
however,
research
in
early
childhood
leadership
confirms
that
lack
of
formal
preparation
on
leadership
can
hinder
its
enactment.
Given
the
high
proportion
of
staff
without
at
least
a
bachelor
degree
in
ECE,
it
is
also
difficult
to
support
the
notion
that
anyone
can
be
a
centre
leader.
• Assumption
2:
“that
every
staff
member
wishes
to
lead”
(Torrance,
2013,
p.
363).
As
in
the
case
of
other
school
leadership
scholars,
findings
by
Torrance
(2013)
also
reflected
a
pattern
of
resistance
amongst
staff
in
her
study
in
embracing
leadership
roles.
This
type
of
culture
of
leadership
aversion
has
also
permeated
the
highly
feminised
early
childhood
sector
(see
Aubrey,
2011;
Rodd,
2013;
Waniganayake
et
al
2012).
• Assumption
3:
“that
the
leadership
role
of
staff
is
legitimised
simply
by
the
head
teacher’s
endorsement”
(Torrance
2013,
p.
364).
In
reality,
findings
from
the
study
by
Torrance(2013)
indicated
that
peer
approval
or
endorsement
of
leadership
capacity
made
a
difference
in
terms
of
successful
implementation
of
leadership.
Tensions
arose
when
support
staff
performed
leadership
roles
especially
as
teacher
leadership
was
assumed
as
based
on
expertise
in
teaching.
Absence
of
adequate
research
literature
which
explores
staff
dynamics
and
staffing
arrangements
at
centres
both
horizontally
and
vertically,
makes
it
difficult
to
assess
the
relevance
of
this
assumption
to
the
early
childhood
sector.
• Assumption
4:
“that
a
distributed
perspective
occurs
naturally”
(Torrance,
2013,
p.
364).
It
was
clear
from
the
leadership
narratives
of
the
head
teachers
participating
in
Torrance’
study
(2013)
that
it
took
time
and
planning
to
organise
the
distribution
of
leadership
in
purposeful
ways.
Whilst
staff
in
early
childhood
settings
often
worked
in
small
teams,
the
legitimation
of
positional
power
to
centre
directors
in
particular,
goes
against
the
natural
flow
of
distributing
leadership
to
others.
• Assumption
5:
“that
a
distributed
perspective
is
unproblematic”
(Torrance,
2013,
p.
365).
There
were
a
number
of
tension
points
identified
by
Torrance
(2013)
ranging
between
teacher
identity,
autonomy
and
control
and
a
lack
of
a
shared
definition
of
leadership
and
management.
These
tensions
can
also
be
found
within
early
childhood
settings
and
the
extent
to
which
factors
such
as
the
gender,
ethnicity,
age,
and
religion
as
well
as
the
number
of
staff,
their
qualifications
and
experience
in
the
sector
can
have
an
impact
on
distributing
leadership
in
both
school
and
early
childhood
settings
require
further
investigation.
This
analysis
makes
it
clear
that
enactment
of
distributed
leadership
requires
dialogue,
planning
and
policy
systems
as
well
as
strategies
to
monitor
its
progress.
This
understanding
is
reinforced
by
emerging
findings
from
research
conducted
by
both
Colmer
(2013)
and
Heikka
(2014)
who
have
argued
for
greater
recognition
of
teacher
leadership
particularly
in
relation
to
leading
pedagogy,
a
core
function
of
early
childhood
centres.
In
keeping
with
the
expanding
role
of
early
childhood
educators,
the
proposed
model
in
this
paper
goes
beyond
pedagogical
leadership
within
early
childhood
settings
to
exploring
new
opportunities
for
distributed
leadership
in
connecting
with
the
wider
community.
It
is
a
mistake
to
ignore
the
contextual
nature
of
distributed
leadership
enactment
as
differing
social,
political,
historical
and
cultural
forces
at
play
within
each
community
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can
shape
the
programs
available
at
each
setting.
Importantly,
the
interactions
between
these
diverse
factors
and
stakeholders
create
complexities
which
leaders
must
be
cognisant
about
in
the
application
of
discipline
specific
knowledge
when
articulating
strategic
plans.
Accordingly,
it
behoves
leaders
to
seek
ways
of
establishing
a
shared
understanding
before
implementing
any
changes
in
policy
or
practice.
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Inspiring leaders to
improve children’s lives
Highly effective leadership in children’s
centres
Written by Caroline Sharp, Pippa Lord, Graham Handscomb,
Shona Macleod, Clare Southcott, Nalia George and Jenny Jeffes
May 2012
Schools and academies
Resource
2 © National College for School Leadership
Contents
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8
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……………………………………………….67
How to cite this publication:
Sharp, C., Lord, P., Handscomb, G., Macleod, S., Southcott, C., George, N. and Jeffes, J. (2012). Highly Effective
Leadership in Children’s Centres. Nottingham: National College for School Leadership.
The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for
Education.
3 © National College for School Leadership
The NFER team would like to thank the National College for funding this research. We are most grateful to
the children’s centre leaders who welcomed us to their centres, and to all participants who contributed to
the study. We would also like to thank the members of the advisory group for their advice and comments
throughout the research process, which have been invaluable to the NFER team.
The children’s centres that took part in this research1 included:
Butterflies Nursery – Marsh Farm Children’s Centre
Children’s Rise Centres (The Rise Trust)
Coin Street Family and Children’s Centre
Consortium from Bradford, led by St Edmunds Nursery School and Children’s Centre
Everton Nursery School and Family Centre
Haslingden Community Link and Children’s Centre
Langworthy and Belvedere Children’s Centres
Leatherhead Trinity School and Children’s Centre
Ledbury Children’s Centre
London Early Years Foundation
Newdale Primary School and Children’s Centre
North and North East Abingdon Children’s Centres
Oak Tree Children’s Centre
St Cuthbert’s and Palatine Children’s Centre
Talbot and Brunswick Children’s Centre
Penzance Children’s Centre
Woodlands Children’s Centre
The project was directed by Caroline Sharp and led by Pippa Lord at the NFER. Dr Andrew Coleman at the
National College for School Leadership managed the research project.
Research team members were:
Caroline Sharp, Pippa Lord, Shona Macleod, Clare Southcott, Nalia George, Jenny Jeffes, Gill Featherstone,
Kerry Martin, Robert Smith, Graham Handscomb, Rebekah Wilson, Caroline Filmer-Sankey, Sagina Khan, Hilary
Grayson and Alison Jones.
The project advisory group members were:
Katharine Bear, Sharon Bell, Andrew Coleman, Trudie Cawthorne, Sue Egersdorff, Naomi Eisenstadt, Toby
Greany, Pam Mundy, Russell Norman, Sue Robb, Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Catherine Steptoe and Margy Whalley.
1 We asked all participating children’s centre leaders whether they wished their centre to be named in the
acknowledgements.
Acknowledgements
4 © National College for School Leadership
Children’s Centres are making a significant difference to the lives and life chances of children and their
families across the country everyday.
This research celebrates children’s centre leadership but also recognises the complexity of the role, using
the experiences of leaders to reflect on what works, what is valued and what leadership behaviours make a
real and sustained difference. The intention is for this to support and encourage national policymakers, local
authorities and their providers but above all, leaders themselves, to reflect on their own leadership story and
implications for the future. It should also serve to underpin the learning and development of centre leaders
of the future, ensuring they are well prepared, informed and inspired as they step up to this important
leadership role. As the report points out, ensuring a future pipeline of high quality children’s centre leaders is
critical.
The economic environment and resource pressures have added particular challenges to the leadership
of integrated services and these are well highlighted in the Report. However, the best leaders are
demonstrating that leadership with moral purpose, resourcefulness and resilience can lead to greater
innovation, collaboration and trust across the sector and with families, in spite of a challenging operating
landscape.
Children’s Centres remain central to the Government’s vision of early intervention and co-ordinated support.
Where this works well there is engagement and leadership at all levels, centred around a compelling sense
of shared purpose and local endeavour. Leaders are able to articulate the “what”, the “how” but above all,
the “why” of their work. This makes the concept of a self improving system based on deep and meaningful
partnerships a particularly exciting vision worthy of further exploration across the Foundation Years in the
future.
Steve Munby, Chief Executive Officer, National College for School Leadership
Foreword
5 © National College for School Leadership
Term Definition
children’s centre See Sure Start children’s centre
children’s centre
reach area
the designated geographical area served by a children’s centre and in which
families with a child/children under the age of five live. The reach area is often
aligned with ward and parish boundaries, and may or may not be coterminous
with local primary school and other service boundaries
cluster model
a group of two or more children’s centres collaborating on an informal basis, or
more formally as a designated locality cluster
common
assessment
framework (CAF)
a standardised approach used by practitioners to assess children’s additional
needs and decide how these should be met
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/caf
core purpose
(of Sure Start
children’s centres)
the improvement of outcomes for young children and their families, with a
particular focus on the most disadvantaged, so children are equipped for life and
ready for school, no matter what their background or family circumstances. This is
supported by improving parenting aspirations, self-esteem and parenting skills,
and child and family health and life chances
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/
a00191780/core-purpose-of-sure-start-childrens-centres
distributed
leadership
the sharing of leadership responsibilities across an organisation with the
aim of developing many leaders, empowered to take on their own areas of
responsibility, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of outcomes for the
clients served (eg, children, parents and families)
www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leadingschools/developing-
leadership-in-your-school/distrbuted-leadership.htm
Early Years
Foundation Stage
(EYFS)
a comprehensive statutory framework that sets standards for the learning,
development and care of children from birth to five. All early years providers are
required to use the EYFS to ensure that whatever setting parents choose, they can
be confident their child will receive a good-quality experience that supports their
child’s care, learning and development
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/
delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
Glossary
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/caf
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a00191780/core-purpose-of-sure-start-childrens-centres
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/a00191780/core-purpose-of-sure-start-childrens-centres
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leadingschools/developing-leadership-in-your-school/distrbuted-leadership.htm
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leadingschools/developing-leadership-in-your-school/distrbuted-leadership.htm
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
6 © National College for School Leadership
Early Years
Foundation Stage
Profile (EYFSP)
the statutory assessment requirement for children who are reaching the end of
the Foundation Stage. Schools and settings with children in the final year of the
EYFS must complete the EYFSP assessments and return the final results to the
local authority towards the end of the summer term
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/
delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
early years
teaching centre
pilot
a two-year pilot to establish a national network of early years teaching centres
run by outstanding children’s centres and nursery schools across the country
www.pengreen.org/page.php?article=1726&name=Early+Years+Teaching+Centres
foundation years
the 2011 report on poverty by Frank Field MP, Supporting families in the
foundation years, identified the importance of intervening during the period of
development from pregnancy up to the age of five to prevent poor children from
becoming poor adults. The goal is to ensure that by the age of five children are
ready to take full advantage of the next stage of learning and have laid down
foundations for good health in adult life
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/early/
a00192398/supporting-families-in-the-foundation-years
hub-and-spoke
model
an arrangement in which a hub centre has responsibility for co-ordinating
services across one or more satellite, or ‘spoke’,
children’s centres
National College’s
Children’s Centre
Leaders Network
(CCLN)
a professional learning network for children’s centre leaders providing the
opportunity to work with other children’s centre leaders to improve practice,
share experience and develop expertise
www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/professional-development/ccln.htm
National
Professional
Qualification
for Integrated
Centre Leadership
(NPQICL)
the first national programme to address the needs of leaders within multi-
agency, early years settings, and aimed at leaders of children’s centres delivering
integrated services. It gives them the opportunity to collaborate across the
community and provide seamless, high-quality services for babies, children and
families
www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/professional-development/npqicl.htm
Sure Start
children’s centres
centres providing integrated services for young children and their families and
which bring different support agencies together to offer a range of services to
meet the needs of parents, families and children from pregnancy through to
Reception in primary school (and in some cases offering family support beyond
age five). There are more than 3,600 children’s centres in England
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/
delivery/surestart
Sure Start local
programmes
(SSLPs)
the first 524 SSLPs, established 1999-2003, for families with children up to
the age of four living in disadvantaged areas aimed to bring together early
education, childcare, health services and family support to promote the physical,
intellectual and social development of babies and children
www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-
RR073
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/education/a0068102/early-years-foundation-stage-eyfs
http://www.pengreen.org/page.php?article=1726&name=Early+Years+Teaching+Centres
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/early/a00192398/supporting-families-in-the-foundation-years
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/early/a00192398/supporting-families-in-the-foundation-years
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/professional-development/ccln.htm
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/professional-development/npqicl.htm
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/surestart
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/surestart
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR073
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-RR073
7 © National College for School Leadership
system leadership
in this project, refers to leaders working beyond their centres to secure
improvements more broadly across the Foundation Years sector
www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leading-early-years/early-
years-developing-leadership/early-years-system-leadership.htm
Team Around the
Child (TAC)
a multi-disciplinary team of practitioners established on a case-by-case basis
to support a child, young person or family and designed to ensure joined-up
working, information-sharing and early intervention. For children subject to
a CAF process, relevant service practitioners come together in a TAC to assess
needs and decide with the child/family a course of action to provide the services
needed
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/
a0068944/team-around-the-child-tac
targeted services
services for children and families with additional and multiple needs, but
which fall below the threshold of specialist or crises support (such as would
be required for children in need of immediate care or protection). In 2011, the
government introduced a requirement for Sure Start children’s centres to target
services on families in greatest need of support, although there was a continued
acknowledgement of the importance of offering universal access to services
www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/
delivery/funding/a0070357/eigfaqs
universal services
services offered to meet the needs of all children, where specialist or targeted
support is not required. The government has signalled its support for retaining a
‘universal presence in communities, [and by so doing] children’s centres will be
non-stigmatising places to go to access services’
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmeduc/768/76804.
htm
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leading-early-years/early-years-developing-leadership/early-years-system-leadership.htm
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/leadershiplibrary/leading-early-years/early-years-developing-leadership/early-years-system-leadership.htm
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/a0068944/team-around-the-child-tac
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/strategy/integratedworking/a0068944/team-around-the-child-tac
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/funding/a0070357/eigfaqs
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/delivery/funding/a0070357/eigfaqs
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmeduc/768/76804.htm
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmeduc/768/76804.htm
8 © National College for School Leadership
The National College commissioned this project to research the nature of highly effective leadership in
children’s centres and the development of system leadership. The study included a rapid review of research
and policy, case studies of 25 centre leaders identified as ‘highly effective’2 and practitioner workshops to
validate the findings. The project took place between summer 2011 and spring 2012.
The network of children’s centres has grown rapidly over the past decade. The Sure Start local programme
was announced in 1999 and by 2010 more than 3,600 centres were operating throughout England. The
coalition government’s decision to remove the ring-fence on funding for Sure Start in 2011 has led to a
period of intensive change, including local authorities seeking to rationalise their expenditure on children’s
centres and to increasingly outsource responsibility for running centres to other providers.
New models for children’s centres
New models of children’s centre organisation are developing in response to the current policy environment,
including changes in the funding of children’s centres. The most common of these new models are:
— a cluster of children’s centres working together on strategic goals
— a cluster model with a locality manager who is directly responsible to the local authority
— a hub-and-spoke model, whereby the leader of a hub centre is responsible for the work of satellite or
‘spoke’ centres
Other dimensions of centre organisation of increasing significance are:
— centres working as part of other organisations, commonly schools, but also 0-19 services or combined
centres for children and families
— individual centres with charitable status, or operating as social enterprises
— increasing involvement of regional and national chains operating centres across more than one local
authority
What are the main challenges for children’s centre leaders?
Leading a children’s centre is an inherently complex and difficult task, given the breadth of the remit and the
need to work effectively with partners in other services to improve outcomes for children and families. The
recent period of change has intensified the challenges, producing a loss of experienced leaders and resulting
in a period of uncertainty for leaders and staff. The key challenges are:
— leading in a time of intense change
— maintaining high-quality services in the face of uncertainty and funding cuts
— maintaining staff morale and motivation
— keeping an appropriate balance between universal and targeted services
— dealing with increasing numbers of vulnerable families, combined with fewer sources of support
— managing limitations in the understanding by other agencies of the contribution made by children’s
centres, combined with a perceived low status of early years’ professionals
2 including five case studies of ‘good’ leadership
Executive summary
9 © National College for School Leadership
— tackling barriers to effective data-sharing between partner agencies
How were highly effective leaders addressing these challenges?
The most effective centre leaders are change managers. They see change as an opportunity to be proactive
and solutions-focused, taking the opportunity to reshape today’s world to create solutions for tomorrow. They
also have a high degree of emotional intelligence, demonstrated through resilience, optimism, motivation,
intuition, and the ability to form strong relationships and work in partnership to make a difference for
children and families.
Core behaviours of highly effective
leaders
The research identified eight core behaviours displayed by highly effective children’s centre leaders. These
are:
1. having a clear vision to improve outcomes for children and families
2. engaging responsively with families
3. using evidence to drive improvements in outcomes
4. using business skills strategically
5. facilitating open communication
6. embracing integrated working
7. motivating and empowering staff
8. being committed to their own learning and development
Each of these behaviours is underpinned by a set of key knowledge, skills and attributes, including change
management, distributed leadership and emotional intelligence. Highly effective leaders understand their
role in setting the vision and culture, which they pursue in partnership with staff, other service providers,
parents and other stakeholders.
