Department of Education / Leadership Development for Formal Middle School Leaders - RFP - DoE2050330182

Background

The School Leadership Institute (the Institute) was established to support school leaders at all stages of their career to develop high level leadership skills. 

The Institute is a dedicated unit within the department responsible for the provision of world-class, evidence-informed, future-focused leadership development programs and initiatives that will ensure current and future leaders at all stages of their career are well-positioned to make the difference we seek in public education.

The Institute is committed to ensuring that equity of access is reflected in all delivered programs.

What are we procuring?

The Institute is seeking to engage experts in educational leadership development to co-design and deliver a tailored, differentiated program for formal middle school leaders in NSW public schools to develop quality leadership practices. 

The 12-18 month tailored program is to consist of one cohort per year using a blended learning model, in hubs of schools around the State for up to 500 formal middle leaders. 

The program would begin in late October 2020 to enable participants to build the first phase into their School Plan and Professional Development Plan.

The Institute will run a rigorous selection process to enter the program (as advised by the experts on SLI Advisory Board) and enable individuals or school teams to apply.

The supplier(s) must provide a recognised post-graduate credential for participants whom successfully complete the professional learning program.  

School Leadership Institute Development Continuum

The continuum of leadership development the School Leadership is focussing on includes:

Teacher Leaders

Identification: for teacher leaders with leadership potential

Development: for teachers aspiring for middle leadership roles or seeking to enhance their leadership impact.

Middle Leaders

Induction: for newly appointed head teachers and assistant principals

Development: for assistant principals and head teachers aspiring to senior leadership roles or seeking to enhance their leadership impact.

Senior Leaders

Induction: for newly appointed deputy principals

Development: for deputy principals and assistant proincipals aspiring to lead a school or seeking to enhance their leadership impact.

Principals

Induction: for newly appointed principals

Development: for principals seeking to enhance their leadership impact or expand their system leadership.

Directors Educational Leadership

Induction: for newly appointed Director Educational Leadership

Development: for ongoing development of Directors Educational Leadership to support continuous school improvement. 

Who we are and who we serve

•7.5 million of our nation’s 23.5 million people live in NSW

•4.84 million in Sydney

•31.4% born overseas

•32% of ATSI people live in NSW  

•NSW DoE is the world’s largest educational system in terms of schools and leaders

•Highly diverse population and school type with a united policy framework

Reference:  McIntyre, A. & Burns, D. (2017) Empowered Educators in Australia: How High-Performing Systems Shape Teaching Quality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

NSW public schools’ formal middle leaders

4127 Assistant Principals

3727Primary Schools

110Central/Community schools

23High Schools

260SSPs 

7Infants Schools3943 Head Teachers

73Primary Schools

211Central/Community Schools

3632High Schools

27SSPs

*Statistics from NSW DoE Human Resources Occupancy Data, as at 8 November 2019

The NSW public education system is a highly complex and diverse system inclusive of large, small,  metropolitan,  rural and remote schools with significant differences within and between school communities and the students they serve. 

Formal middle school leaders in public schools undertake roles that vary significantly depending on student need, the size, nature and location of the school setting. 

* Teaching Principals may express an interest in the program as their practice aligns closely with those in formal middle leadership positions.

Diversity of Middle School Leaders and Complexity of Their Roles

The work of Middle School leaders is highly diverse and varies significantly depending on student need, the size, nature and location of the school setting. In general terms:

Middle schools leaders in smaller school settings:

•may report directly to the Principal 

•work in small leadership teams

•supervise teams of teachers

Middle school leaders in larger school settings:

•report to Deputy Principals

•work in large leadership teams 

•supervise teams consisting of teachers and other middle schools leaders

Assistant Principals may lead teaching and learning of identified groups or cohorts of students. Examples include Stage 3, Year 5 and Years K-2.

Assistant Principals may lead strategic directions within a school. Examples include Literacy, Numeracy, Student Wellbeing and Technology. 

Head Teachers of curriculum areas are responsible for the program of work in a designated subject or learning area and the coordination of the work of classes in that area. Examples include English, Mathematics, Science and Creative Arts.

Head Teachers of non-curriculum areas are responsible for assigned duties associated with the specific aspects of the school. Examples include Administration, Student Wellbeing, Beginning teachers and Vocational education.

How we work

The Institute is committed to incorporating departmental priorities into programs.

The Institute works in collaboration with other dedicated units within the department to support system targets.

Two key departmental priorities aligned to the formal middle leaders’ development initiative are:

•Increase the number of Aboriginal people in leadership roles

•Attract and retain quality school leaders through assistance to Rural and Remote schools in providing quality professional experience

Synergies with Existing Programs

The Institute has a number of existing programs that the Middle School Leaders program needs to align with.  An example includes:

The Aspiring Principals Leadership Program. - https://education.nsw.gov.au/our-priorities/strengthen-teaching-quality-and-school-leadership/school-leadership-institute/aspiring-principals-leadership-program 

Measuring success

Ongoing formative evaluation against key milestones including leadership seminars to evaluate at a point in time. Ongoing evaluation will inform and drive continuous improvement of the program. In collaboration with the Institute’s Advisory Board we are currently developing an overarching longitudinal evaluation process.

NSW Regions: Far North Coast, Mid North Coast, New England, Central Coast, Hunter, Cumberland/Prospect, Nepean, Northern Sydney, Inner West, South East Sydney, South West Sydney, Central West, Orana/Far West, Riverina/Murray, Illawarra, Southern Highlands

Request for Proposals - An invitation for expressions of interest / seeking preliminary proposals. In many cases these may be used as a basis for shortlisting tenderers, along with other criteria such as expertise and experience. Prospective tenderers are initially evaluated for their proposal against the relevant selection criteria. A number of those who best meet the criteria are invited to tender. For complex or some other types of procurement, where the product or service outcomes are highly dependent on the content of the proposals received from Tenderers, the outcome may be negotiated.

• Contract Award Notices:
  • DoE2050330182  University of Wollongong

A market briefing will be held:

Monday, 23rd March 2020 from 2:00pm – 3:00pm 

via Skype

Please RSVP by email to pstenders@det.nsw.edu.au by cob Friday, 20 March 2020

Meeting invites will be sent out by the morning of Monday 23 March.

The deadline for clarification questions is 2PM, Wednesday, 13 May 2020.  The Department will not accept any clarification requests after the deadline.

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