About leadership and management – transcript
[On the screen]
The IEP process in secondary schools
About Leadership and management
Effective leadership and management for a whole-school approach to the IEP process.
Panel of contributors:
- Mary McDonald, Specialist Teacher Garin College, Nelson
- Rachelle Stratton, HOD Learning Needs Tauranga Boys’ College
- Jocelyn Springthorpe, HOD Learning Support (2012) Queens College, Dunedin
[On the screen]
What makes the IEP Process successful in secondary schools?
[on screen are boxes; each box identifies who makes up effective and well-led school processes]
Leadership (Principal, Board of Trustees), engaging Senior Management, a whole-school approach
[New slide; words on the screen]
Leadership: inclusive school philosophy and approaches
- For IEP to be successful within a secondary school setting, it is essential the senior management of the school are actively involved.
- All students belong to the school community, but it it likely an identified teacher has the responsibility to coordinate the provision of the IEP process. This can vary within individual school settings.
Rachelle Stratton:
These are key messages from the Secondary Advisory Group, and reflect the thinking about how important it is to have a shared vision within the school.
The senior management team at our school have been really supportive in setting up processes to make sure that all students’ needs are being met.
I’d like to introduce my principal, Robert Mangan, who works alongside the Board of Trustees to make sure that all staff take responsibility for students within our school environment.
Robert Mangan – Principal, Tauranga Boys’ College:
Every boy that comes through the gate is engaged, feels valued, and included as a student of Tauranga Boys College, and we do all we can to ensure that they achieve success. So we’ve got a number of structures in place. Every teacher in the school is a form teacher, including myself. The aim is that the boys have a significant adult they can talk to. Someone else that can actually share their process with them, and share their achievement.
It’s also a matter of role-modelling success for all individuals at the school, at whatever level that may be, and recognising, coming back to that, recognising achievement both in sports, arts, and in the classroom. I want our boys to understand that we aspire to achieve and recognise the level that’s appropriate for those individuals.
So that means that all staff have to take responsibility for all of the individuals within their classroom. Working hard in terms of growing cultural responsiveness. And we also need to work hard in making sure we have a belief that all students can achieve and gain success.
Yeah I mean, we’ve go a – well I believe – a pretty firm philosophy on having a supportive and orderly environment. Obviously that’s one of the best evidence synthesis ... main criteria around leadership, a supportive and orderly environment, the research is indicating essential in a secondary school environment. But we have that, but there’s a huge influence and huge focus on the supportive part of that, and I think there’s a misconception out there – traditional boys’ school – and it’s a hard environment, and yet I think we manage, manage well boys that have challenging needs.
[On the screen]
Engaging management
[Quote]
"For the IEP to be successful within the secondary school setting, it is essential that the senior management of the school are actively involved."
[New slide; on the screen]
Engaging management
- Acceptance and support from senior management for inclusion of students' on IEPs
- A shared school-wide philosophy and value system that supports the IEP process
- Leadership from the principal and senior management around school vision and values
- Effective teaming within the school
Peter Leggat – Principal of Onslow College:
You know, the IEP process that we’re doing now, it’s involving all of the teachers rather than being something which is negotiated by the parent, the learning support staff, and then handed to teachers. So I think that’s the important ... that what we need to do more of so that the classroom teachers have input into what they can offer in the IEP. And, it’s done in that IEP discussion negotiation, so we’re coming out with the best option and the best outcome for the student.
John Robinson, HOD Learning Support (2012), Onslow College:
We know, I think, have an IEP process that is robust and has the student at the centre. The senior management have sort of picked up on that, and they have given staff release time to actually attend IEPs. The staff are invited to attend, they get relief, and there is certainly a lot more cohesion and a lot more organisation around that IEP. The spinoff for that is that everyone has an increased involvement, and there is a lot more ownership of the student at the centre by the staff concerned. There’s no longer a rush; the preparation is there, and they become a far more effective tool.
[On the screen]
Download documents
A pdf of Tom Parsons, Principal Queen Charlotte College, Education Gazette article 'Education Planning' (November 2011) and 'Leadership: Engaging Management' are available to download from the same page as this video presentation.
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