Core behaviours of system leaders
System leadership is about leading across the foundation years to develop a self-improving system. It
involves driving improvement and challenging each other with rigour. The research identified three main
ways in which system leadership can operate: centre-to-centre, across other foundation years’ settings and in
leading service development.
The research identified seven core behaviours of system leadership:
1. investing in the bigger picture
2. focusing on achieving best outcomes for children and families across the foundation years
3. using key knowledge and evidence across the system
4. creating partnerships serving children and families across
the
system
5. leading and constructing collaboratively across the system
6. building system leadership capacity
7. improving practice and tackling underperformance across the system
These behaviours are built on effective leadership within children’s centres, but require leaders to act
strategically to improve outcomes for children and families beyond their own centre’s reach area.
10 © National College for School Leadership
The research found that the concept of system leadership was not well understood by centre leaders.
Nevertheless, the case studies showed that leaders were taking on aspects of system leadership, and were
interested in expanding their role (for example, through the early years teaching centre initiative pilot (Pen
Green 2011). One of the underpinning abilities demonstrated by centre leaders involved in system leadership
is an investment in horizon-scanning, combined with a strong grasp of the situation on the ground and an
ability to operate in a politically astute manner.
Implications for
NPQICL
The research team asked children’s centre leaders and staff for their views on the National Professional
Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL). This found overwhelming support both for the
qualification and the intention to develop a modular course. Centre leaders were concerned that the course
might be shortened in future, and wanted to retain opportunities for reflection and professional exchange.
They wanted any revised NPQICL to be aimed at postgraduate level, but argued for more routes into and
onwards from NPQICL.
Future challenges and solutions
Future challenges included:
— remaining positive in a time of continuing change
— improving the status of staff working in children’s centres
— ensuring positive impact and improved
outcomes
— addressing the barriers to system leadership
— making difficult decisions in a time of scarce resources
— developing future leaders
Centre leaders were concerned about the challenges of leading across split sites (eg, in hub-and-spoke
models) and did not want to lose touch with the communities and families they serve. They also pointed out
that many of the current leaders are approaching retirement, and were concerned about the supply of future
leaders.
Key messages for
policy and practice
The report contains detailed recommendations for policy and practice. These can be summarised as follows.
— National policymakers need to recognise the key contribution of children’s centre leaders to our society.
They need to do more to encourage joined-up policy development and joint working across education,
health, employment, housing and social care.
— There is a role for national government in providing support and information to children’s centre leaders,
for example through clear and timely information, the Children’s Centre Leaders Network (CCLN), and the
early years teaching centre initiative pilot.
— There is a need to secure the future pipeline of highly skilled and well-prepared centre leaders of the
future.
— NPQICL should be retained at Master’s level, with clear progression routes into and beyond this
qualification.
— National and local policymakers should recognise the implications of new models of children’s centre
organisation, and ensure that centre leaders have adequate access to support. The concept of system
leadership has potential benefits for the sector, but needs further explanation and development.
11 © National College for School Leadership
— Children’s centre leaders should make the most of existing links to support one another. Highly effective
leaders have a wealth of experience and skills which could be better utilised to develop new leaders and
address underperformance both within their own settings and across the foundation years.
12 © National College for School Leadership
Context
Children’s centres and their leaders play a significant role in supporting children and their families in the
foundation years, for example by delivering early intervention approaches and joining up services to meet
family and community needs. However, the sector is relatively new and there has been little research on the
elements that constitute highly effective leadership in Sure Start settings. Whilst leadership and multi-agency
working have been researched more broadly within children’s services (eg, Anning et al, 2006; Martin et al,
2009), leadership was not a specific theme within the national evaluation of Sure Start (Melhuish & Belsky,
2010) or of Sure Start local programmes (Anning et al, 2007).
Aims
The main aim of this project was to research the nature of highly effective leadership in children’s centres
(theme 1) and the development of system leadership among children’s centre leaders (theme 2). Although
leadership and management are closely related, the research focused on leadership (ie, those ways of
being and ways of acting as a leader in relation to context and people), as opposed to management (ie,
managerial oversight of responsibilities and duties). The research explored three main questions for each
theme, as well as some additional overarching questions:
Theme 1 research questions
— What are the main challenges facing children’s centre leaders?
— What leadership behaviours are effective in addressing these challenges?
— What are the underpinning knowledge, skills and attributes required of children’s centre leaders?
Theme 2 research questions
— What practical issues and barriers are there to developing system leadership in the foundation years’
sector?
— What leadership behaviours are effective in addressing these challenges?
— What are the underpinning knowledge, skills and attributes required of system leaders in the
foundation years?
Overarching research questions
— What are the existing and emerging models of Sure Start children’s centres, and what are the
implications of these for leadership? Are there existing or new leadership concepts or models that
children’s centre leaders find useful in helping them to conceptualise and be effective in their roles?
— What leadership skills might be needed in the future? What are the implications for the professional
development of children’s centre leaders and their workforce?
— What are the implications for the formulation of policy targeted at promoting system leadership in
the foundation years?
About this research
13 © National College for School Leadership
Research design and methods
The project had four strands:
— Strand 1: a desk study of published and semi-published literature involving a rapid review of UK policy
documents and research evidence (2003–11), using systematic searches of relevant databases and
internet websites and gateways, and recommendations from the National College
— Strand 2: a call for evidence via NFER’s network of links with local authorities asking them to contribute
relevant documentation on models of leadership in children’s centres
— Strand 3: 25 case studies across a range of children’s centre settings, 5 focused on highly effective3
leadership in single-centre settings, 5 on good leadership in single-centre settings, and 15 on system
leadership and new/emerging models. Each case study involved interviews with local authority staff,
children’s centre leaders, children’s centre staff, staff from other agencies and parents
— Strand 4: practitioner workshops at the British Early Childhood Educational Research Association
(BECERA) conference and three regional workshops with the CCLN to validate findings and develop
recommendations
Appendix 1 outlines further the review strategy employed in strand 1. Appendix 2 provides information on
the sample selection for the case studies, and a breakdown of interviewees. Please note that interviewees
in all three types of case study were asked about effective leadership. However, only interviewees in the 15
case studies of system leadership and new models of organisation were asked about system leadership.
About this report
This is the final report for this project. In producing this report we have drawn on the model presented
in Canwell et al’s (2011) report for the National College on resourceful leadership relating to directors of
children’s services (DCSs). We found their model of tabular presentation of leadership behaviours both useful
and accessible, and with guidance from the National College have adopted this form of presentation in our
report.
This report presents sections on:
— the challenge of leading children’s centres in a context of change (chapter 2), exploring the changing
environment for children’s centre leaders including new organisational models
— highly effective leadership in children’s centres (chapter 3), exploring the eight core behaviours of highly
effective centre leadership
— system leadership (chapter 4), discussing the seven core behaviours for system leadership within the
foundation years’ sector
— the future (chapter 5), outlining the leadership concepts and models used by centre leaders, views on
developing NPQICL, current leadership challenges and solutions, and the leadership skills needed in the
future
— conclusions and recommendations (chapter 6) for national policymakers, local authorities and children’s
centre leaders
3 These categories of ‘highly effective’ and ‘good’ were based largely on Ofsted inspection reports, coupled with other
information, where relevant. Please see Appendix 2 for further details.
14 © National College for School Leadership
Leading a children’s centre is an inherently complex and difficult task. The remit includes serving the needs
of children and families, working collaboratively with a range of services and dealing with a range of
stakeholder groups (including the local authority, advisory boards, governing bodies and parents). Ever since
the first Sure Start children’s centres were established, children’s centre leaders have been working in a
context of rapid and multiple change. As our children’s centre leaders said, ‘Keeping on top of change is key’,
and ‘A challenge is trying to predict those changes and how to prepare your team for that change’.
The first areas to get Sure Start local programmes (SSLPs) were announced in 1999. SSLPs had the aim of
ameliorating the impact of poverty. By 2004, there were 524 SSLPs working with families with children
aged 0–4 in the 20 per cent most deprived communities. In 2005 SSLPs were developed further by turning
them into children’s centres and the programme was rolled out nationally to ensure that comprehensive
early education and family support services were available in every community (see Melhuish et al, 2010 for
further details). By the end of 2010 there were more than 3,600 children’s centres in England. The roll-out
of children’s centres has been in three phases with phases 1 and 2 (April 2003–March 2008) serving families
primarily in the 30 per cent most disadvantaged areas and phase 3 (April 2008–March 2010) mostly situated
outside the most disadvantaged areas to complete universal coverage.
Although the establishment of children’s centres developed rapidly between 1998 and 2010, the removal
of ring-fencing from the Sure Start grant in spring 2011 and the introduction of funding through the Early
Intervention Grant (EIG) has led a period of intensive change, with many local authorities rationalising their
children’s centres and considering outsourcing their children’s centre management to other providers. Some
of the local authority staff and children’s centre leaders we interviewed identified the key challenge in
restructuring as the high turnover of children’s centre leaders, which in turn required more effort to be given
to developing and supporting new leaders, and maintaining staff morale. As a centre leader said:
It’s trying to keep staff motivated and on track… so that they’re not thinking ‘Why are we
here if we’re going to be made redundant?’ It’s about reinforcing that we are here for the
children and families as long as we can be.
Children’s centre leaders are being called on to work beyond their centres in order to secure improvements
more broadly across the sector. There is an expectation that high-performing centres with outstanding
leadership will be the catalyst for raising the standards of other centres. This in turn will provide the
momentum towards a self-improving system in the foundation years. For the centre leaders we interviewed,
the key challenge to achieving such system-wide improvement was sharing and leading best practice where
there are limited benchmarks, and where there may be competing priorities, time and pressure to focus on
your own centre or setting.
Children’s centre leaders are operating in a tough financial climate in which there are high expectations of
children’s centre services, increasing levels of need, but lower levels of public funding. In managing this
multifaceted environment there is a particular challenge in striking the right balance between universal
and targeted services (see Lord et al, 2011). On the one hand there is the policy drive to ensure the work
of children’s centres focuses on acute need and the most vulnerable families. On the other, leaders have
expressed the view that identifying categories such as young parents, black and minority ethnic (BME)
groups or children with disabilities does not always address the most pressing needs. As a centre leader
explained:
The government wants children’s centres to move towards more targeted support, and while
I agree with that, I think we should continue with universal services because I don’t think
we are in a position to say which group requires services more. People think that if you are
a lone or teenage parent you need support. But there are lots of teenage parents that are
coping very well and are quite capable of bringing their child up, whereas you might get a
The challenge of leading children’s centres in
a context of change
15 © National College for School Leadership
professional middle-class person who has a baby and does need support. So we need to
have the flexibility to decide who that targeted audience is.
There is also a widely held concern that a reduction in universal provision may, ironically, undermine
targeted provision, because acute need may only be identified when parents begin to build a relationship
with a centre through attending its universal offer. Centre leaders are concerned that families most in need
may not wish to attend a children’s centre that focuses more narrowly on the most needy for fear of being
stigmatised as a problem family.
In addition, the centre leaders we spoke to find that they are increasingly working with vulnerable families
who do not quite meet thresholds for specialist or social services support. In so doing, centre leaders need
to work even more effectively with many partner agencies. But as one leader said: ‘Multi-agency working
with a shared vision is a big challenge’. For centre leaders, part of this challenge is in the practicalities of
data- and information-sharing, but it also relates to the perceived low status and lack of understanding of
the contribution made by children’s centres to achieving outcomes for children and families among other
professional groups.
(For more information on challenges and solutions, please see chapter 5.)
New models for children’s centres
The concept of a children’s centre is less well established than that of a traditional school, and therefore what
constitutes a new model is more difficult to define. Nevertheless, in the autumn of 2011, the NFER research
team sent out a request for information via the Education Management Information Exchange (EMIE) service
to all English local authorities. We invited local authorities to let us know of any organisational changes
affecting children’s centres in their areas. We received replies from 10 local authority representatives, who
agreed to take part in a short interview and send relevant documents. This, together with the case study
interviews and user workshops, identified two main new models of organisation: clusters and hub-and-
spoke arrangements.
Cluster model
In this model, a group of two or more children’s centres collaborate. This may be on an informal basis, or
more formally as a designated locality cluster. Local authorities may have explicit expectations for the work
of locality clusters, including agreements for the clusters to work on specific strategic goals and liaise with
local authority area representatives.
This model has the following features:
— Children’s centres are usually located in the same geographical area.
— Centres each have their own centre leaders but leaders (and other staff) agree to collaborate on specific
areas of work, or one centre may lead a specific piece of work which is then shared across the cluster.
16 © National College for School Leadership
Cluster model with locality managers
Some local authorities have an additional locality or cluster manager who is responsible to the local authority
for a cluster of children’s centres.
The arrows indicate a situation in which locality or cluster managers collaborate with each other as well as
being responsible to the local authority for the work of their own cluster.
Hub-and-spoke model
In this arrangement, a hub centre has responsibility for co-ordinating services across one or more satellite or
‘spoke’ children’s centres.
17 © National College for School Leadership
This has the following features:
— Hub centres have their own leaders, and spokes may or may not be led by an individual centre manager
(or deputy).
— The hub may provide core services (eg, extended services, health visiting, job-seeking services) that are
not available in spoke centres.
This model was being implemented in a number of case study authorities, whereby formerly independent
centres (each with their own leaders) were being reorganised into groups, with one centre being designated
a hub, and leader posts being made redundant in spoke centres.
Other models of children’s centre organisation include those where the children’s centre is part of another
organisation. Two common arrangements are school-governed models (particularly where there is co-
location of a children’s centre on a school site) and children’s centres that are part of a service for children
and young people aged 0–19, or a combined centre for children and families (see also Mongon et al, 2009;
SQW Limited, 2006).
In terms of governance, some children’s centres have adopted mutual or co-operative models (including
charitable status and social enterprises) that have the potential to involve the community to a greater extent
and generate income to support sustainability. There are also a number of regional and national chains,
including charities and social enterprises, which are responsible for operating children’s centres across
more than one local authority area. The involvement of chains appears to be expanding as local authorities
increasingly seek to outsource services.
For this research, new models of children’s centres are taken to be those that are part of a
formal partnership across more than one setting, for instance through chains, clusters and
hub-and-spoke models. From this perspective, the formal governance arrangements (local
authority driven or commissioned) are viewed as being of secondary importance.
Early years teaching centres
Another development of interest is that of the early years teaching centre initiative pilot. The Pen Green
Research, Development and Training Base and Leadership Centre is running a two-year pilot project to
establish a national network of early years teaching centres run by outstanding children’s centres and nursery
schools across the country. The pilot aims to develop and promote different ways in which outstanding
centres can train and support staff in other local early years settings, thereby fulfilling some of the key
elements of system leadership. A total of 16 organisations (both individual settings and consortia) are
involved in the pilot phase.
Models in our case studies
The research investigated the implications of these kinds of changes on centre leaders and deliberately
sought to include some examples of new organisational models within our 25 case studies. We have
particularly explored these within the case studies of hub-and-spoke and cluster models. Also, some of the
single-setting case studies in our sample were in the process of adopting new models and structures. We
included three of the pilot early years teaching centres in our sample.
Concluding comments
This chapter has outlined the main challenges facing children’s centre leaders in the current context of
change. To sum up, these challenges are:
— leading in a time of intense change
— maintaining high-quality services in the face of uncertainty and funding cuts
— keeping an appropriate balance between universal and targeted services
18 © National College for School Leadership
— maintaining staff morale and motivation
— managing limitations in the understanding by other agencies of the contribution made by children’s
centres
— tackling barriers to effective data-sharing between partner agencies
The issues outlined above were reinforced by our case study interviewees. The following chapters (3 and 4)
detail the leadership behaviours that help to overcome these barriers and ensure children’s centre leaders
are highly effective in their roles, both in their own setting’s reach area (chapter 3) and beyond (chapter 4).
19 © National College for School Leadership
This chapter focuses on the behaviours of highly effective leaders. From a review of 55 pieces of literature
(most of which originated in England or the UK), we identified core behaviours relating to effective
leadership in children’s centres. We explored these in discussion with case study participants and during
workshops with users. This process enabled the team to check the relevance of these behaviours, and add to
and refine the draft behaviours.
The research identified eight core behaviours. They are all dynamic behaviours, responsive to context and
exemplifying ‘ways of being’ as well as ‘ways of acting’. Interviewees corroborated these characteristics and
provided examples of effective leadership behaviours.
In addition to the eight core behaviours, all the centre leaders we interviewed were involved in managing
change in a fast-moving and somewhat unknown landscape. Indeed, the most effective centre leaders
of all were change managers; being proactive and solutions-focused, actively managing change, taking
the opportunity to reshape today’s world to create solutions for tomorrow. They also had a high degree of
emotional intelligence, demonstrated through resilience, optimism, motivation, intuition, and the ability to
form strong relationships and work in partnership4 to make a difference for children and families.
Eight core behaviours of highly effective leadership
The eight core behaviours displayed by highly effective children’s centre leaders are:
— having a clear vision to improve outcomes for children and families
— engaging responsively with families
— using evidence to drive improvements in outcomes
— using business skills strategically
— facilitating open communication
— embracing integrated working
— motivating and empowering staff
— being committed to their own learning and development
These behaviours are also shown in Figure 1 and explained in more detail below. We have provided a
statement to encapsulate the behaviour, together with an explanation of its associated knowledge, skills and
attributes.
