This paper aims to investigate the perceptions of primary school leaders about the efficacy of the National College programmes. The findings from six contextually different primary schools reveal that the programmes were perceived to have exerted the least influence on school leaders' personality change and pupil outcomes because many generalised…

HIV/AIDS can no longer be regarded solely as a public health issue as its impact extends well into all spheres of life, sectors of society and levels of the education system. This paper argues that not only is it paramount to draw on children's understanding of the impact of AIDS on their lives, but it is equally important to draw on their…

This article provides an interim report on a two-phase study of curriculum innovation in primary schools in England during one of the most significant periods of change for the last two decades. More specifically, the study addresses the challenges to school leaders created by the Rose Review of the primary curriculum. This article presents and…

Education Action Zones (EAZs) have formed one of the key elements of government policy in trying to drive up standards and disseminate best practice. However, the initiative has been subject to a sustained critique and questions have remained as to the efficacy of such networks of schools. This article reports on study of one EAZ in the north-west…

Motivation is crucial to both individual and organisational performance and even a very able and well-trained member of staff will not perform effectively unless they are motivated to do so. Despite this fact, research into the motivation of teachers is limited both internationally and, more specifically, in relation to the English system of…

In 1998, when "Teachers--meeting the challenge of change" was published by the English Department for Education and Skills (DfES), one of the most fundamental reforms of the teaching profession was initiated--performance management. In 2005, all schools became subject to "Light Touch Validation" of their performance management policy and…

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) was launched in 2000 with a remit to supervise and further enhance educational leadership development initiatives in England and Wales and now supervises the delivery of a wide range of programmes for school leadership development for teachers at various stages in their career development. Small…

This article reports on a study that was funded by the National College for School Leadership in order to explore practices, drivers and barriers to leadership talent identification, leadership development, leadership succession planning and leadership retention within a group of contextually different schools. The article offers two narratives…

This paper is intended to describe the roles and responsibilities of the small school head and is based on the personal experiences of a serving headteacher. It seems an accepted element of academic discourse that recent governmental initiatives have impacted on the leadership and management of educational institutions in such a way that they have…

There has been a growing resurgence of interest in creativity in primary schools which has acted as a counterpoint to some of the more reductivist elements of the introduction of the National Curriculum and associated methods of testing. This article reports on a study of one primary school that has had some significant success in enhancing the…