Looking for Teacher Leadership Programme (TLP)? This has now evolved into the new Educator Leadership Programme (ELP) outlined below.
This is an Education Scotland leadership programme.
Growing from the success of the Teacher Leadership programme; the new Educator Leadership programme is designed to offer participants more flexibility and opportunities to collaborate and share practice across sectors, while keeping the learner experience at the centre through our focus on practitioner enquiry.
The Educator Leadership programme (ELP) is open to Early Learning and Childcare practitioners, Community Learning and Development practitioners and classroom teachers.
A continuing central tenet of the Educator Leadership programme (ELP) is for participants to understand what leadership at practitioner level means and looks like in practice. As a part of this process participants are supported to take an enquiring approach to developing an aspect of their practice as appropriate for the learners in their context. Enquiry is the basis for reflective and strategic thinking (metacognition) about practice (National Model of Professional Learning).
Following this initial enquiry cycle; participants have the opportunity to engage in a collaborative enquiry in small groups or to continue to deepen their knowledge and understanding with their individual enquiry.
The Educator Leadership professional learning programme is primarily facilitated online. All participants will be provided access to the Educator Leadership Programme site where the programme content sits; online events will be held on Microsoft Teams and the collaborative community platform Slack will be used to share individual reflection, responses to tasks and respond to peers in your group.
The Educator Leadership programme has two enquiry cycles:
Enquiry Cycle 1 takes place from September 2022 to February 2023
Enquiry Cycle 1 is structured to support participants to confidently take an enquiring approach through first exploring how leadership of self and practice is a core element of educator's professional identity; and by reflecting on current practice and considering the nature and purpose of enquiry. Participants then plan and implement an enquiring approach to developing their practice in their context. The programme also supports educators to reflect on the learning arising in terms of their own leadership as well as for their learners.
There are a series of online, reflective tasks and accompanying literature and research for participants to complete. Throughout the programme, participants are supported and challenged by their peers, critical friends and the programme leads – as stated we will use the collaborative community platform Slack for this aspect of the programme.
Participants are expected to:
- attend a minimum of four online events
- an induction session in September, where participants meet their programme lead and examine the concepts of educator leadership
- two touchpoint twilights; one in November where participants deepen their understanding around the purpose and process of enquiry and one in January where we will focus on co-developing pathways for enquiry cycle 2
- a Sharing the Learning session in February, where participants share their own learning and can explore the enquiring approaches taken by others
- commit to a minimum of 10 hours of self-directed online learning and enquiry depending on existing commitments
- create a practitioner enquiry poster (examples of these from the previous teacher leadership programme can be found here).
Participants who have completed Enquiry Cycle 1 and shared evidence of their learning will gain a completion certificate and may choose to exit the programme at this point or to move into one of the options in Enquiry Cycle 2.
Enquiry Cycle 2 takes place from February 2023 to June 2023
Participants that move into Enquiry Cycle 2 can choose a learning pathway that best meets their emerging professional learning needs.
Option 1: Learning as Collaborative
Option 1 is structured to support participants to learn with and from colleagues as part of an active learning community. Following their individual enquiry; participants working in a similar theme will agree on an enquiry question and engage in collaborative enquiry in small groups.
In this collaborative enquiry cycle the educator as learner will continue to reflect on their professional practice; share professional learning and engage in productive, focused conversations about learning. Collaborative groups will be supported to create a think piece to reflect the knowledge that has been developed with their learning community.
Throughout the programme, participants are supported and challenged by their peers, critical friends and the programme leads – as stated we will use collaborative community platform Slack for this aspect of the programme.
Participants are expected to:
- attend a minimum of four online events
- induction session as part of the national Sharing the Learning Summit in February
- two touchpoint twilights; one in March and one in May
- a national Educator Leadership Programme summit in June (this may be face to face), where participants share their own learning and can explore the enquiring approaches taken by others
- commit to approximately 5 hours or more of collaborative enquiry
- create a collaborative think piece to share their learning at the summit in June.
