Leadership and Management Development in Education (Education ...

THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP79the optimistic assumption that 85 per cent of NPQH graduates will be readyfor headship immediately following this assessment process. Given thesuccession planning pressures, there is a risk that panels will ‘cut corners’ tomake sure that the supply of heads is sufficient to meet the increasing demandarising from demographic change.The NPQH will soon become the only route to headship in England. This‘monopoly’ position imposes great pressure on the NCSL to make sure it is ‘fitfor purpose’. A lack of pluralism provides a good prospect of a genuinelystandardised qualification, in so far as this is possible with an individualisedapproach, but runs the risk of damaging the schools’ system if it is inadequate.The new model addresses one of the criticisms above by requiring master’slevelwork as part of the assessment process. It also has the potential to meetthe diverse needs of candidates through the intention to personalisedevelopment. However, there is a risk that it will become, or remain, undemanding,to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of ‘qualified’ candidates.It also remains to be seen if it will contribute to improving standards ofheadship in England.Strengths and achievements of the NCSLThe NCSL has been praised as an outstanding example of innovation in thepreparation of educational leaders. It is a bold initiative that places leadershipat the heart of the government’s aim to raise educational standards. ‘There canbe little doubt that the college’s overall conception, scale and executionrepresent a paradigm shift in comparison with predecessor models bothinternationally and in England and Wales (Bolam 2004: 260). It is certainlyhaving a global impact, not least in the USA. For example, Levine (2005: 54)says that the NCSL ‘proved to be the most promising model we saw, providingexamples of good practice that educational administration programs mightseek to emulate’. In South Africa, the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadershipand Governance (MGSLG) was modelled to some extent on the NCSL, albeiton a much smaller scale and serving only a single province (Bush and Joubert2004).The NCSL has five main strengths:• A national focus• Programmes for different career stages• An emphasis on practice• Programmes underpinned by research• Impressive reach and scale.