4 Hargreaves (2010) identified the importance of ‘partnership competence’ in school leaders.
Highly effective leadership in children’s
centres
20 © National College for School Leadership
Figure 1: Core behaviours of highly effective centre leadership
1. Clear vision to
improve outcomes
for children and
families
2. Engaging
responsively with
families
4. Using business
skills strategically
6. Embracing
integrated working
5. Facilitating open
communication
8. Being
committed to
own learning and
development
7. Motivating and
empowering staff
Resilience Emotional intelligence
Change managementPartnership competence
3. Using
evidence to drive
improvements
and outcomes
21 © National College for School Leadership
1. Having a clear vision to improve outcomes for children and families
As a highly effective leader I have a clear vision for this setting, which is related to the
core purpose of children’s centres and communicated to all who come into contact with the
centre.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Knows about policy imperatives
Has safeguarding knowledge and
skills
Knows about child development
Understands what families need
to be successful
Communicates clearly and directly
Instils this child-centred vision in
others
Inspires support for child-centred
vision from all staff
Leads and accepts challenge
Strong commitment to moral
purpose
Principled, innovative and
strategic
Positive, can-do attitude
Focused and self-assured
According to the Department for Education (DfE, 2011a), the core purpose of children’s centres is to improve
outcomes for young children and their families, with a particular focus on the most disadvantaged families,
in order to reduce inequalities in child development and
school readiness
.
This is supported by improved:
— parenting aspirations, self-esteem and parenting skills
— child and family health and life chances
Highly effective children’s centre leaders have a clear vision for their setting linked to the core purpose,
interpreted in relation to local needs. They are able to convey this inspiringly to all staff, and to others who
come into contact with the centre, in order to help drive direction and progress.
Highly effective leaders are forward thinking in their vision, and proactive in tackling issues that stand in the
way. They strongly believe in what they are trying to achieve and this is demonstrated in their behaviour and
shared among staff and partners. This is supported by previous research studies which have identified vision
and a proactive drive as key to leadership (see Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2006; Canwell et al, 2011) together
with the courage to ‘challenge the comfortable’ (Orr, 2011).
Highly effective leaders are child- and family-focused in their decision-making. For example, one children’s
centre leader demonstrated her vision by prioritising the children and families in the bottom 10 per cent of
deprivation in the centre’s reach area. Described by a colleague as having ‘positive outcomes for children and
families very strongly at the top of her agenda’, this leader then ensured that all staff focused on reaching
these children and families and knew which of them were receiving support from the centre.
Having a shared vision is important. One centre leader had taken responsibility for leading a cluster earlier
in the year. Since her appointment, engagement figures have increased every month. She explained that she
had achieved this by:
… everyone buying into that shared vision and understanding what their own remit is within
that… being very clear and focused and taking ownership of what their role is. Once you’ve
all bought into a shared vision, people do take responsibility, they’ll take risks, they’ll be
creative with reaching those outcomes for families and children.
22 © National College for School Leadership
Some had found achieving a co-constructed vision more challenging, especially where teams are located
across a number of sites, or where integrated working with other agencies is still developing. One centre
leader, who is the integrated support leader for six children’s centres in her locality, as well as leader of her
own setting, described how she had worked to achieve a shared vision with others. Her strategy is for each
children’s centre in the cluster to provide similar core services, but to develop its own character to meet
the needs of the community. She wrote a draft vision statement, which she invited her team and partner
agencies to develop. A community midwife explained how the leader had involved her from the beginning:
The centre leader showed vision in seeing the importance of involving midwives early in the
development of centres, because the midwife is an anchor in finding out where a problem
may lie in a family.
A health visitor identified the leader’s vision for children as evident in the ‘colourful, playful, musical
environment created for children’.
In children’s centre C (part of a family centre with a nursery) the following mission statement is printed
on the back of all staff badges:
The mission of our children and family centre is to promote the children’s educational and
social development and help families have and achieve high expectations for themselves
and the community.
For Naomi5, the centre leader, this means that the vision belongs to all staff and is a way of ensuring
that ‘everything we do is linked to the children and families we work with’. For another member of the
leadership team, the printed badges mean that the child-centeredness of the vision is foremost, so that
Naomi can take her staff team and set forward to make a difference for children. A parent said: ‘It’s for
the parents as well; the vision is child- and family/parent-centred’. Everyone we spoke to described how
Naomi and her team were dynamic in taking this vision forward, as the deputy head of the centre’s
nursery explained: ‘[Naomi] has a very wide-angled lens; she captures everything going on, and her
vision is to drive and develop change for the better’.
5 This is not her real name. We have used pseudonyms for centre leaders and other people named in this report in order to preserve their anonymity. We have
identified centres by letter codes.
23 © National College for School Leadership
2. Engaging responsively with families
As a highly effective children’s centre leader, I am accessible to families, respond to their
needs and work with parents as partners.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands the impact of
parental engagement on child
outcomes
Understands how to motivate and
support parents
Knows how to engage with the
neediest families
Understands case management
Understands different cultural
backgrounds
Understands the reasons why
some families don’t engage
Understands that the needs of
families can change
Communicates well with parents
Explains difficult situations to
parents
Encourages parents to help
themselves and their children
Responds to differing needs
Is able to target interventions
appropriately
Has safeguarding knowledge and
skills
Has strategies for engaging those
in greatest need of support
Values parents as partners
‘Mucks in’ with frontline work
Is flexible to changing needs
Enables parents to feed back in a
variety of ways
Is committed to finding funding
to support families’ needs
Is friendly and approachable
Effective children’s centre leaders recognise the importance of engaging with families and being responsive
to their needs in terms of ‘meeting them where they are at’. The most highly effective leaders also work to
‘move them on’ to achieve better outcomes through highly sensitive, supportive, non-judgemental and step-
by-step approaches. Highly effective leaders also understand families’ changing needs, and make sure that
their service design and delivery are flexible enough to meet those needs (see also National College, 2010;
Ofsted, 2008; Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2006).
It is important for centre leaders to be visible to families (which is a particular challenge for leaders of more
than one centre). Leaders demonstrate this by engaging in the delivery of frontline activities (for example,
by accompanying staff on home visits) and greeting parents upon arrival at the centre. This hands-on
approach helps parents feel that the leader is approachable and provides role-modelling for staff. For leaders
themselves, this frontline engagement provides a valuable reality check, as one children’s centre leader
explained:
For an effective leader, you’ve got to keep in touch with the ground level, with what’s going
on. I think it’s really easy as a leader to move away from reality. You can move to a strategic
level and you can focus on that, but you [mustn’t] forget the grassroots.
Highly effective leaders have a high degree of knowledge, not only of child development and early
intervention approaches, but also about issues affecting parents and families (eg, drug and alcohol
misuse, mental health issues, domestic violence, unemployment and safeguarding children). They also have
extensive knowledge of the other services and support available to families. Stories from individual parents
reveal how centre leaders’ belief in parents gives them confidence to make choices and brings about positive
change. In one example, a parent who was suffering from postnatal depression when she first came to the
children’s centre was encouraged to share experiences with other parents. She said: ‘I had no confidence
whatsoever when I came here two years ago. But [the staff] have such a belief in you. They believed in me
more than I believed in myself’.
24 © National College for School Leadership
Ensuring parents are actively involved and valued as partners is a considerable challenge. Many centres
have parent forums but these may not attract the families most in need. One staff worker explained how
staff in her centre decided to relaunch their parent forum because they found that parents attending the
centre were ‘not representative of the local population’. This had been successful, as the parent Serena told
us: ‘I attended a few children’s centres before. Every centre had divided groups [of parents]. But since the first
day here I didn’t see that. That’s why I’m here to this day’. There is also the challenge of tempering parents’
views with what it is possible to provide. Sometimes the leadership team needs to feed back and negotiate
with parents, to plan work that offers progression for parents and children.
Centres gave examples of how they enabled parents to feed back in various ways so that all parents
have an opportunity to comment (see also Klavins, 2008). Examples included inviting oral comments, using
feedback sheets and parent forums. One centre leader provided parents with a platform to challenge and
hold the centre to account through various groups including parent forums, parent-led groups, the local
advisory group and outcomes groups. As another leader said:
I don’t believe anyone can lead a service of this nature without knowing who the parents
are, what their issues are, spending time with them in group activity, and forums – in formal
and informal ways.
Several leaders gave examples of how parents were involved in running services. In one centre, 70 per
cent of the workforce is made up of staff who started as parent volunteers. The centre leader worked
with parents to develop a support package to train parents to Levels 2 and 3 in early years work. The
centre provided staff mentors, and the leader helped parents to learn job-interview techniques. In effect,
the children’s centre grew its own staff, including its part-time receptionist and four parents who have now
qualified with EYFS degrees. As the leader said, ‘I do think engaging with parents is really important. This is
their children’s centre and they should feel ownership of it’.
3. Using evidence to drive improvements in outcomes
As a highly effective leader I use a range of evidence to continually drive results and service
improvements.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands data-handling
Understands evaluation
techniques
Knows how to use evaluation
to improve practice
Is able to interrogate
evaluation data
Has skills to compare trends
over time
Uses data critically and
analytically
Draws on evidence from
wider practice
Is committed to using evidence for
improvement
Focuses on results and outcomes
Serena came to England from Kenya five years ago. She had limited English and she did not feel
confident going to children’s centre K. She made excuses that she couldn’t attend language classes
because she had her children to look after, even though the centre had a crèche. However, she found
the centre leader and senior staff ‘very encouraging, you become like part of the team’. She says the
centre has boosted her confidence. She attended a parenting course, and learned a lot to help her
understand children’s needs. She is now a member of the children’s centre advisory group:
The most important thing is that [the leader] is friendly and happy with people. She
appreciates you and gives you time when you need it. It’s true of all the staff, whenever
you need them. If you ask to speak to [senior staff members] then they will make time.
They’re well organised. They know what parents want and are able to provide services.
25 © National College for School Leadership
A relentless focus on achieving results and outcomes for children, rooted in a systematic and strategic use of
evidence to drive progress toward these achievements, is a hallmark of a highly effective children’s centre
leader. As highlighted in the research literature, systematic evaluation and interrogation of data are crucial to
developing effective services for children and families (Mongon et al, 2009; Ofsted, 2009; Siraj-Blatchford &
Manni, 2006).
Highly effective leaders understand the need to use evidence to ensure the centre fulfils its core purpose
and supports families in greatest need, for example by pinpointing the location of families who are not
currently using the centre’s services. As one centre leader explained: ‘It’s about using the data we’ve got, and
looking at the different targeted groups that we need to work with and where to get this data’.
Leaders said that it was important not just to focus on attendance figures, but rather on what difference
are we making, and how do we know? Highly effective leaders use a wide range of quantitative and
qualitative data, and from a wide range of sources including parents, partner organisations and the centre’s
staff, to explore the difference their centre is making to children and families. They ensure that there are
systems in place to collect evidence, such as using evaluation forms at the end of classes run by the
children’s centre. They ensure that local intelligence is gathered by centre staff in the course of their work. A
children’s centre leader highlighted how she does this in practice: ‘I enjoy organising and setting up systems,
using guides and prompts to help staff in collecting data’. This centre uses diagrams to record parents’
progress as a result of the support they have received, including a target diagram which parents complete
each term for every session they attend. Parents plot their level of confidence on the target map where the
closer they are to the bull’s eye, the more confident they feel.
A key challenge for children’s centres is using data gathered later in a child’s development to inform the
contribution the centre has made to child development and school readiness. One children’s centre is
developing longitudinal case studies of children who use the centre over a sustained period of time to track
the difference the centre makes to their lives as they grow older and start school. A number of our case
study sites used results from the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) for this purpose (see page 26).
Highly effective children’s centre leaders are interested in trends over time mapped against national
indicators. They establish a baseline for the centre’s past performance and monitor improvements over time
(for example, interrogating quarterly reports produced by local authority data officers). A deputy head of a
nursery school on the same site as one of the case study children’s centres explained that the centre leader’s
approach includes: using the data to ‘understand trends and demands, (eg, “Is it to do with high levels of
teenage pregnancy, smoking, domestic violence?”) and then using that data to put on targeted services to
enhance the life opportunities of the families we serve’. Using national indicators to inform approaches to
Centres X and J both use EYFSP results to track the achievement of children who have come through
the centres compared with those who had not. In case study X, the primary school headteacher
compares the EYFSP levels of children who have accessed the adjoining children’s centre with those
who have not and shares the data with the children’s centre leader. The analysis shows that children
from families who have accessed the centre are higher attainers than their peers. Centre staff are now
interrogating exactly which activities their children have engaged with and how that relates to their later
achievement (for example, do children who have been involved in a book buddies scheme attain higher
scores in reading tests at school?).
In case study J, the EYFSP is viewed as a golden thread running through the centre’s work. Jan is the
leader of a cluster of children’s centres, and the setting we visited was co-located with a primary school.
She works closely with primary schools to identify the gaps in children’s development according to
EYFSP data, and explore where her children’s centres can help to narrow the gaps. She has introduced
a learning and development journal for children in the EYFS in her children’s centre. This records how
parents and children are responding to support, and is used directly by the children’s centre team
to inform future support and intervention. One particular area of concern at primary school was
handwriting and pencil skills. The children’s centre has developed a project on this aimed at improving
children’s motor skills (eg, helping children to develop a pincer grip) and preparing them for handwriting.
Families have been closely involved too. Interestingly, this leader has a background in youth work rather
than schools, but this has not hindered her ability to work with local schools.
26 © National College for School Leadership
different programmes and activities is key.
Highly effective children’s centre leaders develop their centre’s own evidence-base of what works in
practice. For example, one centre tailored its provision of parenting programmes to offer short, 1–2 hour
sessions, rather than a full 12-week programme, based on the evidence of what has worked well in
attracting local parents. The National College’s leadership self-evaluation resource is one tool that children’s
centre leaders and their leadership teams can use to measure impact, challenge each other and develop
action plans to improve performance (National College, 2012). Using this tool may also help to develop other
core behaviours such as motivating and empowering staff, and leaders’ commitment to their own learning
and development (behaviours 7 and 8 respectively).
Highly effective centre leaders also use the wider evidence-base of what works to inform their practice.
One leader said she found the recent Allen (2011) review in early intervention instrumental in providing a
solid evidence-base for her centre’s work, confirming the relevance of working in an outdoor space or forest
school environment for young children.
In addition, highly effective leaders communicate and explain the key messages from their data analysis
to a range of different interest groups. This includes communicating with parents, partner organisations
and Ofsted inspectors to demonstrate progress and achievements, and with staff to provide feedback
on successful approaches and motivate them to achieve even better outcomes in the future. One leader
explained why she considered using evidence to drive improvement was a key leadership behaviour:
I am appalled to hear [other children’s centre leaders] saying “It’s really difficult to show
we’ve made a difference”. Just because it’s difficult, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. There’s
something fantastic about being able to show you’ve made a difference.
4. Using business skills strategically
As a highly effective leader I apply my business skills strategically to plan and manage
the centre’s service delivery and achieve agreed outcomes for the children and families it
serves.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Knows how to allocate financial
and organisational resources to
achieve strategic objectives
Understands how to commission
services effectively
Supports staff to manage their
own budgets
Promotes the children’s centre to
strategic decision-makers
Is able to assess value for money
Adopts an entrepreneurial
attitude to service delivery and
obtaining resources
Highly effective centre leaders have business acumen. Their skills are financial and organisational, and
include management knowledge and understanding. Key areas include the ability to manage overall budgets
for service delivery, staff, buildings and other facilities, as well as helping staff to control their own budgets.
Highly effective children’s centre leaders understand that they have a duty to deploy resources where
they will make the most difference for children and families. They apply their business skills to maximise
opportunities to obtain further resources for their centre, and monitor value for money and decide where to
cut back. As one local authority adviser said:
I think centre leaders need to be able to manage a budget. [They need to] understand best
value, link inputs to outcomes and be able to support staff. To stay in budget while operating
a successful centre is a huge challenge.
This calls for entrepreneurial behaviours in order to lead effectively, for example to identify opportunities
to deliver services in a different way or to obtain funding through new revenue streams. As one leader
explained:
27 © National College for School Leadership
I think you have got to be a bit entrepreneurial in this day and age. You have to see and
grasp opportunities… and find alternative and creative ways around funding cuts.
Some leaders (particularly those from centres that are independent or have charitable status) described
being ‘thrifty’ and ‘creative’ in their bids for alternative sources of funding.
Effective leaders understood the need to market their services and promote the work of the children’s
centre to strategic decision-makers. As one leader explained:
You’ve got to be a really good salesperson. You’ve got to market and sell yourself and your
product and your belief all of the time. And you’ve got to market yourself to your seniors,
the people who are the strategy makers, the senior managers, and that’s what’s really
difficult.