Option 2: Learning that deepens knowledge and understanding
Option 2 is informed by Enquiry Cycle 1 and structured to support participants to build on their initial enquiry and/or explore new questions. Following a coaching conversation; participants may engage with specific professional learning opportunities or activities focusing on specific elements of practice that could inform their area of enquiry. Suggested professional learning activities (PLA’s) can be accessed in the online programme area.
Throughout the programme, participants will continue to be supported and challenged by their peers, critical friends and the programme leads – as stated we will use the collaborative community platform Slack for this aspect of the programme.
Participants are expected to:
- attend a minimum of four online events
- induction session as part of the national Sharing the Learning Summit in February
- two touchpoint twilights; one in March and one in May
- a national Educator Leadership Programme summit in June, where participants share their own learning and can explore the enquiring approaches taken by others
- commit to approximately 5 hours or more of self-directed online learning using selected Professional Learning Activities (PLAs)
- generate further evidence of their individual enquiry to share their learning at the national summit in June (this may be face to face).
This programme follows a model for collaborative programme development with participants. As a member of the very first cohort, you have the opportunity to shape the programme to meet the needs of an educational system in the midst of transformation and reform.
The Educator Leadership Programme is a developmental programme informed by the GTCS Standard for Career Long Professional learning; CLD standards – Competent Practitioner Framework and SSSC 2015 Standard for Childhood Practice (revised) which supports participants to enhance their confidence and skills; there is no SCQF accreditation or pass/fail element to the programme.
Completion certificates are given to participants who complete:
- Enquiry Cycle 1 including: participating in regular online interaction, generating an enquiry poster and sharing their learning in February.
- Enquiry Cycle 1 and 2 including: participating in regular online interaction, generating an enquiry poster and sharing their learning in February and either generating a collaborative think piece or further evidence of individual enquiry and sharing their learning at the national summit in June.
Past participants in the Teacher Leadership programme which had similar aims explain the impact of the programme on their professional identities:
“The programme allows teachers to develop leadership skills that they previously may not have known existed within themselves. That transformation in your own mind is quite powerful.”
“The Teacher Leadership Programme has worked its magic and I would highly recommend it to anyone. You have brought vigour and purpose back to an experienced teacher and for that I say thank you!”
The Educator Leadership Programme is open to early learning and childcare practitioners, community learning & development practitioners and post-probation classroom teachers in Scotland.
It is primarily aimed at educators who are seeking professional learning opportunities to develop their leadership of and for learning in their context and who are willing to commit to all aspects of the programme. No previous experience of enquiry or formal leadership is required to apply.
This programme has a focus on leadership of self, of learning and of teaching and is therefore not primarily designed as a route to promotion.
We recognise that the format of the new Educator Leadership programme with the opportunity to collaborate and share practice across sectors and addition of collaborative enquiry in Enquiry Cycle 2 may be of interest to past participants of the Teacher Leadership programme – we would be delighted to welcome you to Educator Leaders Programme as a participant, as a Critical Friend or you may be interested in joining the Supporting Educator Leadership programme which will be promoted in November 2022.
The Educator Leadership Programme also provides opportunities for those who have completed the programme to support participants as Critical Friends. Critical Friends use their prior experience to support a group of participants in their learning. The Critical Friend role is undertaken on a voluntary basis and provides an opportunity for educators to develop their understanding of, and skills in, supporting peers in their professional learning. If you are interested in being a Critical Friend please read the section at the bottom of this page.
The programme has two enquiry cycles – participants may choose to complete both enquiry cycles or only the first cycle.
Applications open on MONDAY 16th MAY at 09:00 and close at 23:45 on MONDAY 13th JUNE 2022. They will then be reviewed, and you will be notified of the outcome by the end of June 2022.
Enquiry Cycle 1 takes place from September 2022 to February 2023
- Induction session: 6 September
- Touchpoint twilight 1: options 1/2/3 November
- Touchpoint twilight 2: options 18/19/20 January
- Sharing the Learning session: 2 February
Enquiry Cycle 2 takes place from February 2023 to June 2023
- Induction session: February (as part of Sharing the Learning session)
- Touchpoint twilight 1: options 14/15/16 March
- Touchpoint twilight 2: options 16/17/18 May
- Educator Leadership Programme summit: w/b 5 June (this may be in person).
