Bob Little Press and Public Relations - 360 degree feedback has been added to the first development centre for head teachers and education leaders within UK urban areas


Media Centre Echelon Learning Master List PRESS INFORMATION ISSUED ON BEHALF OF: Echelon Publishing Darwin House, 236 South Ealing Road, LONDON W5 4RP tel 020 8568 1500; fax 020 8560 6612; web http://learningmatters.com London, UK: 9th July 2007 Echelon feedback added to urban schools leadership development 360 degree feedback has been added to the first development centre for head teachers and education leaders within UK urban areas. Urban schools have unique needs and an urban schools leadership competency framework forms the backdrop to a number of development initiatives for head teachers and their teams. The Urban Leadership Centre ( www.urbanleadershipcentre.com ) has used Echelon Learning ( www.echelonlearning.co.uk ) to develop 360 feedback for its Urban School Leadership Model. The Urban Leadership Centre has been created to enable schools in urban areas to develop the particular leadership qualities for teachers essential to the challenges of educating pupils in town and city centres. The Centre offers two tools designed to help urban teachers. The Urban School Leadership Model distinguishes successful school leaders in urban areas and identifies 12 competencies that are common in outstanding head teachers, while the Urban Leadership Pathway is a development plan based on the competencies for raising leadership skills and standards at all levels within a school. The Urban Leadership Model takes candidates through activities reflecting real urban contexts covering behavioural event interview, a case study, a lesson observation and a group exercise. The project assessors are all former successful urban head teachers. Joan Fyfe, the former urban head teacher, seconded in 2003 to the ODPM (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister) to explore school leadership in challenging environments, founded the Centre in conjunction with the National College for School Leadership. She stresses the developmental nature of the Model. "The programme is called a development centre as opposed to an assessment centre because the emphasis is on development," she says. "Assessors assess candidates to capture their strengths and development needs. Once candidates have been through the process they will receive feedback from the key assessor assigned to them followed by a coaching session." The Echelon online 360 feedback is a powerful diagnostic tool, providing participants with helpful feedback on specific development areas in relation to the competencies. Feedback can be either standalone or provide an additional body of evidence for candidates attending the assessment centre. An impartial, objective and forward-looking process, it provides objective evidence on user performance and development needs from a variety of people with whom they interact in the workplace. Targeted coaching and development can then support individuals. Response from urban education leaders to the Model and its latest enhancement has been highly positive, says Joan. "Local authorities adopting the model can identify and manage talent pipelines for their urban schools and importantly gain an accurate perspective on staff performance and training needs across all their schools," she says. "Individual schools can also accurately communicate, through the competencies being reviewed, the inspiring nature of urban school leadership." One user, Diana Owen, head teacher at Huntingdon Primary School, Nottingham describes the Model as both 'exciting and inspiring'. "The framework recognises the qualities needed to be a successful urban head teacher," she says. "I think it will have a profound impact on the status and achievements of school leaders. Working on this has made me privileged to be the head of an urban school." Further information at www.urbanleadershipcentre.co.uk ends Media contact: Peter Muir Tel + 44 (0)1296 715228 Email: echelon@pmpr.co.uk Sales contact: David Hill Tel + 44 (0)20 8568 1500 Email: david@echelonl.com Editor Note: About Echelon Learning Echelon Learning is a consultancy-led publishing house that integrates electronically-delivered knowledge and learning into the development of management skills and business performance. Echelon Consulting spearheads the company's service with the development of new content in meeting clients' requirements. This is usually derived from analysing employee knowledge and learning needs captured during client learning programmes. Where appropriate, Echelon Publishing then offers this new content to a wider audience by publishing the material in generic format. This is made available in the form of easy to use 'learning nuggets' and is complimented with business development information licensed exclusively from one of the market's best-known providers, Bloomsbury. Echelon e-Learning provides the electronic systems which enable content to be published, distributed and usage tracked, and offers work-based solutions to a global audience. Now Echelon's blended learning based on a bespoke site populated with material selected to support specific courses, builds knowledge prior to the event and refreshes application when back at the desk. About Echelon Publishing Echelon technologies help organisations place solutions at people's fingertips, whether solving everyday business and work-related problems or helping gain qualifications and continued professional development. Echelon: Has a content management system enabling informational or learning material to be developed or converted into XML so that it can be published and distributed in text and/or via the web. Has a learning management system to provide ready access via the web to highly structured information, which is easily searched and retrieved, and whose usage can be tracked and learning logged. Publishes and/or reformats content for professional bodies and commercial organisations to help students and employees maintain or develop requisite skills throughout their careers. Supports people from the outset of their careers in working with professional bodies to develop and deliver the learning content required by students in preparing for examination. Frees up the knowledge and learning contained within a business so that people have ready access to these resources in helping them to solve problems or develop their careers. Works with a number of blue chip organisations and professional bodies, including: COMMERCIAL BUPA Coventry Building Society Lincoln Financial Moat House Hotels Modernisation Agency (NHS) Novartis Pharmaceuticals NHS Logistics Vodafone INSTITUTIONAL Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply Construction Industry Training Board Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators Institute of Chartered Accountants in E & W Institute of Civil Engineers Royal Town Planning Institute

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