5. Facilitating open communication
As a highly effective leader, I facilitate open communication and dialogue by, with and
between all staff, agencies and the wider community.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands that effective
communication is key to helping
people work together, and to
effective partnership working
Has a range of communication
skills and modes to draw on (eg,
oral, non-verbal, email, formal,
informal)
Listens and responds to staff
concerns
Engages in dialogue with local
stakeholders
Manages conflict
Values dialogue with staff and
stakeholders
Respects people with different
views and means of expression
Has an open-door policy
Highly effective children’s centre leaders are excellent communicators. They facilitate open communication
among staff, agencies and the wider community. This includes communicating with parents (as outlined in
behaviour 2 above). In terms of staff, they are accessible to all staff and have an open-door policy to enable
staff to share any concerns they may have. They hold regular meetings with staff and other agencies
which they use as a mechanism to share information, keep staff up to date and share good practice.
They encourage an open and honest dialogue with partners and other agencies, with a two-way flow of
information. Indeed, communication with partners and local stakeholders was particularly highlighted in the
literature, so that partners too can communicate about and advocate for the children’s centre (see McInnes,
2007; Orr, 2011). One centre leader felt that clear communication was particularly important in periods of
uncertainty:
Day-to-day talks and communication are really important in this time of change because
staff are nervy and communities are worried about where children’s centres are going.
It’s about having clarity all the time, and keeping people up to date when there’s new
information.
Indeed, this leader has ‘communication’ as a standard item on all meeting agendas. This includes discussion
of any communication difficulties and how to resolve them. Continuing to achieve regular communication
with all parties was highlighted as a particular challenge for centre leaders who lead across a number of
settings.
28 © National College for School Leadership
As well as the mode of communication, the content and timeliness of communications are crucial. Parents
appreciated it when staff responded to their queries either the same day or the next day. As one centre
leader explained: ‘It is important to communicate the right information to the right people at the right time
– otherwise you have got a problem from the word go’. And in one case study the chair of trustees described
her centre leader’s approach in the following terms:
She has a policy that she will communicate as much as possible, as quickly as possible, so
that there is a very healthy atmosphere around the centre. If you have a question then you
can ask it and if it can be answered, it will be answered. Also a sense that if people are
concerned about things, then she will try and find out as quickly as possible.
6. Embracing integrated working
As a highly effective children’s centre leader I champion integrated working with teams
from a range of professional backgrounds to deliver a more holistic service to children and
families.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands connections between
services
Understands how agencies working
together can enhance and enrich
their offer to parents and children
Understands the importance of
trust
Encourages partners to use their
professional judgement
Develops a common language and
vision
Is able to collaborate well with
others
Is able to draw on a range of
services flexibly, depending on
need
Is committed to interagency
working
Fosters a no-blame culture, with
shared responsibility among
agencies
Proactively championing constructive and inclusive approaches to integrated working with teams from a
range of professional backgrounds is a key behaviour of effective children’s centre leaders (see Canwell et
al, 2011; McInnes, 2007; Mongon et al, 2009). Highly effective leaders understand how the expertise of
other services complements that of the centre and understand the professional backgrounds and working
environments of other service providers. This is most effective when leaders build a mutually shared
understanding where all partners appreciate each others’ working cultures, the pressures and challenges
they face, the priorities they work towards and the terminology they employ. Such genuine partnerships can
be difficult to achieve since although children’s centre leaders and staff can see the benefits of integrated
working for the whole or wider good, they feel that ‘other agencies can only see how it can work well when
it works for them’ – a sentiment noted by a number of children’s centre interviewees (both leaders and staff).
Naomi, the centre leader in case study C, places a strong emphasis on improving communication with
staff. The centre had a period without a leader in post, so when Naomi arrived she felt it was important
to emphasise communication. Her recent NPQICL assignment focused on this issue. The key reflection
points from this assignment were the importance of having staff time together as a team, and having
face-to-face, general catch-ups, and the opportunity to share good practice. Staff work in separate offices
across a large building, so they value team meetings as an opportunity to come together. Naomi has
established an open-door policy to encourage staff to raise key issues, such as how to meet the needs of
a particular family, or to seek advice. She uses email to facilitate quick communication among staff. The
deputy head in the attached nursery finds Naomi to be a very clear communicator, able to disseminate
knowledge and information in a variety of ways including face to face and by email. He appreciates
the range of communication strategies and modes she uses, and feels this range of strategies helps to
engage the whole team.
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Integrated working is hard work, but as one children’s centre leader said: ‘It’s the only way to move
forward’. Key skills for integrated working include listening and working together, as a local authority officer
(head of early years) said: ‘It is about being humble, listening to their priorities, their perspectives, their
difficulties and being quick to spot how you can help them’. Other key attributes include building trust
between all partners (Coleman, 2011). Highly effective leaders are able to build genuine two-way/multi-way
partnerships.
Highly effective leaders have overcome challenges in working well with health partners and schools,
although for many, improvements are still needed here and our interviewees reported particular challenges
in working effectively with GP services.
Children’s centre J is co-located with a primary school. As part of a strategy to combat anti-social behaviour
outside school hours, the centre leader has recently invited Year 6 pupils to come into the children’s centre to
volunteer. This has developed the relationship between the school and the children’s centre.
Highly effective leaders consistently take steps to establish integrated working practices and processes,
such as the common assessment framework (CAF) or systems for referrals, and are not deterred by the
barriers to doing so. Engaging with adult services in the CAF and Team Around the Child (TAC) models can
be particularly challenging, and requires recognition of the value of children’s centre services to the whole
family. Leaders recognise the value of integrated working across a wide range of services which link to
children such as those for children aged 0–5, for mums-to-be and for older age groups. A children’s centre
leader described her centre’s connections with other services as follows: ’We’ve got tangible links here with
midwives, CAMHS6, and the local children’s hospital team on site, so we’ve got links with external agencies
already’. The centre leader reported linking with the YMCA to engage potential young parents, and with local
neighbourhood groups to understand what happens in the local community.
6 Children and adolescents mental health service
Centre leader Jan (case study J) understood that integrated working is more effective when partner
agencies can work towards their own aims, so she adopted an approach of asking different agencies to
do things slightly differently in order to support the work of the children’s centre. From the partners’
perspective, this approach paid off. A health visitor we interviewed described the children’s centre as
‘the place that everyone likes to be’, an attitude that emanated from centre staff and partners alike. This
has the additional benefit that families see partners working together, thus modelling friendship (as she
described it) and respect.
Through dialogue with statutory and community organisations, staff in children’s centre H identified a
recent and increasing need to support families with adult mental health issues. Sira, the centre leader,
explained how a sense of common purpose helped to unite service providers:
All our partners and I think it is important that we have an understanding that we are
all providing services for the same families. So we work together as opposed to in
isolation.
The local adult mental health services team has agreed to refer their clients with children under five to
the children’s centre. This leads to a range of support being triggered, including a joint home visit with
a member of the mental health team once the initial assessment has been completed, followed by a
period of relationship-building with the family, and offering specialist family support work.
For Sira, the children and parents are key:
What we want to do is to engage that family in services and to build that relationship,
because sometimes when a family has been diagnosed with mental health issues [the
other services] forget that they are also a parent, and we need to focus on building that
relationship between the parent and the child together.
30 © National College for School Leadership
Such leaders are aware that regular communication and face-to-face contact between different teams
deepens relationships, enables expertise to be shared, helps to speed up the process of resolving queries
and facilitates the direction of families to the services they need. Previous research has also highlighted the
value of regular information-sharing (McInnes, 2007; Together for Children, 2010).
One of the strategies highly effective leaders used was to share resources, space and equipment (or
encourage the co-location of services) to support the delivery of additional sessions and services in the
centre, for example by health visitors, midwives or speech and language therapists. A team leader for
0–19 year olds, employed by the local authority, reflected on how this works in practice: ‘When my staff
are based in the centre they always feel very well supported – issues are always dealt with quickly and
effectively – there is always the right room available for example’. Some children’s centres have purpose-
built community rooms and individual consulting rooms, which enables the children’s centre to be a hub for
multi-disciplinary service delivery. Children’s centres C and H, for example, have rooms to accommodate the
following activities: sensory activities, antenatal checks and health visiting teams working with small groups
of children and parents.
At a strategic level, an effective leader liaises with senior managers from different services and, at an
operational level, with teams from different services. She or he enables staff from different services to
train and plan together, finding opportunities such as away days to look at how teams from different
services work, shadowing peers in a different service and joint training sessions (see also McInnes, 2007).
From the partners’ perspective, joint training is seen as highly effective and innovative practice, as a local
adult education provider noted:
We are not just seen as an add-on. [The children’s centre leader] provided two days of
training at the centre for all partners in order to help them work more closely together. I
thought that was innovative. No other centre has suggested doing such a thing. What we do
together is mutually useful.
One leader summed up her attitude to integrated working in the following terms: ‘I call myself an integrated
leadership practitioner. I just know that that’s the right way to work.’
7. Motivating and empowering staff
As a highly effective leader I create and sustain an empowered and motivated staff,
through collaboration and continuous learning.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands the impact of
staff motivation on morale and
retention
Understands that different people
have different skills and strengths
Understands distributed
leadership and its practical
application
Demonstrates trust in staff
Delegates responsibilities to the
team, while keeping a grip on
performance
Encourages autonomy and
creativity
Works collaboratively through
teamwork
Develops leadership skills in
others
Addresses underperformance
Values staff and recognises their
capabilities and capacities
Shows belief in staff
Is committed to learning and
development of others
Is able to create and sustain
commitment across the whole
setting
Grants staff freedom, but with
effective supervision and support
Highly effective leaders motivate and empower their staff both collectively and individually. They adopt a
collaborative and inclusive leadership style, engendering distributed leadership and delegation. Indeed,
distributed leadership has been shown to increase morale and self-esteem among children’s centre staff
(Siraj-Blatchford & Manni, 2006).
31 © National College for School Leadership
Highly effective leaders identify opportunities for individuals’ professional development, actively
encourage staff to undertake training, and recognise the importance of allowing staff to reflect on their
practice. They ensure professional development is both tailored to the needs of individual staff members as
well as the needs of particular groups of children (Cummings, 2008; Ofsted, 2008; Ofsted, 2009). They are
committed to equal opportunities for staff especially in relation to staff development.
One of the challenges that comes with leadership is the need to deal effectively with underperformance.
As one centre leader said: ‘The whole issue of managing staff teams and tackling underperformance is
something people find difficult’.
Highly effective leaders address underperformance sensitively, with a no-blame culture, as one leader
explained:
People can make mistakes as long as we learn from them. By being open and honest with
staff, they’ll tell you what’s going on, what’s upsetting them, and then you can address that
in more of a positive way.
That said, highly effective centre leaders do not hesitate to address instances of genuine underperformance
head on if required; as a manager of a family centre said: ‘Children only get one chance, and they deserve
high quality at all times. We need to enable practitioners to do their best at all times’. Highly effective
leaders are supportive of all staff practically and emotionally, which is particularly important at a time of
economic uncertainty and job insecurity.
From highly effective leaders and their staff, there is a real sense of celebrating the workforce; praise
and thanks abound. As one leader said: ‘It is important to play to people’s strengths, and give people
opportunities to shine’.
Whilst staff development can be an individual activity, effective leaders recognise the collective power of
shared and cascaded learning, and particularly of co-constructed learning. Involving all staff at all levels,
including administrative staff, in joint training is important. Several of the people we spoke to in one case
study commented on their leader’s success in encouraging a positive professional culture. As the locality
manager said: ‘The staff team is very tightly knit; they are empowered to be part of the decision-making and
involved closely in putting the programme together’.
One centre uses a guardianship role model in which staff take responsibility for certain areas, including for
training each other in these areas. In another centre, the leader has encouraged staff to share their learning
through log forms which enable staff to note what they have learned on a course and crucially how they plan
to put what they have learned into action and share it with the rest of the team. Every Wednesday afternoon
is designated for a whole-staff meeting, with input from staff members on learning and feedback. This helps
create a professional learning environment to which all staff can contribute. Highly effective leaders spot
leadership talent in others, and put in place opportunities for training and work shadowing.
32 © National College for School Leadership
Despite the sense of passion and drive for empowering their staff, highly effective leaders keep a good grip
on what is going on and do not let themselves be blinded to underperformance. As one staff member put it:
‘They manage from the head and not from the heart’.
8. Being committed to their own learning and development
As a highly effective children’s centre leader I continuously and actively seek out
opportunities to further my learning, including learning from others.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands child development
and adult learning
Understands the principles of
professional development
Understands the principles of
collaborative learning
Is able to adopt reflective, critical
practice
Is able to plan own development
and learning
Shares and develops practice with
others
Learns from others
Has self-awareness
Is committed to continuous
learning and development
Is open to mutual challenge and
support
Is willing to learn from others
Listens to feedback from others
Is willing to try new things
Highly effective children’s centre leaders seek out opportunities to further develop their knowledge and
skills in order to do a better job of serving children and families. They keep abreast of policy developments,
and they link theory with practice. Many of our case study children’s centre leaders were undertaking
or had achieved NPQICL, and some were working on Early Years foundation degrees or towards Master’s
qualifications.
Highly effective leaders adopt reflective practice themselves, and encourage reflection in others. As an
early years specialist teacher told us, the children’s centre leader is ‘very good at facilitating critical practice
and asking appropriate questions as a critical friend’ and that reflective practice is ‘very much more part
of training now’. In addition, self-knowledge was important – knowing yourself, and reflecting on your
own learning and leadership styles (using tools such as the Myers-Briggs personality test and Belbin’s role
Karen, centre leader E, encourages all staff to think about how their job fits into the overall vision for
the children’s centre, and as a result feels she has built capacity for resilience, challenge, new ideas and
flexibility among the staff team. She has regular supervisions with her staff, and actively supports their
continuing professional development (CPD). She spots leadership talent, and has a number of staff on
Level 3 management courses ‘because I can see their skills and the fact that they want to lead’. Centre
staff enjoyed being challenged by their leader to tackle new tasks and learn new skills, and thrived on
being encourage to do ‘that little bit over and above’ to develop themselves. They were empowered to
do so through appropriate delegation, training or shadowing opportunities and by being given time to
learn and develop.
One member of staff told us how she had enjoyed tackling a difficult data task. At first she hadn’t
known how to approach the work, but had sought advice from another staff member, and they had
managed to do it together. She got great satisfaction from this problem-solving approach to her work,
which she attributed to Karen’s leadership style:
If there are problems, Karen suggests different ways of tackling them, rather than
sorting them out herself. She doesn’t take things off people. She pushes it back to the
individual worker, so it’s about empowering us and developing our skills.
An early years specialist teacher for the local authority’s children’s centre services found that Karen
promoted people’s strengths, and made sure that all team members were aware that they were the
right people to take on specific responsibilities.
33 © National College for School Leadership
descriptors). Self-awareness is also highlighted as important in the research literature (McInnes, 2007). From
our case studies, we found that leaders are able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Highly
effective leaders are open to, listen to and act upon feedback from others. As a deputy head of the nursery in
an integrated family centre setting explained:
The children’s centre leader is always striving in her own professional development. She
comes and asks me, ‘What would I do, from an educational perspective?’ She will then carry
that forward to her practice and her staff, saying ‘The nursery would like to work in this way,
how can we in the children’s centre support that?’
For some leaders, development was also about developing into new roles themselves. One children’s
centre leader has joined the senior leadership team (SLT) at the adjoining school. As the school headteacher
explained, the centre leader is drawing on work she has done on NPQICL to support the school’s work and
vision.
Interestingly, children’s centre leaders seem to have a tendency to put themselves last, and a number of
leaders we spoke to felt that their own development was, naturally, last on the list. There is clearly a need to
balance the leader’s own professional development with that of their staff.
3.2 Concluding comments
This section has presented eight core behaviours of highly effective leadership in children’s centres. Highly
effective leaders demonstrate varying degrees of all of them, but they are also responsive to changing
situations and contexts. The most effective leaders are entrepreneurial, innovative, motivational and dynamic,
not only as individuals, but as leaders integrated with numerous partners: staff, agencies, communities, and
above all families and children. As new organisational models for children’s centres emerge, highly effective
leaders are also starting to adopt aspects of system leadership, as explained in chapter 4.
CODE
34 © National College for School Leadership
For children’s centre leaders, system leadership is about leading across the foundation years7 to develop a
self-improving system. It involves driving improvement and challenging each other with rigour.
The concept of system leadership was initially developed in the school sector to advance the vision of a
self-improving school system. It can be argued that there is a need to promote self-improvement within
the foundation years, and that highly effective children’s centre leaders are well placed to fulfil the role of
system leaders.
In 2010 David Hargreaves described how system leadership could drive a self-improving school system:
Increased decentralisation provides an opportunity for a new vision of school improvement
that capitalises on the gains made in school leadership and in partnerships between
schools. It would usher in a new era in which the school system becomes the major agent of
its own improvement and does so at a rate and to a depth that has hitherto been no more
than an aspiration.
Hargreaves, 2010:4
We were interested in the implications for children’s centre leaders of substituting ‘children’s centre’ or
‘foundation years’ for ‘school’ in the above quote.
Our thinking has been influenced by system leadership models built by researchers in the field of school
and educational leadership, including: Hargreaves’ (2010) four-layered model for a self-improving system
(ie structure, localism, co-construction and system leaders); Fullan’s (2004a; 2004b) emphasis on lateral and
vertical capacity-building; Hopkins’ (2008) three domains of action (namely, managing teaching and learning,
developing people, and developing organisations). O’Leary and Craig’s (2007) report Lessons from the System
Leadership Literature seems particularly applicable to the foundation years’ sector, as the authors highlight
the importance of responding to multiple perspectives and taking a solutions-focused approach.
