Leaders in International Development
The Leaders in International Development (LiID) programme is a joint project between VSO, the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), the National Association of Head Teachers(NAHT) and Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).
The scheme, sponsored by NCSL, will enable 12 school leaders to spend three months sharing their skills with senior education colleagues in one of VSO’s education programmes. Placements will start in mid-January 2010. Each school will receive £5,000 to help cover the costs incurred during their secondment.
The key aims of the project are:
to provide current English school leaders with an opportunity for personal and professional growth and renewal
to give future English school leaders the experience of acting up in the school leaders absence with the potential of encouraging them to aspire for more senior roles
to encourage English students’ understanding of the wider world as a result of the increased confidence and enthusiasm of the returning school leader, and to incorporate a global dimension into their schools curriculum, leading to improved UK social cohesion
for schools and children in developing countries to benefit from the skills of English school leaders.
Benefits
The UK benefits of the pilot scheme were independently evaluated, and the full report can be downloaded below. Here are some quotes from the report that show how the project met its objectives.
“I returned to my UK school with renewed energy, enthusiasm and drive and a clearer sense of priorities, both personal and professional. I feel enormously privileged to have had this experience and would recommend other school leaders to take up any similar opportunity they may have.”
Acting head, page 52.
“One very important outcome placement was that those school leaders who already had a strong global commitment have now strengthened this, and are even more determined to transform their school communicates. And those whose ideas were initially limited have now made a start in developing their own understanding by reading and learning from others around them, and to embed the global dimension into the school curriculum.”
Evaluator, page 47.
The deadline for applications is 12.00pm on 30 June 2009. For more information and an application form, please email enquiry@vso.org.uk.
