Leadership can look very different in different settings, it does not necessarily mean that the leader is part of a management team. Within the role as a teacher it is possible to take on a role of leadership by leading the learning of others (colleagues, pupils, students etc), engaging in professional dialogue/ activity and collaborative activity.
Within my own role as an inclusion specialist I often have opportunities to develop the learning of other practitioners through the consultation process, through formal training or informal dialogue. I think with the establishment of the proposed new professional standards and their increasing focus towards additional support needs, this will continue to be a large part of my role in the development of resources, strategies and training.
It will be really interesting to follow your journey as an inclusion specialist and not another teacher. It sounds like a big part of your role is to support other members of staff as well as the pupils which must be so rewarding when you see the positive changes amongst the pupils.
Thank you! My role as inclusion specialist encompasses the five roles similar to an ASL teacher (planning/teaching, consultation, assessment, contribution to staff development and partnership working). Really each of the roles encompasses a bit of supporting other practitioners or capacity building in some form. No day is ever the same as the last!
Hello Heather,
Thank you for your comments – I found it interesting when you commented about sharing dialogue with others and how this relates to leadership – we often see dialogue as an informal discussion. Can you think of a particular instance where something started as a casual conversation and move into being a more professional learning conversation?
LA
Within my role which I have been in for around 8 years I have had the opportunity to work in a range of schools and have developed relationships across a range of settings. As a result, often when teachers see me and have a particular issue or worry they will take the opportunity to ask me informally (ie in staff room or corridor) if I have any advice/ strategies / resources which could be used. Often this would be informal and may not be for a referred child.
Recently in a staff room a teacher was talking generally about a child in their class (who wasn’t named) who seemed to be touching other children inappropriately. Since I was there, the head teacher asked me whether I would have any strategies which may help the class teacher broach the subject. This led to me sourcing personal space social stories and supporting materials which the teacher then used for a few HWB sessions with the whole class and reduced the behaviour. All sparked from a chance comment in the staff room.