Finalised dates will be communicated to programme participants via email.
The programme is delivered mainly online via Microsoft Teams with four contact dates at the start, middle and end of each cycle for participants to learn and share.
All participants will be provided access to the Educator Leadership Programme site where the programme content sits. This site is held within Education Scotland | Professional Learning and Leadership.
You will need to login to this site and it is advisable to use your work or Glow e-mail to register. If you have accessed other programmes or professional learning activities you will have already registered and only need to log in.
The ELP site will show up on your account page under My Programmes.
Throughout the year, participants are encouraged to reflect on their learning journey through the collaborative community platform Slack and are supported in that by the Programme Lead, Critical Friends and peers on the programme.
Please note that Slack may be blocked on some local authority devices; however, it is available as an App on mobile and tablet devices as well as through your browser on a personal device. It is worth checking your access to this as it will be an important part of engaging with the ELP community; if you have any issues or wish to discuss this further, please contact: edspll@educationscotland.gov.scot with Educator Leadership programme in the email subject line.
As the Professional Learning and Leadership Team is currently funded to develop a suite of programmes, participation in the programme is free of charge. There is no funding for class cover, however a limited fund for travel expenses is available for participants who have significant travel demands attributed to their participation in the programme. For example, if you are attending from the Scottish Islands and other more remote areas of Scotland.
Due to current circumstances, participants are not required to travel and all programme activity will be online until further notice.
You can enquire further about this fund by emailing edspll@educationscotland.gov.scot with Educator Leadership programme in the email subject line.
Applications open on MONDAY 16th MAY at 09:00 and close at 23:45 on MONDAY 13th JUNE 2022. They will then be reviewed, and you will be notified of the outcome by the end of June 2022.
No previous experience of enquiry or formal leadership is required to apply; however, applicants are asked to complete a short online form.
Although applications are open to all, we recommend that you discuss your application with your line manager to ensure appropriate supports are in place to maximise your engagement in the programme.
For further information about this programme, or for an informal discussion with a Lead Specialist, contact us at edspll@educationscotland.gov.scot with Educator Leadership programme in the email subject line.
Participants on the Educator Leadership Programme produce posters which explain their enquiry journey over the course of enquiry cycle 1.
As the Educator Leadership Programme has evolved from Teacher Leadership Programme the following showcase examples of enquiry in a school setting. These posters come in all shapes and sizes and are a fantastic insight into enquiring practice.
View practitioner enquiry posters.
The Educator Leadership Programme is open to early years practitioners, community learning & development practitioners and post-probation classroom teachers in Scotland. We look forward to sharing the learning from participants in ELP 2022-23. Keep an eye on this website and on Twitter!
A Critical Friend may be a previous participant of the Teacher Leadership programme who has successfully completed the programme and chosen, as part of their continuing professional learning, to support others through the programme.
Or you may be an educator within the early learning & childcare sector, community learning and development sector or teaching sector who is experienced in practitioner enquiry and would like to use your experiences and skills to enhance the programme experience for other colleagues across Scotland.
The Critical Friends are assigned to support educators in the RIC in which they work to increase the opportunity for networking and collaboration.
Critical Friends take on a supportive and collegial role adding to the support given by the Programme Leads. However, Critical Friends are not the same as programme leads as they are current, practising classroom practitioners who have undertaken enquiry.
Critical Friends are expected to engage with the group of participants they have been assigned to and offer their perspective, support and challenge. We will use the collaborative community platform Slack for this aspect of the programme.
In addition, as we move from Enquiry Cycle 1 to Enquiry Cycle 2; critical friends will play a coaching role to support participants as they choose their learning pathway.
Critical Friends will be supported in their role by the Programme Leads throughout and can choose to support one or both enquiry cycles depending on which level of supporting enquiry they feel would be best for them.
Opportunities as a Critical Friend include:
- attending programme days
- working alongside the team shaping the programme
- taking part in CF professional learning sessions including Peer to Peer coaching
- Professional Learning Activities (PLAs) to further develop leadership skills.