Yet it is relatively early in the development of children’s centres to be thinking about system leadership and
the notion of a foundation years’ system is not well understood. From our discussions with children’s centre
leaders and local authority staff, it seems that some children’s centre leaders are keen to address a remit
wider than that of a single centre, its partner services and the families in its reach area, but identifying
exactly which foundation years’ settings and services are part of this wider vision is more difficult to define.
We began by seeing system leadership in terms of leaders working beyond their centres to secure
improvements more broadly across the sector. Within this overarching perspective we were able to identify
three main ways in which system leadership can operate: centre-to-centre, across other foundation years’
settings8, and leading service development to improve outcomes for children and families.
1. Centre-to-centre leadership involves leaders working across centres to share and jointly develop good
practice. This also involves centre leaders addressing underperformance and supporting each other to
raise standards through, for example, mentoring and coaching. It is not to be confused, however, with
centre leaders working collaboratively in a cluster, where each leader brings something to the table and
develops a particular topic on behalf of the cluster, although there is a clear continuum between the two.
7 We recognise that, while the core work of children’s centre leaders focuses on the foundation years, system
leadership increasingly takes them into areas that go beyond this age group, as do new forms of service organisation (for
example, where a children’s centre is part of a 0–19 service).
8 This could also include settings for older children and young people, for children’s centre leaders working in a 0–19
service and/or with adult services.
System leadership
35 © National College for School Leadership
2. Leadership across foundation years’ settings involves leaders working beyond their centres to lead
work with other foundation years’ settings, such as nurseries, childminders and schools, in order to
secure greater coherence of provision across the sector. It is helpful to distinguish this from striving for
integrated working in which centre leaders work with a range of partner agencies to ensure partnership
approaches to services for children and families provided by the leader’s own children’s centre. Although
leadership across the foundation years may incorporate this as one aspect, this type of integrated
working is a core feature of effective centre leadership.
3. Leading the system means centre leaders drawing on their experience and expertise to influence
change in the sector and how services for children and families are shaped and developed. Drawing
on their frontline understanding of the needs of children and families, and the extent to which service
delivery meets these, centre leaders can powerfully relate this perspective to the bigger picture. They
can influence significant policy development, locally and nationally, in for example housing, health,
social care and the environment. The way in which centre leaders exercise this kind of system leadership
through influence and impact does not necessarily operate solely in the context of a cluster or hub-and-
spoke model. Individual leaders in a single setting can effectively contribute to system change in policy
and service development, both locally and nationally.
System leaders need to understand the relationship between centre and system leadership. A number
of centre managers and the staff we spoke to had a limited, and in some cases mistaken, understanding
of the concept of system leadership. Some centre leaders and staff saw it in rather vague terms as ‘being
more strategic’ or just as engaging effectively with partner agencies to improve services for their centres.
So for instance one centre manager saw system leadership as part of achieving the work of the centre: ‘As
the family support workers are managed by the local authority, for me to meet our core purpose I need
to engage in system leadership with the locality leadership team being managed by the local authority’.
This would not necessarily count as system leadership in our terms, unless the engagement with the local
authority brought about wider benefits to the system.
While we acknowledge that system leadership builds on the traits of effective children’s centre leadership,
we hope that the following behaviours will clarify the relationship and distinguish the key contribution of
system leadership across the foundation years.
4.1 Seven core behaviours of system leadership
The following core behaviours are based on the literature review and discussions with interviewees on 15
case study sites, together with wider engagement with centre leaders during workshop sessions. The seven
behaviours are:
— Investing in the bigger picture
— Focusing on achieving the best outcomes for children and families across the foundation years
— Using key knowledge and evidence across the system
— Creating partnerships serving children and families across the system
— Leading and constructing collaboratively across the system
— Building system leadership capacity
— Improving practice and tackling underperformance across the system
It is important to explain that these behaviours are built on strong leadership within children’s centres,
but are different in scope and ambition. These behaviours are also shown in Figure 2 and described in the
following text.
36 © National College for School Leadership
Figure 2: Core behaviours of system leadership
Lead
ing t
he s
yste
m Centre to centre leadership
Leading across the foundation years
3. Using key
knowledge and
evidence across
the system
4. Creating
partnerships
serving children
and families across
the system
7. Improving
practice and
tackling
underperformance
across the
system
5. Leading and
constructing
collaboratively
across the
system
6. Building
system
leadership
capacity
1. Investing in the bigger
picture
2. Focusing on achieving
best outcomes for children
and families across the
foundation years
37 © National College for School Leadership
1. Investing in the bigger picture
As a system leader I invest in the bigger picture and work to secure improvements across
the sector.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Knows about what children and
families need to be successful
Knows about local policy and
practice
Understands how their centre
fits within and contributes to the
wider system
Has an up-to-date knowledge of
current drivers and developments
in children’s centres and across
the foundation years
Offers robust challenge and
appropriate support and makes
changes when current approaches
are not working
Has facilitation skills which set
people’s work within the wider
context
Has collaboration and negotiation
skills
Has networking skills
Has a sense of moral purpose and
mission
Demonstrates passion and energy
Has integrity and authenticity
Builds trust and is a driver for
change
Possesses optimism and courage
Is open and outward-looking
The challenge for centre leaders is to embrace the aspiration of system leadership and a self-improving
sector whilst maintaining the quality of their own centre’s services. This requires leaders who invest in the
bigger picture of securing best outcomes for families and children more generally, not just those in their
centre’s own reach area.
Demonstrating a commitment to an overarching intent, or moral purpose, is vital leadership behaviour in
the foundation years. The research showed clear support for children’s centre leaders sharing their passionate
vision for and fundamental purpose of their work. This affirmation was apparent not just in the outlook and
actions of centre leaders but also in that of others, including centre staff, partner organisations and local
authority personnel. Within this outlook is the drive to address inequalities and intervene early to bring
about long-lasting impact. It is characterised by a tenacious resolve to serve the needs of children and their
families.
Our interviewees felt that this wider commitment was particularly important in these financially challenging
times. As one member of a centre team said: ‘If we don’t do what needs doing, then no one else will’.
Underpinning this demonstration of overriding purpose are qualities such as passion, integrity and
authenticity.
The research revealed that system leaders were committed to the bigger picture, taking a wider
perspective than their own centre and reach area. One centre leader expressed this as ‘caring for what
happens to our children in our nation, our city, our community’. The development of cross-locality working
helps foster this wider system approach where, as one centre worker reflected: ‘it makes sense for children’s
centres to work with each other’.
38 © National College for School Leadership
Helping leaders and others gain this wider perspective is a significant challenge, partly because the way
in which children’s centres were originally established to serve their immediate local communities made it
difficult for them to see their work in the context of outcomes beyond their centre. Nevertheless there are
clear indications of a significant shift in perspective. As one centre worker reflected:
It is easy to get focused on your own reach area but if you are looking slightly wider to make
sure all these children achieve the best outcomes, then I think it just helps, it helps to look
at the bigger picture; because together you can do more.
The research suggested that this behaviour is instilled through a combination of having the right outlook and
motivation, and taking particular actions. This included centre managers accepting they have a responsibility
for leading the system. One saw this as ‘bridging social capital’ and another as ‘a leader who has a desire
to move out of their world and into the wider world – ie system leaders – to achieve different types of
outcomes’. This is also linked to specific actions where centre managers keep themselves informed, updated
and engaged on policy developments and then apply their rich experience and practice to wider contexts,
such as networks, working groups and policy forums.
It is a significant challenge to move from running effective services within one centre to a system leadership
commitment which secures improvement more broadly across centres. This is being achieved through
collaborative planning, coaching and mentoring between centre leaders, and applying and adapting their
current skills in collaboration. As one centre leader put it:
Kay, the centre leader in case study L, explained her role in embedding a system for services to refer
families for support. All the children’s centres now use a standard form to alert other services of a family
in need of support. This was recently adopted by the midwifery service for pregnant teenagers. The
deputy children’s centre manager described how Kay had achieved her vision of a better referral service:
She developed the ‘request for a service’ form in-house, here, several years ago, and
that has clearly influenced what’s now become a more embedded protocol across [the
area] and that’s now a given process… You’ve got to be able to see the end result, Kay
is good at that and she assimilates all the good practice she’s built up and embeds it….
takes other people’s perspectives on and people then feel confident, within the system,
to take it on.
As Kay explained, a recognition of the potential to share good practice across the system is critical to
implementing such changes:
It’s really important to look at how things develop. You might not be consciously doing
system leadership but from little acorns things start to grow, things don’t just happen,
they happen because they’re used and they’re proven to be the way forward, although
that’s not to say they won’t be refined and improved in the future.
One local authority is in the process of reorganising all its children’s centres in a hub-and-spoke
model (case study X). The aim is to ensure that the work of centres targets the more vulnerable families
within the overall universal service and to use resources more effectively across centres. There is an
ambition to develop children’s centres into collaborative learning communities.
As a local authority officer explained:
My feeling is that most centres are quite parochial and commitment to moral purpose
does not extend beyond the centre to other centres… Promoting partnership, yes,
not just with each centre’s partners but with other centres… anything that can help
collaborative centre leadership focus on what is happening outside the building.
39 © National College for School Leadership
System leadership will come from the present situation and it will mean swiftly upping that
person’s skills. It means identifying good practice across all areas and being able to enthuse
all staff across all children’s centres to take this on board.
Several interviewees suggested that there was a continuum of skills required for effective centre leadership
and for system leadership in this respect.
2. Focusing on achieving the best outcomes for children and families across the foundation years
As a system leader I strive resolutely to achieve the best outcomes for children and families
throughout the system.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands the main areas of
inequality and what works in
combating inequality
Recognises the barriers and
difficulties faced by children and
families and understands what
they need to be successful
Identifies best practice within the
locality
Understands the financial and
commissioning systems and
identifies other resources and
support
Prioritising
Listening and counselling skills
Ability to use robust quality
assurance and accountability
frameworks
Flexibility to spot opportunities
and manage within time and
resource constraints
Has appropriate business and
financial acumen
Belief and commitment to
families and children
Resilience, determination and
tenacity to see things through
Disposition to give and accept
challenge
Organised, efficient and
financially literate
Entrepreneurial and able to
innovate
Empathic
A key feature of the passionate commitment and moral purpose of children’s centre leaders is a
determination to work with families and children to achieve the best possible outcomes. This brings with it
certain implications for leadership including a profound appreciation of all that impacts on families, locally
and further afield, and an ability to work through this complexity.
Centre managers need an understanding of the needs of families locally and beyond and an in-depth
understanding of the range of social, cultural and financial challenges that families face. System leaders must
also understand that distinct communities will have different needs. In particular there is an unswerving
resolve to combat inequalities and provide a community anchor which helps build social capital for parents
and their children. Typically one centre leader said:
I think the family workers provide very detailed, specific support to try to close those gaps
and reduce inequality. I always talk about creating a sense of belonging and creating a
feeling of social cohesion.
Understanding the way in which inequality works and the complexity of factors that contribute to this is a
major challenge for leadership. This relates both to a centre and to securing positive outcomes for children
and families more broadly across the sector. This complexity is increased in the current financial climate
which poses difficulties for centres and families alike. The research recorded many situations of leaders
managing in difficult circumstances and holding on to what is important, which drew on the personal
qualities of remaining undaunted, not giving up in the face of challenges, and not being complacent about
what has been achieved. These attributes of leadership are accompanied by the skills and knowledge that
enable leaders to manage the complexity of need within budget constraints. Examples include centre leaders
working proactively across centres and settings to address the needs of children and families over a wide
area and to determine how limited resources can be deployed to best effect. For example, the staff in one
centre wanted to ensure they were providing the best possible support for breastfeeding mothers, so they
40 © National College for School Leadership
researched national and local breastfeeding programmes. This revealed a gap in the local support provided
to breastfeeding mothers within the first week of birth. As a result, the midwifery and portage team has
prioritised the provision of support for breastfeeding for mothers immediately after birth.
In delivering positive outcomes for children and families, leaders also need to demonstrate behaviour which
ensures effective and efficient services. This includes robust financial management and aligning resources
to meet changing needs. In the complex and changing environment of children’s centre provision, the ability
to be agile and flexible in shaping the scope and pattern of services within and between settings will be
increasingly important.
3. Using key knowledge and evidence across the system
As a system leader I seek to embed evidence-based and innovative approaches to child
development, parenting and early intervention across the system.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Knowledge of research and
evidence-based practice to
identify effective programmes
and approaches
Knowledge and understanding of
child development, parenting and
community development
Knowledge of pedagogy and
curriculum development
Knowledge of early intervention
Ability to interpret evidence and
data
Monitoring, evaluation and
assessment skills, including
gathering, interpreting and
applying evidence
Ability to help others develop
evidence-based practice and
evaluation skills
Ability to establish a level playing
field and cut through unhelpful
hierarchies
Disposition to be enquiry minded,
reflective, questioning and
analytical
Having a respect for evidence
Solutions orientated
Openness to new approaches and
thinking outside the box
The centre leader gathers, uses and applies a wide range of evidence to ensure coherent and high-quality
services for children and families within and beyond the centre. This role is pivotal in bringing together in
one place information from across partner agencies and foundation years’ settings to inform the process by
which provision is tightly focused to meet needs.
The research showed the importance of centre leaders drawing on a breadth of knowledge. They need a
strong understanding of child development, coupled with an understanding of the features contributing to
deprivation, the benefits of early intervention and the wider foundation years’ environment. However, this
does not mean that leaders have to be education specialists, social workers or have a specific early years
background, but rather that they have a sufficient grasp of these areas and a command of relevant data.
Clearly the effective use of data is a common characteristic in both single-centre leadership and system
leadership. Both types of leader would be adept in analysing local authority data and other data from partner
agencies, but system leaders would be more likely to engage with a wider range of data from a broad
spectrum of settings and with information on regional and national trends to inform their work. Expertise in
the intelligent use of data is a key tool for centre leaders modelling services across a wider area, especially
those operating within a hub-and-spoke model.
System leaders use data to inform the delivery of services for children and families across settings in the
wider locality. This is about collectively assessing data and has clear implications for building the capacity
for system leadership across the sector. For example, one urban local authority is bringing together centre
leaders to develop collaborative learning centres across the borough, using data from a range of sources to
inform this. Another example in a rural context is where data is being analysed effectively and used to co-
41 © National College for School Leadership
ordinate the delivery of respective services across different sites. The local authority leader described how
the centre leader played the key role in convening meetings ‘where not only people who work at the centre
but also others like myself attend, and we looked at self-evaluation forms and as a group made contributions
which he took away and used’. While this study found limited examples of joint practice development of
this nature, there are nevertheless encouraging markers of the emergence of a form of system leadership,
consistent with Hargreaves’ vision for a self-improving system (Hargreaves, 2011).
4. Creating partnerships serving children and families across the system
As a system leader I facilitate multiple perspectives, joint approaches and coherent
partnership working to serve children and families across the system.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Knowledge of the professional and
cultural influences on key partners
Understands the policy and
financial context for foundation
years’ settings and services
Knowledge and understanding of
family- and child-centred service
provision
Knowledge of change management
strategies
Knowledge of good practice
partnership models
Emotional intelligence and
interpersonal skills
Team and relationship building
Networking skills
Persuasion and negotiation skills
Ability to recognise own strengths
and limitations
Commitment to multi-agency
working
Commitment to partnership and
collaborative approaches
Respect for the professional
territory of others
Openness and tolerance
Flexibility
Determination and persistence
This behaviour is about children’s centre leaders ensuring joined-up working between partners so that
children and families are best served. Centre leaders work with a whole variety of agencies, each of which
has its own professional culture and infrastructure, and the challenge is to ensure that the needs of children
and families drive services.
The centre leader plays a key role of holding the ring in providing services to children and families. In
fulfilling this role, centre leaders need to understand other professional backgrounds and ways of working
in order to facilitate a shared understanding of how their work comes together to focus on the child. As one
centre leader observed, it’s about ‘being able to work with professionals, and bring together people who
would not normally work together’. This role of creating a collaborative culture can become a shared goal,
Jill (case study N) manages two children’s centres. The centres have separate governing bodies,
budgets and development plans, but they are closely aligned, with staff working across both sites. She
uses a range of data to inform her leadership of the two centres and her engagement with other centres
throughout the local authority.
Jill taps into those who know the community and uses this information, together with local authority
data, to create a unified picture of need in the locality which in turn determines the scope of services
provided. The children’s centres’ advisory groups carried out a joint exercise which involved each centre
writing down its performance indicators and then plotting a graph to show where they overlapped. As
Jill explained:
This raised awareness of everyone as to where there was crossover in service delivery.
The local authority has an in-depth knowledge of centre activity; when local authority staff see good
practice they ensure it is shared and encourage one centre to help another centre that is struggling. So
Jill has provided peer-to-peer support and mentoring. She has also taken part in an action learning set
which comprised six children’s centres from across the local authority sharing information and evidence.
