Government Futures*

Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

Transforming school leadership

The case for collaborative leadership in Northern Ireland schools
Contents

Preface 01
Contacts 02
How good is Northern Ireland's education system? 04
Why do we need to educate our children better? 06
Do our educational problems not stem from selection at 11 or social disadvantage? 08
So, what ‘works’ in education? 10
What does good school leadership look like? 12
Could we deliver an NI school leadership transformation programme? 16
Postscript - next steps 20
Preface
About Government Futures
Government Futures is a new series of articles on
public policy in Northern Ireland from local, national
and international PwC experts. The articles draw on
PwC's experience of designing and delivering public
policy in different countries and set out the challenges
and opportunities for Northern Ireland.
About this article
This article argues that school standards in Northern
Ireland are not as good as they are often perceived to
be and sets out a strong case for further investment in
school leadership capacity as one of the main ways of
addressing key challenges facing our education
system. While the article focuses on the Northern
Ireland context, many of the issues (and potential
solutions) it raises are relevant to numerous countries
across the world. As the recent OECD report on
Improving School Leadership1 states:
“As countries are seeking to adapt their education
systems to the needs of contemporary society,
1
Pont, B., Nusche, D. and Moorman, H (2008) Improving School Leadership, Volume 1: Policy and Practice. Paris: Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/document/62/0,3343,en_2649_39263231_37125310_1_1_1_1,00.html.
1 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
expectations for schools and school leaders are
changing. Many countries have moved towards
decentralisation, making schools more autonomous
in their decision making and holding them more
accountable for results… the function of school
leadership across OECD countries is now increasingly
defined by a demanding set of roles which include
financial and human resource management and leading
for learning… In many countries, principals have heavy
workloads; many are reaching retirement, and it is
getting harder to replace them… Policy makers need
to enhance the quality of school leadership and make
it sustainable”.
The geographical scale of Northern Ireland and
the current programme of structural reform provide
a unique opportunity to implement innovative and
courageous solutions to these widespread educational
challenges. If we rise to the challenge and succeed
together, the transformation of school leadership in
Northern Ireland could ultimately be hailed in years
to come as an example of global best practice.
Contacts

Dr David Armstrong
Associate Partner

+44 (0)28 9041 5716

david.m.armstrong@uk.pwc.com

About the author

Dr David Armstrong is an Associate Partner based in PwC's Belfast office. He is a recognised expert in education
and social policy. He recently led PwC's independent review of school leadership in England, conducted on behalf
of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). He is also leading major longitudinal evaluations of
the Academies programme and Building Schools for the Future, also on behalf of DCSF. He has an MPhil in
Economics from Oxford University and a PhD from Warwick University.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Waterfront Plaza
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PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 2
How good is Northern
Ireland's education system?

2
House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (2006) Improving literacy and numeracy in schools (Northern Ireland),
Second Report of Session 2006-07 (HC108); London: TSO; available at: http://www.parliament.the-stationery office.co.uk/pa/
cm200607/cmselect/cmpubacc/108/108.pdf. Northern Ireland Audit Office (2006) Improving literacy and numeracy in schools,
HC 953; Belfast: NIAO; available at: http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk/pubs/LiteracyandNumeracy/fullreport.pdf.
3
Department of Education (2008) Qualifications and Destinations of Northern Ireland School Leavers 2006/2007 (Revised).
Statistical Press Release, issued 6 August 2008. Available at: http://www.deni.gov.uk/schoolleavers_0607.pdf.
4
Department for Children, Schools and Families (2007) Education and Training Statistics for the United Kingdom 2007
(Internet Only) London: DCSF. Available at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000761/index.shtml.
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

It is clear that the schools sector in Northern Ireland This, coupled with the established pattern of
has much of which we can be proud. Northern successful A-Level candidates leaving Northern Ireland
Ireland, for example, outperforms the rest of the UK to attend universities elsewhere and not returning after
at A-level and the top end of GCSEs: graduating further erodes the skills profile of our
working age population compared to other places.
! 33% of pupils in Northern Ireland attain at least one More than a fifth of working-age people in Northern
A grade at A-Level compared to 27% in England; Ireland have no qualifications at all, nearly twice as
many as the UK average4.
! 25% of pupils sitting GCSEs achieve at least one
A or A* grade compared to 19% in England; and Further, although availability of data naturally leads
us to measure ourselves against the rest of the UK
! at individual school level, there are many examples
and Ireland, these comparisons are increasingly
of Northern Ireland demonstrating best practice that irrelevant. We live in a global economy; we have
compares very favourably with national and global challenges, imperatives and competitors;
international benchmarks. and the education bar here and in other industrialised
countries is continually rising.
However, it is also the case that the education system
in Northern Ireland fails to deliver even basic skills to
too many pupils - one of the prime causes of
marginalised adult communities lacking social
cohesion:
! The Northern Ireland Audit Office and the House of
Commons Public Accounts Committee have both
concluded that, despite substantial investments in
literacy and numeracy particularly since 1998,
substantial literacy and numeracy challenges
remain2; and
! Every year in Northern Ireland, around 750 children
leave school with no formal qualifications of any
kind and up to an additional 3,000 pupils leave
with very few3.

