Lianne Moore has written about her experience undertaking the Historical Association’s SLDP. The impact it has had on her teaching and opportunity to work with a range of colleagues in the history teaching community.

What really drew me to this programme was the opportunity to engage in leadership CPD that was subject specific. Leadership CPD, whilst certainly of benefit, can often feel generic, and doesn’t always give the opportunity to discuss the challenges and complexities of managing specific departments. So, as an aspiring history leader, it was a welcome opportunity to engage with the HASLDP, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.  Not only did it provide an opportunity to learn from with respected History educators and leaders, such as Hugh Richards, Catherine Priggs, David Hibbert, Sharon Aninakwa, Elizabeth Carr and Ruth Lingard but was also a fantastic opportunity to network with others at various stages in their leadership journeys, aspiring leaders, those new to leadership roles and experienced department leaders from across the UK. 

The course itself is incredibly comprehensive, covering the main areas of focus for subject leaders in subject leadership, from planning, curriculum, to working with SLT to performance management. However, at no point did the course feel overwhelming as I could complete in my own time (which as a full-time working mum, I really appreciated), with short, pre-recorded sessions that I could plan into my working week. There were also some online live seminars which provided a great opportunity to discuss reflections from our own contexts based upon the prerecorded sessions with the HA experts, and others on the course. This opportunity to network with colleagues from different schools was invaluable and fostered a supportive learning environment throughout as we could share experiences and gain new perspectives.    

What makes the HASLDP really valuable CPD is the ease in applying the learning from both the seminars and the pre-recorded sessions to your own context. It made me reflect not only on my current practice and what I would need to do to develop myself as a middle leader, but the way the course is designed gives the opportunity for continuous reflection on your own department. I found myself seeing strengths and opportunities for development in our curriculum and practice that I hadn’t necessarily seen (or had time) to contemplate before, and I’ve been able to use this to assist in the short- and long-term planning for our department into the new academic year and beyond. 

The online pre-recorded sessions explore the complexities of subject leadership: expectations as a middle leader, strategic short term and long term planning, how to lead a rigorous and ambitious history curriculum, improving and developing teaching within the department (reflecting on your team, their levels of expertise and building subject knowledge), responding to data, working with SLT and thinking about building the rapport of the History department within the wider context of the school. There is also a (very reassuring) session on preparing for Ofsted and what the new Ofsted framework means for History departments, led by Tim Jenner (the HMI subject lead for History). 

The HASLDP gave me the opportunity to evaluate current practice within my department, to ask questions, and really reflect on what I and my department could do better and gave me the confidence to be able to voice this. It provided guidance on creating, developing and nurturing a cohesive team of individuals to develop a culture of debate, growth, excitement and risk taking to create a continuing legacy of excellence. It developed my thinking beyond that of a classroom teacher with a focus solely on my students, encouraging me to clarify and reflect on the impact I have as a leader on my team, focusing on their growth and the impact that they have on their classes. It provides concrete guidance on developing strong relationships outside the department, with other departments and your line manager, to ensure the department is suitably challenged and supported, to raise the profile of the history department within the school, and to also ensure that wider school policies are met without losing the integrity of History as a discipline. It reinforced the importance of constantly developing and promoting excellent subject knowledge across the department by exploring different ways of sharing knowledge and why it was so important to have it as the very heart of the department if you are going to have a rigorous and ambitious curriculum that constantly changes and adapts to recent scholarship and research. It also got me challenging some of the ideas that I have of myself; the importance of perception, my expectations of myself (and therefore others), my self-regulation and the importance of self-care. 

The HASLDP is some of the most effective leadership and subject specific CPD that I’ve completed because I was instantly able to utilise my learnings and reflections and apply them to my current role – benefitting not only me but also my department, and most importantly our students. My reflections are something I regularly return to and will continue to do so as I progress in my career, as they have given me confidence in becoming an effective history middle leader. If you are considering the HASLDP as an aspiring leader, new to role, or an experienced middle leader, this CPD should not be overlooked.  

A link to the programme can be found here if you are interested. https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/categories/8/news/3891/subject-leader-development-programme-sldp