42 © National College for School Leadership
Anne leads children’s centre Y, which is managed by a small local Christian charity. Based in a deprived
area of a large inner city, the centre serves a multicultural population, with over half having a rural
Pakistani heritage. Anne’s challenge was to bring people from such diverse backgrounds and different
faiths to work together to improve the lives of families and children. Along with her staff and partners,
she set about gaining an in-depth understanding of the area and its community. She recruited an
army of volunteers, so many that she now employs someone to co-ordinate their work. This not only
increased ownership of provision but also built social capacity and extended the resource base for
service delivery.
Anne has an open-door policy and ‘leaves a lot of room for people to take responsibility for new strands
of work or develop something they feel is going to be important’. Volunteers are invited to take part in
planning and decision-making. The result is that over 90 per cent of families who have children under
the age of five use the centre. There is a shared understanding of the centre being a partnership with
the local community and empowering others. Anne described how she had to learn to feel comfortable
with not being in control and instead embracing the role of facilitator so that there was widespread
distributed leadership. As the volunteer co-ordinator explained:
I guess it’s looking at outcomes creatively and really breaking them down into the
factors involved, rather than sticking to old mind-sets that are based on service
provision… and see yourself not just as a service provider but as a collaborative with
the community. So it is seeing it less about doing something to the community, I guess
that’s the worst; doing something for the community is a bit better but not brilliant;
doing something with the community is what I think we have got to aim for.
as one partner agency worker commented: ’Everybody has got a responsibility for bridging social capital’.
Identifying key allies is important, as one centre leader explained:
Know your allies. It’s about finding somebody that also has that same vision, passion, drive
and energy to want… to change things.
Reaching these shared understandings needs constant reinforcement, and it can be frustrating to have to
re-establish relationships with new colleagues. One deputy leader described how she and others had worked
hard for years to achieve ‘levels of constructive co-working with health colleagues’, but things changed when
a new senior manager was appointed with a different management style and priorities. This meant that the
centre leader had to build up her relationship with the new manager: ‘It felt like we had to start right back
again to get her on board’.
The effective relationship forged with partner agencies will result in partners taking responsibility for areas
of activity and, rather than passing on problems, start to find solutions for themselves. This is a particular
challenge in a time of reduced budgets. One centre leader observed that reduced budgets had prompted
partner agencies to withdraw into what they regarded as their core work, rather than investing time in
partnering activity. He responded to this situation by attempting to:
negotiate ways of engaging partner agencies and other settings that will not necessarily
cost them more money but will be to their advantage in their practice and efficiency.
Investing in partnership activity beyond the centre requires a shift from the traditional role of ensuring
high-quality services in one centre to working with others so that this standard of excellence is achieved
across the system. The research provided examples of centre staff working across a number of settings, and
in some cases across local authorities, to ensure outreach work benefited families throughout an extended
area.
43 © National College for School Leadership
5. Leading and constructing collaboratively
As a system leader I ensure a collaborative approach to service planning which brings
mutual benefit across the system.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands collaborative and
distributed leadership techniques
Knows about the drivers and
priorities of partner agencies
Understands consultative
approaches and techniques
Facilitation, networking and
negotiation skills
Skills in building appropriate
collaborative forums with parents
and children
Skills in dealing with ambiguity
and building vision and
ownership over time
Conflict resolution
Willingness to share knowledge
freely and not be possessive
Positive outlook and openness to
new ideas
Disposition to establish common
purpose and mutual benefit
Tolerance and respect for others
and their views
Is empathic and trustworthy,
extending appropriate trust to
others
Centre leaders help make services effective by involving staff, parents and partners in how they are planned
and delivered. Creating a collaborative culture and putting in place arrangements by which this happens are
important parts of the role.
Finding ways to develop a shared vision of the purpose of children’s centre work is a core part of a children’s
centre leader’s role. But system leaders need to extend this to people working in other settings. One centre
leader who managed a number of settings described the challenge of building a shared vision across
centres and recognised that this needed to be continuously replenished over time. He described how staff
turnover and changing circumstances affecting individual centres can begin to jeopardise a commonly held
vision. In response to this, he invests considerable energy in establishing a culture of trust and distributed
leadership, and in continuously walking and talking core values:
This is where the achievement of outcomes (across centres and settings) is not dependent
on the direct presence of the leader but on that leader’s values, vision and principles, on the
environment, on the practitioners’ behaviours and on how decisions are made.
System leadership entails planning and shaping services across settings and throughout the locality. As
children’s centres emerge from reorganisation, centre leaders will have responsibilities for embedding new
patterns of provision throughout the area. One manager of a family support team illustrated this role:
I think that the centre leader will be good at being part of the leadership team of the wider
locality; she sees it is not just about our centre’s project. It’s broader than that; it’s about
working with other centres and sharing resources.
One of the deputy managers in an established cluster explained how her role required her to develop a high
level of expertise to be able to manage a complex range of interactions with centre staff and services:
I manage a team that works across all 4 centres and so I meet with 3 different lots of health
visitors, 2 different midwifery teams, 30 pre-schools, over 10 infant schools…. So in terms of
interagency working, having a cluster approach is much more complex in terms of managing
those relationships, because of course all those health visitors and midwives have different
managers who are from different places… I enjoy it, it’s very challenging.
44 © National College for School Leadership
Some leaders provided examples of leading across the foundation years. This may take place through
working in networks or groups which bring together managers of a range of early years’ settings. As one
centre leader explained:
I run a foundation stage leadership forum and invite managers and supervisors of all those
settings. They set the agenda but we influence quality through training, sharing and raising
the value of the profession.
Another said: ‘I see myself very much in that forum as… taking a leading role in the early years’.
6. Building system leadership capacity
As a system leader I promote development opportunities across the foundation years’
workforce, and help to develop the leaders of tomorrow.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands how CPD and
performance management
contribute to workforce and
leadership development
Understands how to create a
collaborative learning culture
Knows individuals’ capacities and
interests
Knows about workforce
development and leadership
opportunities
Understands how a leadership
culture can be developed across
the system
Ability to spot talent, and recognise
and develop system leadership
potential
Skills in creating development
opportunities for others
Coaching and mentoring skills
Skills in flexing leadership
structures to meet changing
circumstances, staff potential and
the needs of the service
Skills in engaging with and
influencing key groups, networks
and policymakers
Committed to distributed
leadership
Committed to own learning and
that of others
Respects the different qualities and
ideas people bring
Being outward looking, politically
astute and well informed on policy
development
Is accessible and has an open-door
philosophy which is translated into
daily practice for children, families,
the team and partner agencies
This behaviour is about how centre leaders contribute to staff development across the system. It includes
their contribution to developing system leadership potential, investing in talent-spotting, mentoring,
coaching and providing development opportunities for staff from across the sector. One particular strategy
Sarah manages a family and community centre (case study K) located in a deprived inner-city area.
Since taking up her post two years ago, she has worked collaboratively with other centres and settings
in her own and a neighbouring authority to develop services for disadvantaged families. As Sarah
explained:
I meet with other children’s centre leaders in both areas. We’re trying to support each
other informally, and to work out how to share resources, for example, by referring
parents to services provided by another centre, or by one centre offering NVQ Level 1
and another offering Level 2.
The area suffers from high unemployment, so Sarah has created a post of training and employment
manager to help parents develop the skills they need to get a job. The manager has met with leaders
and outreach workers in five other centres across two local authorities. Children’s centres in the area
were facing a common difficulty in finding well-trained and reliable staff. In response to this, the
manager developed a one-year training course in childcare. This benefits local families and other
children’s centres because it provides a pool of high-quality candidates for childcare positions. The
manager said: ‘It’s been immensely successful. It has reduced our expenditure on agencies to get
temporary staff and it provides local jobs for local people’.
45 © National College for School Leadership
we noted was for leaders to distribute leadership responsibility as widely as possible in their own centres,
thereby developing leadership responsibility in others.
Centre leaders highlighted their centres’ contributions to training and professional development. This is a key
feature of early years teaching centres. As one leader explained, she was keen to identify: ‘how we can use
this teaching centre status to feed into the wider district and offer training and support’ and another said: ‘A
key role [for me] as a system leader is to establish strong and reciprocal early years networks’.
Mark oversees a group of four centres serving a large rural area, and his workforce operates across
all four centres (case study M). Rural poverty is an issue, as demonstrated by the fact that one of the
centres is located in one of the 30 per cent most deprived wards in the country. To ensure the effective
running of the group, the manager has invested in developing his multidisciplinary staff team, including
demonstrating his high level of trust in his two deputy managers by giving them substantial delegated
responsibilities to manage the day-to-day working of respective centres and make decisions about the
development of service provision. One member of staff reflected: ‘It is about having a set of values,
about working with others… which includes a commitment to enablement’.
Cross-centre working presented particular challenges for engaging with a wide variety of partners, and
coherent provision for children and families was secured through sustained and distributed leadership.
Ofsted reported that this model allowed staff to work in different locations according to their experience
and skills. Leadership was outstanding and the level of expertise across the programme team was very
high.
Rachel leads children’s centre P (also an early years teaching centre). Her approach illustrates the
three aspects of system leadership identified at the beginning of this chapter. She oversees a fully
integrated nursery school and children’s centre which sits within a local achievement partnership (LAP),
comprising 19 primary schools, 2 secondary schools and 3 children’s centres. Rachel, her deputy and
staff actively work in the LAP and beyond on peer support, and sharing good practice with other centres.
They do extensive training for schools and staff in a range of early years settings on integrated working,
curriculum development and securing better outcomes for children across the foundation years’ sector.
Until recently, a private company was responsible for running education in the authority. When it
was decided to return this to local authority control, Rachel saw an opportunity to influence future
developments. Several new groups were created and Rachel immediately recognised an opportunity to
promote joined-up practice:
There was one [group] called the early learning strategy group that I immediately knew
I needed to be on and I’ve been able to push the early years teaching centre vision
through that with headteachers of primary schools. We’ve been asked to think about
how we can use this teaching centre status to feed into the wider district and offer
training and support.
For Rachel, system leadership entails facilitating collaborative development across a range of
foundation years’ settings, and searching out opportunities to exercise influence on political and policy
developments:
We have to make sure that we meet the right people and are seen in the right places.
There are seven in our consortium for the early years teaching centre; my deputy and I
have worked together the longest and are the most experienced, so we are the lead and
have really been able to push things forward.
46 © National College for School Leadership
7. Improving practice and tackling underperformance across the system
As a system leader I share successful practice and address underperformance across settings
as part of a self-improving system.
Knowledge Skills Attributes
Understands the hallmarks of
successful practice
Knows about standards and
performance frameworks across
the foundation years
Understands the elements of
underperformance and how they
can be addressed
Understands the dynamics of a
self-improving community
Ability to offer robust challenge
and appropriate support
Skills in using quality assurance
and accountability frameworks
Skills in monitoring, reviewing
and evaluating practice, including
own leadership
Coaching and mentoring skills
Emotional intelligence and ability
to work collaboratively across
settings
Disposition to identify and tackle
underperformance
Disposition to give and accept
challenge
Disposition to work with others to
improve performance
Willingness to question existing
practice where appropriate
Openness to new ideas and
approaches
Centre leaders are beginning to see their role as taking the lead in foundation years thinking, development
and improving standards. This involves being proactive in engaging with schools and other providers to
improve outcomes across the whole system; as one leader said:
We’ve actively gone out to schools to try and engage them in what we do… it’s building on
the three pillars to the foundation years; it starts at pre-birth and we have been proactive in
that.
This is not without its tensions given the nature of the mixed economy of providers in the foundation years;
as another centre leader observed:
A challenge for children’s centres is working in effective partnership with day-care providers
because they are private independent providers and this potentially causes competition with
children’s centres.
Heather, the system leader in case study U, acts as a peer mentor to leaders in other foundation years’
settings. She visits leaders in their settings as well as maintaining email and telephone contact. One
children’s centre manager explains the peer support she has received:
Heather came out to support me, as a new children’s centre leader, to put together a
development plan for the whole centre, she helped me put things into perspective, I
just needed someone to say ‘yes you’re doing all right’.
Heather’s peer-mentoring support is particularly welcomed by those who are developing their
management skills. As a nursery manager from the private, voluntary or independent (PVI) sector
setting put it:
You can get to be a manager with a Level 3 qualification but it doesn’t make you a good
manager… [Heather] has visited our setting and is always at the end of the phone…
so to have somebody that has the expertise that you can ask [about issues such as]
tribunals, legal issues etc is fantastic and gives me confidence as a manager to be a bit
more ‘Yeah, I can do this’.
47 © National College for School Leadership
Being well informed and politically astute are important system leadership skills. One manager talked of her
centre leader as ‘making every effort to keep informed’ and using the fruits of her insight to ‘share strategic
top lines and give staff policy direction. It’s really useful having someone who’s involved at a higher level
nationally’.
Others demonstrated their ability to keep an eye on the future in order to ensure that their colleagues are
well informed and keep ahead of the game. One leader described this as ‘keeping up to date with research,
interventions, policy and lots of reflective practice’. Another described his desire to influence policy and
practice:
It’s taking your experience out into those other places which is much more about diplomacy,
politics and advocacy and having to tread out in a world where people are going to
challenge you and your credentials for being able to influence others.
One leader, who had received a national honour for her work, had influenced how public money for a
building programme was being spent: ‘For me, the important thing was that it should be centred around
really good early years’ education provision’.
Addressing underperformance is an important characteristic of a self-improving system. However, although
there were numerous examples of leaders providing mutual support and sharing good practice, we found
fewer examples of one centre leader helping another to address underperformance (for example, poor
provision identified in an Ofsted inspection report). The reasons for this may be structural, in that many
current leaders have no formal responsibility for working with underperforming leaders.
Centre leaders who were working to address underperformance in other settings drew upon skills of
mentoring and coaching. This may take place through informal arrangements whereby outstanding centres
share policies and practice and host visits, or it may be through formal local authority arrangements. One
centre leader helped another centre devise its post-Ofsted inspection action plan and provided support for
‘nurseries and other pre-school settings in my area, including one that was deemed inadequate and is now
judged to be satisfactory’. Another described how she helped a leader in a neighbouring borough whose
centre ‘scraped’ a ‘satisfactory’ Ofsted judgement by bringing ‘her whole staff to my centre to look at systems
and files’.
Anne (centre leader Y) is clear that she has leadership responsibilities that extend beyond her own
centre, particularly in terms of helping improve standards in the locality at large. As one of her staff
reflected: ‘Anne is interested not only in the centre’s early years’ provision but also in schools’ provision.
It’s not just about this children’s centre; it’s wider than that’.
Anne’s centre was judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and she organised and hosted a conference at her
centre to model and share effective practice for people who run settings in a number of local authorities.
Anne explained:
We looked at raising quality with people who feel quite alone, like doing a few hours
of play in a church hall once a week, and do not know what best practice looked like.
It was a very effective way of reaching people who were not in touch with mainstream
good practice.
Anne trained a member of staff to deliver a parenting programme who then became the first person in
the city to gain accreditation to train others. This person was much in demand ‘as a consultant for other
children’s centres to teach them how to do it really well’.
Anne’s team has a shared commitment to improving the system. The manager of the family support
team summarised this:
It’s not just about the centre and it’s not just about Anne, it’s about families everywhere,
and we will achieve more by working together with other centres and other settings
than we would on our own.
48 © National College for School Leadership
Leaders in the pilot early years teaching centres understood that tackling underperformance was an
important part of their contribution to a self-improving system. Centre leaders were sensitive about the
need to foster mutual learning, while avoiding the sense that their role is to ‘bail out others’. As one leader
explained:
It’s about rolling out good practice and also sharing things that aren’t necessarily good
practice, like learning from your mistakes.
4.2 The relationship between effective centre leadership and system
leadership
Several centre leaders said they saw system leadership as growing from the skills needed to manage
the centre, with certain traits such as partnership working and distributed leadership bridging behaviours
between the two. One leader felt that once he had gained recognition from Ofsted for the high standards
in his own centre, he was able to establish three kinds of system leadership activities (as set out at the
beginning of this chapter). However, a few identified potential tensions between the two roles:
There is a tension between proving your centre’s worth and trying to be a system leader,
with the former pulling you inwards to focus on your own centre’s performance and the
latter requiring you, as a centre leader, to look across the whole foundation years’ system to
see how it is performing as a whole.
The relationship between effective centre leadership and system leadership, including five key ‘bridging’
behaviours, is shown in Figure 3.
49 © National College for School Leadership 49 © National College for School Leadership
Figure 3: Bridging behaviours between leaders, childen’s centres and system leadership
Leading and raising standards
Across the foundation years
Political
competence
Horizon scanning –
keeping informed
of the latest
developments in
policy and practice
Effective centre
leadership
Partnership
competence
Coaching and
mentoring
Distributed
leadership
50 © National College for School Leadership
4.3 Concluding comments
Children’s centre leaders are not familiar with the concept of system leadership, and although many are
involved in some aspects of the role, it is not well established across the foundation years. In particular, the
potential for highly effective centre leaders to help address underperformance and drive up standards in
other settings is in the early stages of development. Formal structures such as chains, hub-and-spoke models
and clusters, together with the early years teaching centre pilot project may provide the circumstances in
which children’s centre leaders are more commonly called upon to exercise system leadership in the future.
51 © National College for School Leadership
This chapter focuses on the key issues for children’s centre leadership, both now and in the future. It includes
information on the leadership models and concepts used by centre leaders, their views on NPQICL, the
current leadership challenges and solutions and the leadership skills needed in the future.