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Why do we need to educate
our children better?

5
Northern Ireland Executive (2008) Programme for Government 2008-2011. Belfast: NI Executive. Available at:
http://www.pfgbudgetni.gov.uk/finalpfg.pdf
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is no different to any other society
in that we have a moral responsibility to educate
our children properly; it is simply the right thing to
do. The “education for education's sake” argument
is compelling. Everyone ought to agree that it is simply
not acceptable for large numbers of children to leave
the system here every year with little or nothing to
show for their 12 or more years in school.
In addition, the economic arguments for improving
education are well rehearsed, intellectually
compelling and highly relevant to Northern Ireland.
The vision articulated in the recent Programme for
Government (PfG)5, of Northern Ireland as a small but
thriving, outwardly oriented export-led economy, will
not be realised unless something is done to improve
the outcomes our education system is delivering.
The social arguments for improving education are
no less important. Education is critical, not only to
Northern Ireland's ability to compete in a global
economy, but equally to promoting cohesion,
social inclusion, health, well-being and tolerance.
Research strongly supports the relationship between
education and such desirable outcomes. In a Northern
Ireland still emerging from conflict, we need to foster
and develop these wider benefits if we are going to
move on, mature together and build on the initial
period of peace and stability that everyone welcomes
so much.

Aside from the indisputable need for formal

qualifications and certificates, if a proportion of our
children continue to leave school lacking confidence,
the ability to communicate, inter-personal skills and an
external outlook, we will simply not get anywhere near
the tradable services-led economy that the PfG
envisages.

All the research evidence on the links between

education and the economy supports this, as does
our experience in PwC, the largest (and highly export-
oriented) tradable services business in Northern
Ireland.

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Do our educational problems
not stem from selection at 11
or social disadvantage?

5
For example, recent research has shown that in some NI schools with many disadvantaged pupils (measured by eligibility for
Free School Meals) over half of the pupils get decent GCSEs, whereas in other schools with similar levels of deprivation hardly
anyone reaches this standard. See two reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on behalf of the Department of Education
(2008): Literacy and numeracy of pupils in Northern Ireland, Report Number 49; and Good practice in literacy and numeracy in
British and Irish cities where the level of social deprivation is comparable to, or worse than, that of Belfast, Report Number 50.
Bangor: Department of Education. Available at: http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/32-statisticsandresearch_pg/32_
statistics_and_research-research_pg.htm.
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

It is important to dispel some myths about education
in Northern Ireland that still seem to have currency:
firstly, it is not the pupils' fault, or their parents' or
carers' fault, or because they live in deprived areas,
or have experienced inter-generational
unemployment or social disadvantage.
It is true that research evidence shows that family
background correlates strongly with educational
success. However, the evidence for Northern Ireland
also shows that for any given level of social
disadvantage, there is a huge variation in the success
of schools. Some schools in areas of high deprivation
“School improvement was as much a grass roots
movement as a Government policy, but it provided
support for two policy themes. First, it supported
the contention implied in the earlier reform that
autonomous schools could produce better pupil
performance. Second, it underpinned the rejection
of an apparent determinism which explained pupil
failure in terms of social factors, as summed up by
the Labour Secretary of State for Education, David
Blunkett 'poverty no excuse'. Whilst fatalism and low
expectations were, and possibly remain, a feature of
some schools, it seemed by the mid-nineties that the
pendulum of rhetoric had swung.”
are very successful, and some schools in affluent areas
are not as successful as they should be6.
In our view, we also need to get away from our focus
on the arguments around selection at 11. The issue
provokes strong debate: some like it; some loathe it;
and very few are indifferent. It explains some of the
trends and patterns in performance, and it has certainly
shaped people's expectations, inside and outside the
sector, as well as the delivery infrastructure that the
new Education and Skills Authority (ESA) will eventually
inherit.
It is entirely correct that we should address this
important issue, but we should equally realise that it
is not the cause of all our ills and that there are other
aspects of education policy and delivery that could
make a huge difference and where we ought to focus
most of our efforts.

