ADD2522 Getting Ahead London 2021-22

1.1 Getting Ahead London helps create the capital’s next generation of senior leaders and headteachers. It has been designed to build the talent pool of great headteachers to lead London schools, and is proving a successful approach. The need for a Getting Ahead London programme was identified by the London Teaching Schools Council, and other educational and borough stakeholders. The Getting Ahead London Network has been growing since 2016 with participants and coaches coming from across the capital. Participation in Getting Ahead London provides much-needed opportunities for school leaders to connect, share expertise and learn from each other in the unprecedented circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic.

1.2 The Getting Ahead London programme was initially piloted in 2016-17 by PwC working with Challenge Partners to help talented senior leaders to become future headteachers or principals of some of the most rewarding and challenging schools. Following a competitive invitation to a bid process authorised by DD2106, Challenge Partners applied and were awarded funding to deliver Getting Ahead London in 2017-18. DD2234, MD2442 and MD2600 approved grant funding for Challenge Partners to deliver in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 school years.

1.3 We are proposing to contribute £30,000 to the continuation of the programme. The rest of the funding will be provided by Permira, school contributions and other efficiencies found. Permira is a global private equity firm and already supports Challenge Partners through the Social Business Trust. The funding from Permira will go directly to Challenge Partners.

1.4 The programme has been adapted to support schools’ middle and senior management to overcome the challenges teachers and students have faced due to Covid-19, and it continues to make progress in supporting ethnic minority teachers into leadership positions. It supports our priorities to raise attainment, especially amongst children most affected by COVID-19, through creating role models and helping teachers who will benefit from a support network of very experienced coaches.

1.5 Reports indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to greater anxiety and lower well-being for teachers, as well as school leaders. The NFER Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2021 found that “the pandemic led to an increase in subjective distress, a rise in anxiety and lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction among teachers compared to pre-pandemic levels”.

1.6 The programme has been able to deliver throughout the pandemic, adapting its content to address COVID-19 learning loss and related challenges. Based on the success of delivering the programme remotely, Challenge Partners intend to deliver a mixed model next year with a combination of remote and in-person coaching and events.

1.7 High-quality teaching and leadership is key to reducing the attainment gap that has grown during the pandemic and supporting our most vulnerable students to catch up on lost learning. Getting Ahead London also provides us with an invaluable network of leaders in London with which to share our work and gain insights.

1.8 Since launching in 2016, Getting Ahead London has supported over 300 leaders, across every London borough. 50 per cent of the participants from the first three years of Getting Ahead London have had a promotion, with 30 per cent being appointed as a headteacher. Interim data collected so far indicates that at least 12 per cent of the 2019-20 cohort have been promoted into senior leadership or headship; there has been some difficulty monitoring promotions as this year was significantly impacted by COVID-19 and with more people staying in role but with more responsibility. Early data on the 2020-21 cohort shows that 7 per cent of participants have been promoted while still participating in the programme. Challenge Partners are confident of a return to the previous levels of promotions outside of the pandemic period.

1.9 This decision will grant further funding to Challenge Partners to deliver the 2021-22 programme. Challenge Partners is an educational charity delivering a range of programmes focused on school improvement. They aim to reduce educational inequality and improve the life chances of all children. Challenge Partners was formed to spread the success of the London Challenge, which transformed the performance of schools and led to the development of Teaching Schools.

1.10 In order to receive the funding, Challenge Partners will submit a milestone timetable with clear delivery points (including process, numbers, outcomes and evaluation approach) at which funding can be released. Grant payments will only be made if there is clear evidence of the milestones being achieved.

1.11 Grant funding will be used by Challenge Partners to continue to provide operational delivery of the programme, ensuring that high-quality coaches are recruited, trained and provided with a stipend; that termly plenary events are organised with high-profile, inspiring speakers; and that the core coaching programme is delivered successfully.

1.12 The table below sets out past approvals for activity related to proposals in this ADD. These approvals are historical and do not overlap with approvals in this decision document. The table shows related prior activity and section 2 will set out the new activity to be agreed.

2.1 The programme is unique in its focus on continuing professional development through coaching, mentoring and work shadowing, placing participants in mixed primary and secondary trios (groups of three) and using the expertise within the profession of current top school leaders to inspire new leadership across schools.

2.2 There is a need to support education leaders who are at the frontline of the COVID-19 recovery and this programme provides a well-developed way to help schools further develop the skills they will need to reduce the attainment gap between their pupils.