5.1 Leadership concepts and models used by children’s centre
leaders
We asked children’s centre leaders which leadership concepts and models they found most useful in their
work. Centre leaders said they used a number of concepts and models to guide their leadership. The most
popular were:
— distributed leadership
— situational leadership
— reflective practice
— emotional intelligence
By far the most popular concept among our interviewees was distributed leadership. As one leader said:
If you communicate your vision and message to people, they can very much come up with
their own ideas of how they are going to achieve it. It’s not a matter of telling people what
you want them to do.
Leaders commonly described the process of building trust across the staff team, helping individuals to
become more confident, empowering staff and giving individuals their own areas of responsibility. One
centre leader explained:
I have a distributed leadership style where staff take responsibility for key areas. If they
are not confident, I will identify the area and say ‘This is your strength’ and they will take
responsibility for everything relating to that area. Everybody knows what everybody’s role is.
Some felt they were in the early stages of achieving distributed leadership, whereas others reported that
their staff had already developed their leadership capabilities. One described this as having ‘a team around
you that are all leaders in their own right… because you have enabled them and empowered them to have
that responsibility’. The ultimate test of this for several leaders was whether the centre could function really
well without them; as one said: ‘I hope we have set up systems which mean it doesn’t matter if I’m not
here’.
Several leaders mentioned situational leadership, which involves having a repertoire of leadership styles
to choose from. One said: ‘We’ve been learning about different models as part of my training course. They’re
all useful really – I’ve taken something from all of them’. Several spoke of adjusting their style to suit the
circumstances; as one explained: ‘It’s important to accept that you are never one style’. She went on to
explain that she needed to be quite autocratic at times, even though her preferred style was to consult and
delegate responsibility to others. A third commented: ‘It’s important to have an understanding about which
leadership model to adopt in different circumstances’.
Reflective leadership was mentioned by a few leaders, who stressed the importance of reviewing the
consequences of their own behaviour and actions. One explained how NPQICL had prompted her to become
more reflective:
Where next for children’s centre leaders?
52 © National College for School Leadership
Having completed the NPQICL last year made me reflect more on my own behaviour
and how I work as a leader. One of the things I have started to do is stepping back and
observing; doing a lot more reflecting and observation than I used to do before.
A few mentioned emotional intelligence (originated by Daniel Goleman). One said:
Emotional intelligence featured in my NPQICL. One of the biggest revelations to me was that
I used emotional intelligence more than I led myself to believe… and my colleagues thought
I was emotionally intelligent.
Other leadership concepts and authors mentioned by individual children’s centre leaders were: values-
based leadership ( John Adair); the Pen Green Centre’s ‘tartan’ model (identifying interweaving strands of
responsibility); integrated system leadership (a National College course); ‘leading beautifully’ (Donna Ladkin);
and leadership books by Margaret Wheatley, Carol Aubrey and Janet Moyles.
5.2 Views on developing NPQICL
The National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL) is a National Qualifications
Framework postgraduate qualification (Level 7) for children’s centre leaders. The National College is currently
reviewing the content and format of the course. We asked centre leaders and other centre staff for their
thoughts on this.
Centre leaders and other staff who have completed NPQICL praised the programme and valued it highly.
Many stressed that NPQICL had been both professionally useful and had made a profound contribution to
their personal development, speaking of how it had ‘recognised’, ‘re-affirmed’ and ‘legitimised’ their work. As
one deputy manager commented: ‘It supported me to believe in myself. It reaffirmed my approach to joint
working and multi-agency working’. One centre leader described the influential effects of taking the course
in the following terms: ‘It was a life-changing course… the principles are embedded in my practice now’.
Leaders singled out some specific content and elements of the programme that were particularly valuable.
These were: the collaborative experience of fellow professionals coming together in leadership learning
groups, and the opportunity to be reflective with each other and to network. Similarly they emphasised the
importance of being able to visit other people’s centres and settings and to share good practice. They praised
the quality of the tutors, mentors and course delivery staff. A number described the residential experience as
‘excellent’.
Only a small minority of centre leaders made any qualified or critical comments. One suggested that NPQICL
was ‘not for everyone’, on the grounds that it is ‘a very reflective course; it’s experiential learning’. One had
withdrawn from the programme, saying she had found it ‘nebulous’ and lacking in focus. A few people also
pointed out that any qualification can only make a contribution to effective leadership, since individuals must
also have the appropriate aptitude, skills and personality.
Several centre leaders were concerned that the course might be drastically shortened in future, which
would remove the very elements they identified as most valuable: namely, collaborative learning, reciprocal
visits and reflective activity.
Centre leaders and their staff wanted NPQICL to have status within the sector and within the academic
community. One local authority leader reflected that NPQICL ‘used to be on a par with the NPQH’ but thought
that it had lost status, and called for better integration between NPQICL and NPQH. Others considered the
qualification to be at Master’s level and did not want this to be eroded. One interviewee called for it to be
‘a proper academic discipline that is recognised and accepted’. Centre leaders felt that this was tied up with
recognising the status of children’s centre work, and the early years’ sector generally, as being on a par with
other parts of the education and social care workforce. This was also felt to be important in giving centre
leaders a sense of ‘self-esteem and self-identity as academics and scholars’.
There were mixed views about who should be eligible for NPQICL. A number of centre managers argued
that it should be opened up to centre staff who do not have graduate qualifications, although this was
balanced against the views of those who wished to keep its status as a postgraduate course. For example,
one leader said: ‘We’ve got very good people at Level 3 and 4 standards, but to go for NPQICL is too much
53 © National College for School Leadership
of a jump’. Another recounted the case of a neighbouring centre leader who had enquired about the course
but had been turned down because she did not have a first degree. These comments highlight potential
confusion among some centre managers about the minimum requirements for participation on the
programme. Individuals without a graduate degree are in fact able to join the programme, subject to the
satisfactory completion of a graduate skills assessment to demonstrate they are able to work at a Master’s
level. This requirement is important in reconciling the potential tension between adopting an inclusive
approach to participation on the programme with the need to protect its academic rigour.
Several said it was a shame that more colleagues in partner agencies, particularly in health, did not take the
course because of the value to multi-agency working that can come from professionals learning together. A
few leaders commented on the opportunity NPQICL gave for developing system leadership across the sector,
and one local authority area leader said it was a shame that other local authority colleagues were not able to
access the programme because they had not previously been centre leaders.
Leaders felt there should be clear progression routes both into and beyond NPQICL. They also wanted NPQICL
to be an ongoing development, with an opportunity to return to the programme after a period of reflection.
After studying NPQICL, one centre leader took part in a longer piece of action research on system leadership
and characterised this as a progression route from the qualification, saying:
It was almost like a progression from NPQICL. NPQICL teaches you to work in collaborative
partnerships but [taking part in action research on] system leadership teaches you to lead
collaborative partnerships.
Despite valuing much of the present content of NPQICL, centre leaders said this should be regularly reviewed
to ensure it keeps abreast of current issues and developments across the sector. For example, one leader
commented: ‘Some of the activities need to be revised and brought in line with what is happening now’ and
several interviewees recommended that the course should offer a module on financial management. The
chair of a children’s centre advisory board underlined the need for NPQICL to cover financial management and
business skills, saying the current qualification ‘doesn’t always prepare centre leaders for hard, operational
work such as managing business and financial planning’.
There were several comments on the balance between theory and practical work. Although some felt the
course already offered an appropriate balance, many argued for an even greater focus on how the learning
can be applied in practice. Some suggested adding more practical content, including such topics as: ‘how to
do your self-evaluation form, what the framework requirements are and reaching hard-to-reach families’.
Leaders also specified particular topics that should be covered more explicitly in the course. Prominent
among these were knowledge and understanding of: the foundation years, family support, extended
services, and integrated, multi-agency working. Dealing with health and safeguarding issues were
mentioned by some leaders, as was guidance on how to manage stress. Leaders recommended that
the programme content should also cover management and counselling skills, theories and models of
leadership, and an underpinning knowledge of policy and the political context; as one leader said: ‘It should
reflect on government policy and the commissioning process and the ways centre leaders can influence what
is happening’.
Centre leaders generally welcomed the proposed NPQICL format of a core with optional modules. One said
that if the programme were to become more modular then this would provide opportunities for coverage of
areas such as team management and capacity-building and others said it could help in exploring a variety of
different leadership models and provide appropriate pathways for people with different career backgrounds
and experience. When commenting on the inclusion of system leadership, one leader argued that this should
feature as a core element rather than an option in order to raise awareness of what system leadership
entails.
Interviewees said that NPQICL should provide challenge, in-depth exploration and creative ways of learning.
Leaders said that having more online activity offered different ways of studying and, together with the
modular framework, would enable the programme to adapt to different learners’ needs and backgrounds.
However, many leaders stressed their concern that changes to the format of NPQICL might be at the expense
of other much-valued elements, such as time for reflection, and the opportunity to talk with other leaders
who have the same problems, although some thought that online learning could help to facilitate these.
54 © National College for School Leadership
5.3 Current leadership challenges and solutions
Centre leaders, their staff and partner agencies identified a number of major challenges facing them in the
development of leadership approaches in the current environment. They also indicated a range of ways in
which they and others are endeavouring to address these challenges.
Challenge 1: Remaining positive in a time of great change
Centre leaders are having to become increasingly outward looking and exercise leadership across children’s
centres and foundations years’ settings, thereby becoming leaders of the system. At the same time they
must cope with their own and their staff’s job insecurities, while also ensuring standards of services are
maintained and improved: ’Centre managers are not being supported enough in the current climate’ (centre
manager); ’If things change all the time how can you improve?’ (deputy centre manager); ’When you want so
much from a centre leader it doesn’t seem safe and other professional choices seem very appealing’ (centre
member of staff).
Solutions
— Some centre leaders view periods of change as an opportunity for them to harness energy and forge a
new direction. They see restructuring and decommissioning as an opportunity to raise the profile of the
foundation years and bring in new energy and direction.
— Centre leaders are developing skills in juggling priorities, handling pressure, saying no where appropriate
and empowering others.
— Centre managers and their teams are maintaining their sense of moral purpose in securing the best
outcomes for children and families in the foundation years.
— Centre leaders are starting to be proactive in leading the system so that they influence emerging
agendas and structures and feel more empowered.
— Centre leaders are engaging in horizon-scanning so they can prepare for new requirements and keep a
focus on longer term sustainability.
Challenge 2: Improving status and training
Interviewees said that other people sometimes perceived the leadership of children’s centres as being lower
in status than school leadership. They felt that progression routes to centre leadership are poorly developed,
particularly from some sectors such as nursery nursing. Recruitment and succession planning are seen as
major challenges and there is a concern that when current early years staff retire, there will be a lack of
suitable people to replace them. NPQICL is valued but staff feel that it is not given sufficient professional
status compared with other qualifications, such as NPQH. One chair of trustees said: ‘We need to raise
the status of early years generally; there’s a feeling that centre leaders are the slightly poorer relations of
headteachers’.
Solutions
— Some local authorities are actively emphasising the importance and status of those working in the
foundation years.
— Settings are beginning to provide joint training for leaders from different professional spheres:
the foundation years, education and social care. Some groups of centres are providing staff with
opportunities to shadow centre managers and experience the nature of the job.
— Those studying NPQICL have an opportunity to share experiences and use their influence, as one centre
leader explained: ‘Having leaders get together in groups in the NPQICL is powerful in helping to influence
and change policy’.
55 © National College for School Leadership
— Centre leaders are acting as mentors to their peers and coaches to new leaders.
— Centre leaders contribute to succession planning by spotting talent, helping staff plan their careers and
providing professional development programmes.
— Centre leaders are forming professional learning networks to take forward their own development and
exercise influence on policy and practice.
Challenge 3: Ensuring positive impact and improved outcomes
A major challenge is to ensure improved outcomes for children and families, particularly the most vulnerable,
across the foundation years. Some centre staff are concerned about the introduction of payment by results
(PbR) and, while they understand the reasons for a policy emphasis on targeting vulnerable groups, worry
about the threat to universal services and the risk of stigmatising families. Centre leaders see improving
standards and addressing underperforming staff as one of the most challenging aspects of their job.
Solutions
— Centre leaders, their staff and partners have improved skills in the use of data and have confidence in
using data effectively to provide both support and challenge.
— Robust arrangements are in place to identify and address underperformance and action taken is followed
up.
— Staff work effectively across centres and settings to build capacity within self-improving collaborations.
— Centre leaders are improving outcomes by working in closer partnership with foundation-stage co-
ordinators.
— Centre leaders become adept at sharing and using data collaboratively to secure system-wide
improvement.
Challenge 4: Practical barriers to developing system leadership
As discussed in chapter 4, the concept of system leadership is not well developed among centre leaders
and their staff. Some confuse it with working with “partner agencies, or community engagement or with
one centre taking on specific responsibilities within a cluster. Others see it as being the preserve of local
authority managers rather than children’s centre leaders ”.
Other barriers to system leadership are a perceived conflict between a leader’s focus on his or her own
centre and devoting time to leading across the sector and a sense of competition between service providers.
In relation to sharing best practice and supporting other centres, there is a need for some external validation
of a centre’s performance. However, there is a lack of well-established benchmarks to identify highly
effective leaders (although Ofsted inspections can provide a useful indication of this). It also seems that
some aspects of the system leader role (especially leading across foundation years’ settings and addressing
underperformance) may be more difficult to establish than others, with the vision of becoming a ‘self-
improving system’ appearing overly ambitious to many, given the current starting point. One centre leader
commented that there is a potential difficulty in the current line management arrangements for centre
leaders, drawing attention to the difficulty of ‘having to line manage somebody who is committed to system
leadership when you are working within the constraints of the local authority (which my manager has to do)’.
However there are signs that some centre leaders are engaging in system leadership activities across centres
and settings. A few are also proactively leading the system and contributing to professional discourse and
policy development.
56 © National College for School Leadership
Solutions
— Centre leaders (and their line managers) respond positively to the call to become system leaders when
they begin to understand what it entails.
— Centre leaders see the expectation to develop as system leaders as a positive opportunity. They accept
responsibility for contributing to positive outcomes for children and families beyond their own reach area.
— Centre leaders are gaining an understanding of the commonality and distinction between behaviours
required to lead a single centre and system leadership behaviours.
— Centre leaders are convening and leading forums for professionals who run a range of foundation years’
settings.
— Centre leaders are increasingly seeking out opportunities to exercise influence and leadership across
foundation years’ settings, and to lead the development of the profession.
— Centre leaders are creating their own physical and virtual networks to generate a shared professional
voice and are developing their ability to influence the system.
— System leadership practice is being developed through the early years teaching centre initiative pilot.
5.4 Leadership skills needed in the future
The foundation years’ sector is now under much greater scrutiny, responding to multiple policies and
delivering on multiple agendas. These include: the ‘core purpose’ (DfE, 2011a); supporting families in
the foundation years (DfE & DH, 2011); early intervention (Allen & Duncan-Smith, 2008; Allen, 2011; Field,
2010); safeguarding (Munro, 2011); child development and school readiness (DfE, 2011a; Tickell, 2011; DCSF,
2010); targeting the neediest families (DfE & DH, 2011; DfE, 2011b); and increased accountability through,
for example, changes to the Ofsted inspection criteria and PbR (La Valle et al, 2011). There is also a potential
role for children’s centres to provide a gateway to the large-scale expansion of free places for disadvantaged
two year olds9. Future leadership behaviours and skills will need to reflect these agendas.
In addition to this, we considered the experience of those operating in or contemplating new models,
especially formal clusters and hub-and-spoke arrangements. Some of these had resulted from restructuring,
whereby existing centre leader posts had been made redundant. There was an increased sense of
accountability, which was not always coupled with increased autonomy. For example one centre leader
felt that the cutbacks experienced in her ‘spoke’ centres had reduced her role to little more than site
management, and others referred to the tensions between spending time getting to know parents and
travelling to spoke centres. As one service provider commented: ‘Children’s centre leaders will be less hands-
on, not so much on the ground level and this is a shame because having a knowledge of the community and
local needs is important’.
Centre leaders were realistic about the prospect of further reductions in public funding for children’s centres.
They also identified the potential for other services to be reduced or remain at current levels in the face of
increased demand. This raised concerns about other services not being available, with the danger of centres
trying to deal with high-risk situations (eg, safeguarding children at risk) or of children and families falling
through the gaps. As one children’s centre leader said: ‘We will have to adapt and adjust to the financial
climate that we find ourselves in, and do our best with what’s available to deliver the services’.
Another key challenge for the future was a concern about the supply of the next generation of centre
leaders. As one local authority representative said:
9 The government has announced an expansion in the number of free places for disadvantaged two year olds from
20,000 places in 2012 to 260,000 places in 2016.
57 © National College for School Leadership
In terms of up-and-coming leaders, I think we have a real gap. I am not sure that we have
got a raft of people who would be ready to move up. In part that’s because the role of
the leader… is so complicated and has such a breadth of duties and responsibilities. It is
very hard to have a deputy…. It’s not just about formal training. It is about shadowing, the
opportunities to be part of those worlds and doing some of the coaching and mentoring
work. I think there has got to be a real emphasis on the professionalism around this and
pulling people in so there is a proper career route and structure for people.
