School Leadership

In this paper, the principle of subsidiarity – that agency and choice should be delegated to the local level – is introduced. In education, it is proposed that: – far greater responsibility should be delegated to School Leadership Teams; and that; – successful Leadership in education requires a balance of principle (the moral basis of the school), purpose (the core business of the school) and people (social relationships in the school). A clear distinction is then drawn between leadership (complexity), management (clarity) and administration (consistency). This is followed by a discussion on distributed leadership, the idea that the leadership role is not confined to the Senior Leadership Team; but should, for example, involve subject leaders. Finally, the idea of Governance is introduced: a process whereby a legally constituted team of local partners support and challenge the School Leadership Team; helping them to fulfil their responsibility for the leadership and management of the school.