2.3 Prospective leaders ,as part of this programme, will have access to a well-established network of schools, who have experience of evidence informed practice, and will support prospective leaders to think strategically about challenges such as the targeting of resources to tackle the disadvantage gap.

2.4 We are proposing that Challenge Partners are grant co-funded to deliver the 2021-22 programme. Up to 60 senior and middle leaders will be supported towards headship and senior leadership respectively in London schools. Challenge Partners will define the eligibility criteria in consultation with expert advisers from the education sector and the GLA; advertise and recruit participants and coaches; provide a stipend to the coaches; collect a contribution from the participants’ schools; plan and deliver termly plenary events with inspiring speakers; coordinate and quality-assure the trios; coaching, mentoring and work shadowing; and undertake programme-level evaluation.

2.5 The programme in 2021-22 will continue the five core objectives from 2020-21:

• Identify potential – profile and encourage those talented people in the London education system who have the potential for school leadership roles. Our prior research showed that potential senior leaders and headteachers are not being supported to navigate the available training effectively and are ‘hesitant’ or lack confidence despite aspiration and talent.

• Increase the diversity of leaders– the programme will build on work undertaken in 2019-20 to increase the diversity of participants, coaches and speakers at training events which resulted in five out of 10 speakers coming from ethnic-minority backgrounds and seven out of 10 so far this year.

• Encourage existing leaders – better equip and inspire senior leaders to become headteachers in London, and middle leaders to remain in London schools by supporting their career development to senior leadership. The scheme involves everything from coaching and formal training, to supporting teachers with job applications and networking events with the business sector.

• Address gaps and bring innovation – there is a gap in system leadership training in relation to personalised mentoring and coaching that Getting Ahead London seeks to fill. The trios and cross-school phase (mixing primary and secondary teachers) approach is innovative and proving successful.

• Change the culture – support a wider culture change of talent management in London’s and England’s education systems, drawing on the leadership experiences and inspiration from other sectors including health, culture and the private sector.

Outputs and outcomes

3.1 Under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the Equality Act), as a public authority the Mayor must have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act; and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

3.2 London’s more than 2m children and young people aged 0-19 face an unequal start in life and this sector of the population is increasing. Overall London schools and pupils outperform other regions, but London still needs to do more to close the gap and raise attainment for the most disadvantaged pupils.

3.3 The Getting Ahead London programme will address the GLA’s Public Sector Equality Duty (as set out in paragraph 3.1) in relation to protected characteristics of age, ethnicity, disability, gender and religion by continuing in the 2021-22 year of Getting Ahead London to ensure participants reflect the wider population and address under representation of women and BAME groups as senior leaders and headteachers.

Key risks

Impact assessments and consultations

4.1 Getting Ahead London programme-level evaluation each year has shown high completion rates and very strong participant reporting of increased confidence and skills to support career development. The programme is well established and highly regarded in the sector. Previous participants have said:

• “I have been so impressed with the course this year and I know it has made a significant difference to all of the participants. You and the team can rest assure that the learning that has taken place will be used to improve the experiences of staff and students across the city.”

• “The whole coaching experience both via GAL and my own self-referred models has been so empowering for me on a professional and personal level. This I feel has been one of the most positively impactful experiences which I would attribute to me feeling able and being successful in getting my first headship. Hence, my real passion to be involved again and in supporting others.”

Links to Mayoral strategies and priorities

4.2 The programme contributes to the Mayor’s manifesto commitments to “invest in building the capacity and expertise of teachers to create a more inclusive education and skills system” and working with “local authorities better to support inclusive education across London, so that we can improve the promotion of opportunities for young people.

4.3 The Mayor’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion Strategy includes objectives to: work with schools, boroughs and London Councils to support higher levels of educational progress for the lowest-attaining groups; and reduce disparities in exclusions.

Conflicts of interest

4.4 There are no conflicts of interest to note for any of the officers involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision form.

5.1 Approval is sought for expenditure of £30,000 (£22,000 in 2021/22; and £8,000 in 2022/23) to provide grant funding to Challenge Partners to deliver the 2021-22 academic year Getting Ahead London programme.

5.2 The expenditure will be funded from the Getting Ahead London Programme budget, held within the Education & Youth Unit. Funding for future financial years will be subject to the annual budget setting process and is not guaranteed.

5.3 This programme sits within the ‘A New Deal for Young People’ mission.