Interviewees pointed out that many of the people who were leading phase 1 Sure Start centres were
approaching retirement, and they identified a gap in the supply of new centre leaders. There was a call
for an apprentice system or a clearer career pathway to centre leadership, coupled with a greater focus on
succession planning to identify the leaders of the future.
We asked centre leaders, staff and other professionals what skills they thought centre leaders would need
in the future. They identified the following areas, most of which they had already identified as key to their
current role, though they stressed that these skills would be even more important in the future:
— supporting the most needy families while maintaining universal services
— dealing with increased accountability, demonstrating impact and value for money (including financial,
data management and research skills)
— dealing with reductions in funding and finding alternative sources of income
— managing and developing staff, including the ability to engage in robust conversations about
underperformance
— getting even better at working in partnership with other services and settings
— system leadership (especially being able to adapt to new models of organisation, such as hub-and-spoke
centres)
— managing change and maintaining focus on improving outcomes for children and families, while dealing
with multiple agendas (including keeping positive, communicating openly with staff, parents and
partners during periods of uncertainty, exercising good judgement, being resilient and managing stress)
— providing opportunities for future leaders, including talent-spotting, career development, responsibility,
shadowing, coaching and mentoring, as well as formal qualifications
5.5 Concluding comments
This chapter has presented information on the current and future issues shaping children’s centre leadership.
It has highlighted the importance of distributed leadership and reinforced leaders’ keen appreciation of the
value of NPQICL. These leaders acknowledged the current challenges to their role and identified the ways
in which they were attempting to address them. They recognised the importance of adapting to meet new
policy agendas and identified a key set of behaviours and skills that would be required in order to meet
current and future requirements. They also drew attention to the need to plan now in order to secure the
next generation of children’s centre leaders.
58 © National College for School Leadership
Children’s centre leaders are leading in a complex and fast-changing landscape. This report has presented
vivid examples of how centre leaders are grasping opportunities to achieve better outcomes for children and
families, with support from staff, parents, partners and policymakers at local and national level. We were
privileged to meet so many inspiring leaders in the course of this research.
This section provides recommendations, for national policymakers, for local authorities, and for children’s
centre leaders themselves.
For national policymakers
— Policymakers need to ensure that policy across the foundation years (including across education, health,
employment, housing and social care partners) is as joined up as possible by developing joint policies,
encouraging joint working and data-sharing.
— Following the recommendations of the Nutbrown (2012) review, policymakers need to consider ways of
promoting the status of children’s centre staff and leaders.
— Centre leaders expressed concern about the future supply of leaders, given the age profile of current
leaders. Therefore, national policymakers need to focus on the children’s centre leader pipeline, including
identifying clear and more systemic career pathways to leadership (whilst avoiding closing down the
varied routes into leadership which bring highly skilful and creative people into the workforce).
— The status of the children’s centre workforce may be enhanced through an increase in local autonomy
being promoted by central government. However, policymakers should be mindful of the balance
between increased accountability and autonomy to ensure appropriate demands are placed on centre
leaders.
— National and local policymakers will need to support the capacity of children’s centres to deliver on the
rapid expansion in free places for disadvantaged two year olds, including their role of broker with other
providers in the private, voluntary and independent sectors. Similarly, they will need to consider the
implications for the sector of a national payment by results (PbR) scheme.
— Policymakers should promote and build on the key learning from the early years teaching centre
initiative pilot so that the wider sector can benefit, especially in relation to the conditions required to
support system leadership.
— National policymakers should consider the behaviours of system leadership for the foundation years set
out in this report, and how to support and nurture those behaviours across the sector. In particular, the
National College could promote system leadership and explain the expectations of centre leaders.
— New models for children’s centres will require increasing collaboration, for example between centres in a
cluster. Ofsted’s agreement to take clusters into account in future inspections is a welcome development.
It would be helpful to distil the learning from these inspections in order to provide examples of best
practice in cluster working. In addition, the National College should consider how best to capture the
leadership learning from the increasingly diverse models of children’s centre structure, operation and
governance.
— The National College should consider how to build on the behaviours and achievements of highly
effective children’s centre leaders. This could include consideration of its relevance to other educational
sectors. For example, there may be learning about partnership working and parental engagement which
could be useful to school leaders.
— Policy makers should build further on the encouraging examples of joint practice development identified
Conclusions and recommendations
59 © National College for School Leadership
in this study, by promoting partnerships and networks which encourage both the sharing and utilisation
of knowledge by children’s centre leaders.
— Children’s centre leaders welcome opportunities to be kept informed and to exchange information with
others. The Children’s Centre Leaders Network has an important role in this. The DfE could also helpfully
provide a website or information service to ensure leaders have access to the latest policy developments
in the early years and their implications for leaders.
— The current reviews of NPQICL, the qualifications framework and the National Standards are an
opportunity to lay the foundations of an early years qualification that has status and academic
recognition.
— Specific attention should be given to establishing progression routes to and beyond NPQICL; this should
include more provision for potential and emerging leaders, and post-NPQICL programmes.
— Centre leaders currently act as mentors to their peers and coaches to new leaders. This should be built
on to establish a framework that develops emerging leaders and lays the foundation for a self-improving
system.
— The review of NPQICL should consider partnership with higher education so that the award can retain
Master’s accreditation.
— The development towards a core and modular structure is broadly welcomed but care should be taken
to ensure that this does not restrict creative approaches to learning or experiential and collaborative
learning. System leadership should be a major element in NPQICL, and should feature as part of the core.
— Centre managers strongly valued the opportunity to visit each other’s centres and this should continue to
be a feature of NPQICL, perhaps as a facilitated professional community.
— Online learning is welcomed and this should be the vehicle for creative learning approaches.
— There should be more practical and applied elements within the content of NPQICL, including what
good practice looks like; how to self-evaluate effectively; effective safeguarding practice; and strategies
for reaching the neediest families. Other key elements recommended for the content coverage within
NPQICL include:
• theories and models of leadership
• management skills
• counselling skills
• more research and evidence-based work
• understanding of early years and foundation stage issues
• understanding and managing multi-agency working
• understanding policy and practice, including how to recognise and navigate the political context
For local authorities
— As children’s centre leaders are leading increasingly varied settings, local authorities should consider
providing specific professional development and support tailored to these different settings (eg, the
implications of working in a chain, or how leadership might be affected by a federated governance
structure).
— Local authorities need to support children’s centre leaders with access to all the relevant data they need,
and by ensuring they work with centre leaders to access and interrogate local information, not only on
key information such as live birth data, but information particularly relevant to local needs such as the
impact of housing, or the operation of loan sharks.
— Local authorities should communicate an explicit recognition of the current pressures on centre managers
(eg, job insecurity, financial uncertainty and the system leader challenge), and consider what they can do
to help preserve morale.
60 © National College for School Leadership
— All children and families should have access to excellent-quality services in the foundation years. Local
authorities need to strive to reduce the variability within and between children’s centres, including by
drawing on the expertise of highly effective leaders.
— There is a need for robust local support and challenge, including support for new leaders, encouragement
of excellent centre leaders to share best practice and become system leaders, and support for
underperforming leaders to improve the quality of their work.
For children’s centre leaders
— Children’s centre leaders should consider the eight behaviours of highly effective centre leaders for self-
assessment and with their staff teams. They should consider their own expertise and skills and identify
any behaviours that are not well represented so they can seek to address them in future.
— Children’s centre leaders should consider whether they wish to take on aspects of system leadership.
For those who have achieved excellent standards in their own centres, system leadership provides an
opportunity to use their skills to achieve improvements across the system. Those wishing to develop
their involvement in system leadership can use the seven behaviours of system leadership to guide
them.
— Children’s centre leaders should explore further the potential to share and jointly develop good practice
with their peers, to promote improved outcomes for children and families.
— Children’s centre leaders should make the most of the networks and links that already exist in the
foundation years’ sector (eg, across clusters, NPQICL, through the National College Children’s Centre
Leaders Network) to support each other in this time of change and uncertainty. This could also include
making use of existing resources for leadership development (such as the National College’s (2012)
online leadership development resources for children’s centre leaders). They should also make new
links wherever possible, including with their local children’s centre leader(s). In addition, leaders should
consider their own health and welfare and identify strategies and support to help manage stress.
— Highly effective leaders have a role in developing leadership in others. However, this appeared to be
less commonplace, compared with the other many motivational and staff development outcomes we
heard about in this study. Children’s centre leaders should consider how they can contribute to leadership
succession planning and sustainability. Current leaders have a wealth of experience and skills to offer,
and could play a greater role in spotting talent, and coaching and supporting the next generation of
leaders.
The above recommendations are designed to build on the excellent practice identified in this research and
secure even greater progress in meeting the needs of children and families, especially those who have most
to gain from highly effective children’s centre leadership.
61 © National College for School Leadership
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64 © National College for School Leadership
We agreed the following parameters, search terms, and search databases and websites with the National
College for strand 1 of the project, the rapid review of recent evidence relating to effective leadership in
children’s centres.
Parameters
To be included in the review, sources conformed to the following agreed parameters:
— publication dates: between January 2003 and July 2011
— type of literature: published and semi-published literature
— type of evidence: empirical research and evaluation evidence, policy, discussion of theory and practice
— geographical scope: originating in the UK, except in the case of specific recommendations
— focus: children’s centres, foundation years, leadership, system leadership
Search databases
NFER’s librarians conducted systematic searches of the following databases, catalogues and websites, for
effective leadership in children’s centres:
— library databases (ie BEI, ChildData, Social Policy & Practice, BEIFC)
— grey literature (eg, conference reports)
— practitioner journals (ie Nursery World, CYPNow)
— government and associated websites and gateways (ie DfE, National College, LGA, Ofsted, CREC, C4EO,
NCB, NFER)
— selected author searches (ie Allen, Field, Tickell, Anning, Siraj-Blatchford)
We also considered recommendations from experts (eg, via the National College) identifying influential
research or policy in this field, including work conducted outside the UK.
For system leadership, we considered recommendations direct from the National College, publications
available on the National College website, and expert recommendations.
Appendix 1: Reviewing the literature
65 © National College for School Leadership
Search terms
Leadership Foundation years
entrepreneurial leadership
leaders
leadership
leadership attributes
leadership behaviour
leadership development
leadership effectiveness
leadership knowledge
leadership qualities
leadership skills
leadership strategies
management strategies
management styles
NPQICL
child day care
children’s centres
day care centres
day nurseries
early years centres
early years settings
Sure Start children’s centres
Sure Start centres
early childhood settings
Integrated working Challenges
agency cooperation
integrated services
integrated teams
integated working
joint working
multi agency teams
multi agency working
multi professional teams
partnershp working
capacity building
change management
change strategies
child protection
early intervention
evaluation
impact
improvement
improvement programmes
monitoring
outcomes
safeguarding
school readiness
66 © National College for School Leadership
Process for review
We undertook a four-stage process to reviewing sources:
— auditing all identified sources to a spreadsheet, to record information about the source including: the
reference, web location if available, about the source (brief overview of aims, methods and themes
being explored), sector/setting focus (eg, children’s centre, nursery school, early years general),
leadership focus (eg, effective leadership, system leadership) (180 sources)
— prioritising sources for review, focusing on those relating to effective leadership in children’s centres,
and system leadership in the foundation years supplemented by system leadership in other sectors; and
allocating prioritised sources to the review team to consider the evidence on children’s centre leadership,
school and other sector leadership, system leadership, and policy
— reviewing sources against standard headings, namely: i) leadership strategies and behaviours, ii) leaders’
knowledge, skills, attributes and technical management skills; iii) challenges; iv) practical issues and
barriers; v) leadership skills needed in the future; and vi) implications for leadership development,
workforce development and for policy on system leadership
— analysing and synthesising the evidence through coding, thematic grouping and drawing out quotations
67 © National College for School Leadership
This research set out to explore highly effective leadership and system leadership through case studies, in a
total of 25 case studies. In order to enable sufficient exploration in the fast-changing environment in which
children’s centre leaders work, the research team and National College agreed to focus the case studies in
the following ways:
— five case studies of highly effective leadership in single-centre settings
— five case studies of good/improving leadership in single-centre settings so that researchers could
understand leaders’ journeys towards highly effective leadership and unpack some of the challenges
leaders face
— 15 case studies exploring new and emerging organisational models for children’s centres including multi-
setting contexts and where leaders work across settings and the wider system
Each case study involved interviews with the children’s centre leader, children’s centre staff, staff from
other agencies, local authority staff and parents. All 25 case studies explored the nature of highly effective
leadership. The 15 case studies of new and emerging models also explored system leadership.
Table 1 outlines the criteria agreed with the National College for identifying and selecting case studies. For
each of the three types of case study, we drew up a long list of potential case studies, from which we made
a final selection (with reserves) to reflect the variables shown. In cases where selected children’s centres
were unable to take part, we contacted a reserve setting with similar characteristics so as to maintain the
overall mix of settings involved.
Ethical conduct
The research was carried out in accordance with NFER’s Code of Practice (2011). In particular, the team used
the following procedures:
— Research participants were fully informed about the purpose of the research through written information
sent with the initial request to participate. Interviewees were again informed about the purpose of the
research at the beginning of all interviews.
— The research team asked all participants for their active consent to take part and for their interviews to
be audio-recorded.
— All information identifying case study participants (personal data) was kept confidential and not divulged
to anyone outside the research team.
— We informed participants that we would not name any centres, local authorities or individuals in our
report.
— In response to a request from one participant to have their centre’s participation in the research
acknowledged, we asked all participating centre leaders whether they wished their centres to be
included in the acknowledgements. We asked leaders to check with their colleagues (eg, local authorities
and/or governing bodies/ advisory boards, as appropriate) if they needed to do so. We did not name any
centres without the express consent of the leader concerned.
— In the vignettes illustrating leadership behaviours, we used pseudonyms for individuals and adopted a
letter-code system for settings.
Appendix 2: Selecting the case studies and
ethical conduct
68 © National College for School Leadership
Type of case
study
Focus Sampling criteria Breakdown of variables to be considered
1. Highly
effective
leadership case
studies (5)
Each focusing on
a single-centre
setting and
its leader and
leadership
Children’s centre Ofsted inspection ( June 2010–June 2011): outstanding overall,
with outstanding for leadership and management, and outstanding for capacity
for sustained improvement
Daycare Ofsted inspection (if applicable) ( June 2010–June 2011): outstanding
overall, with outstanding for leadership and management, and outstanding for
capacity for sustained improvement
Across these 10 case studies:
— urban/rural/coastal: a mix
— male/female: if possible, at least two male leaders
— lead agency: at least two local authority-run; at
least two commissioned out to private, voluntary or
independent sector; at least two school-run
— phase 1, 2 and 3: a mix
— population served: to include consideration of levels
of deprivation, BME communities, etc
2. Good/
improving case
studies (5)
Each focusing on
a single-centre
setting and
its leader and
leadership
Children’s centre Ofsted inspection ( June 2010–June 2011): good overall, with
outstanding for leadership and management and/or for capacity for sustained
improvement
Daycare Ofsted inspection (if applicable): good overall, with outstanding for
leadership and management and/or for capacity for sustained improvement
Or, if centre had not yet been inspected by Ofsted (as at October 2011), selection
informed by local authority RAG ratings (which in turn are based on SEF data) and
discussion with relevant local authority officers
3. Existing
and emerging
children’s
centre models
– case studies
to explore
leadership within
and across the
system (15)
Each focusing
on leadership
in the setting
and its wider
context (eg,
organisational
context; wider
system)
Range of organisational models and contexts, including: clusters, hub-and-
spoke models, locality manager models, school campus models and early years
teaching centres.
Selected on the basis of:
— children’s centre Ofsted inspection: outstanding overall, with outstanding
for leadership and management, and outstanding for capacity for
sustained improvement
— daycare Ofsted inspection (if applicable): outstanding overall, with
outstanding for leadership and management, and outstanding for
capacity for sustained improvement
— or, if centre had not yet been inspected, selection informed by
conversations with local authority and advisory group staff to ascertain
the extent to which this was an established or interesting emerging
model. Both were considered in the long list of potential case studies
Across these 15 case studies:
— urban/rural/coastal: a mix
— male/female: if possible, at least three male leaders
— lead agency: at least four local authority-run; at
least four commissioned out to private, voluntary or
independent sector; at least four school-run
— phase 1, 2 and 3: a mix
— population served: to include consideration of levels
of deprivation, BME communities, etc
Table 1: Case study sampling frame
69 © National College for School Leadership
The dataset
This report is based on the following case study/interview data:
— Type 1 (highly effective centre leadership): 5 case studies
— Type 2 (good/improving centre leadership): 5 case studies
— Type 3 (system leaders and new models): 15 case studies
Case study interviewees:
— 25 children’s centre leaders (ie the case study leader)
— 28 local authority staff (including locality leaders)
— 60 senior and frontline staff within the case study setting
— 37 partner agency staff
— 12 parents
— 6 other leaders of children’s centres or foundation years’ settings
Table 2: Interviewees in each type of case study
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Totals
children’s centre leaders 5 5 15 25
local authority/area staff 5 4 19 28
children’s centre senior and
frontline staff
8 12 30 50
partner agency staff 6 6 25 37
parents 4 2 6 12
leaders from another foundation
years’ setting
0 0 6 6
Total 28 29 101 158
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