Martin Johnson, Director of Education Policy,

ATL, International Handbook of Urban Education.

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So, 'what works'
in education?

7
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on behalf of DCSF (2007) Academies Evaluation: 4th Annual Report. London: DCSF.
8
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP on behalf of DCSF (2007) Independent study into school leadership; London: DCSF. See also
Leithwood, K. et al. (2006) Seven strong claims about successful school leadership; Nottingham: National College for School
Leadership.
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

In this context, what matters most for learning is

what happens in the classroom. Academic reviews
consistently show that a good curriculum and strong
classroom teaching provide, together, the most
important influences on children's learning. Teach well
and on the basis of a sound curriculum and you will
deliver good learning outcomes. Effective classroom
practice is not a matter of teaching skills alone: it
requires teachers to show drive and leadership in their
commitment to attaining the highest standards
possible.
Without doubt, the quality of school leadership
has a powerful influence on pupil attainment,
for example:
! We know from our own research that the new
Academies in England that have worked well have
all had strong leaders7. Conversely, those that have
not worked have all had issues with leadership,
such as a high turnover of principals or tensions
between principal and sponsors. Indeed, we have
argued in our Academies research that the
continued success and longevity of the initiative is
inextricably linked to securing and sustaining the
right number of quality leaders for an ever-
increasing number of Academies;
! Related to this, when PwC completed a major
independent study on school leadership for DCSF
last year, we found all the international evidence
pointing to school leadership as the second most
important single influence on pupil attainment (after
classroom teaching)8.

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What does good school
leadership look like?
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland
Firstly, good school leadership is more about
behaviours and less about structures. We began
our work with DCSF partly expecting to find a 'silver
bullet' or a 'right answer' in terms of school leadership
structures. We finished the work concluding that no
such thing existed and that context, history and
personality drove us inexorably beyond a 'one size
fits all' solution.
From a private sector viewpoint, this feels right. We
know that big companies with traditional hierarchical
structures and powerful chief executives can be
extremely successful, but so also can flatter,
partnership-style corporate models. Ultimately, it is
the organisational ethos which is key.
Secondly, developing new leadership models can
help to address some of the challenges.
The traditional model of a head and deputy head
supported by heads of department will continue to
be valid in the right circumstances. But there are
alternatives. Some schools are now organised as
federations of local schools or schools of a similar
type, with a non-teaching executive head.
Others use management-style models, with key
positions not just for the leaders of learning but also for
those providing professional leadership of the business
and institutional aspects of the school. Furthermore,
non-teachers could lead schools in the future and in
some parts of the world they do. We have seen many
different but equally effective models and the issue
for schools is picking the right one for their particular
context.
However, our own research and our client experience
clearly demonstrate that what matters most is not the
structure of corporate leadership or governance but
having a small group of like-minded individuals
committed to a single goal. In successful organisations,
such individuals behave consistently and ethically to
achieve that goal, not by working alone but in
partnership and across sectors.
Thirdly, it is more about strategy and less about
delivery. Steve Mumby, head of the prestigious
National College for School Leadership based in
Nottingham, often talks about the need for school
leaders to spend 'less time on the dancefloor and more
time on the balcony'. Our research concurred with this
in finding that many leaders were so involved in the
day-to-day running of the school that they did not have
or make the time to stand back and reflect on their
bigger strategic issues and imperatives.
Fourthly, it is more about sharing or distributing
leadership skills and less about finding 'hero heads'.
Charismatic, single-minded heroic school leaders
appear occasionally and they can make a huge
difference to their schools. However, a sustainable
system cannot be built around them, and the
expectation that most heads should conform to
this type is self-defeating: it contributes to excessive
workload and pressure on individuals and reduces the
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What does good school
leadership look like?

Continued
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

opportunities to develop leadership at all levels in a

school.

What is required instead is a relocation of many

leadership responsibilities away from the top and
a sharing of them more widely throughout the
organisation. We know that leadership thinking in the
private sector is dominated by such principles, and
our research suggests that schools would benefit
significantly from embracing them. This requires
teachers to take on new roles and operate outside their
comfort zones, but with the knowledge that they will be
fully supported in doing so.

Finally, it's all about people. Developing people and

nurturing talent remains one of the most important
leadership challenges in any organisation. In schools,
one of the key roles for school leaders is to identify,
motivate and develop future school leaders.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 14
Could we deliver an NI school
leadership transformation
programme?

9
See also the Department of Education's recent School Improvement Policy, for example, which emphasises the role and
accountability of school leadership in driving up standards.
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland
We have argued that urgent action needs to be taken
to address the persistent, long (indeed growing) tail
of educational underachievement in Northern Ireland
found by the 2006 PISA study, and that leadership is
central to meeting this challenge9. The education
sector here is currently going through a period of
unprecedented change: demographic change, with
falling rolls and questions over the sustainability of
some schools; and structural change, such as the
creation of the ESA and the introduction of area-based
planning. This creates an opportunity to develop a
more collaborative approach to school leadership
that could help significantly in driving up standards.
Communication Models
Transforming
school leadership
in Northern Ireland
Capacity Reward
How can we grasp this opportunity? And what
does it mean for those involved in the delivery and
development of school leadership in Northern Ireland?
We argue that a holistic school leadership
transformation programme is needed. Some key
elements of such a programme are shown in the
figure across.
Develop new leadership models . . .
We need to consider the promotion and
implementation of new models of school leadership
such as federations, executive headship, co-headship,
and having non-teachers in school leadership
positions. We should encourage the sector in Northern
Ireland to recognise the value and validity of these
new models and their potential role in fostering better
school performance through greater collaboration.
Part of this will involve developing system-wide
leadership roles in Northern Ireland, firstly, because
they are needed per se to deliver greater support to our
education system at all levels and, secondly, because
they will provide opportunities for progression and so
support succession planning.
Re-examine rewards and incentives . . .
We need to examine the system of rewards and
incentives for school leaders. Examples of areas
that need attention include: removing the potential
disincentives to progression in the existing system;
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 16
Could we deliver an NI school
leadership transformation
programme?
Continued

10
The Regional Training Unit for Northern Ireland (RTU) are currently considering these models as the basis of an innovative
Future Leaders programme in NI, aimed at substantially augmenting existing leadership supply and providing schools in
challenging circumstances with additional leadership resource.
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

how to reward new leadership models such as
executive headship; and how to recognise the efforts
of leaders in our most challenging schools.
Invest in leadership capacity . . .
We need to invest significantly in leadership capacity,
for example:
! Urgent examination of succession planning -
more than three quarters of post-primary
headteachers in Northern Ireland are aged 50 or
over. This creates a major succession issue which
needs to be addressed immediately if we are to
avoid a major system-wide problem emerging in
five to ten years time. It may therefore be worth
considering an initiative like the US-based New
Leaders for New Schools and the UK-based Future
Leaders programmes10;
reform. This is currently under way, and we in
Northern Ireland should learn from the results; and
! Developing e-learning and other solutions
for some of the more formulaic or transactional
capacity requirements, e.g. some management
areas and the emerging extended services agenda.
Communications - winning the hearts and minds . . .
If any of this is going to work, people need to start
to think differently about themselves and others.
A systematic and intensive communications campaign
might be considered, targeted towards pupils, parents,
governors, teachers, leaders and government officials.
The main role of any such campaign would be to:
! Challenge the received wisdom on what schools
and school leadership should look like;

! Promoting cross-sectoral and business ! Explain the benefits of new school leadership
secondments - such as the business secondment models;
programme undertaken by PwC for school leaders
in Northern Ireland, widely recognised as good ! Enlist new entrants into the talent pool; and
practice;
! Re-engage parents and learners.
! Consideration of the ongoing relevance of the
Professional Qualification for Headship (PHQ)
and other professional training. The national
equivalent is the National Professional Qualification
for Headship (NPQH). In our national work, we
argued that the NPQH needed a root and branch

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 18
Postscript - next steps
Government Futures*
Perspectives on public policy for a new Northern Ireland

The forthcoming Education and Skills Authority,

offers an opportunity for new collaborative thinking and
innovation across the education sector. Collaborative
leadership means getting involved, taking the initiative,
moving out of our traditional zones of influence, sharing
a common vision and working together in common
purpose.

We know that when leaders work together in this way

great things can be achieved far beyond the influence
of any individual leader, no matter how charismatic
they may be. There has never been a greater
opportunity or a greater need to work together
for the good of our emerging generations.

We must acknowledge our differences in our approach

to education but we can all agree that nothing short of
excellence should prevail in the classroom. No single
person will achieve this, but through leaders working
together and taking risks we can achieve a vision and
a common purpose which will sustain our education
system and equip our young people to face the
challenges of a global economy in the 21st century.

We cannot waste time. The prize is too big and the

cost of delay is too high. Let us succeed together.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 20
www.pwc.co.uk/ni

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