TIME spent by the National College for School Leadership getting its act together seems to have paid off.

Today it launches its leadership development framework and reviews of existing headteacher programmes. They represent a comprehensive strategy for developing new school leaders and improving existing ones. It proposes a training programme for middle managers, quality checks on training providers and creating senior “consultant” heads to support the next generation of school leaders.

The first of the five stages of the framework looks at “emergent” leaders. Heads of subject departments or specialist areas, such as special needs, would have access to a new “Leading from the Middle” training programme. Other initiatives aim to get more women and black and Asian teachers to seek promotion.

The framework highlights the lack of suitable training for experienced deputy and assistant heads who do not want to pursue headship and for whom the National Professional Qualification for Headship may not be appropriate.

The NPQH, revised last year, remains the key qualification for aspiring heads. Significant reforms are now proposed for Headlamp, introduced in 1995, which would be renamed the Headteachers’ Induction Programme. The college wants to increase take-up from 85 to 90 per cent of the 4,500 new heads on induction at any one time, and give them more money to buy training - up from pound;2,500 over two years to pound;3,000 over three.

New heads would meet a trained leadership development consultant within two terms of their appointment to discuss development needs. The heads would carry a “leadership development profile” and be mentored by an experienced head.

A revised Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers would be the key qualification for those with advanced leadership skills, three or more years into their headship. The review of this programme acknowledges its strengths, particularly in promoting personal development.

However, it says, there is not enough follow-up to ensure that what is learned is implemented in schools. The link with school improvement is not clear and costs are high. The review questions the reliability of data on the outcomes of the programme, particularly in respect of pupil achievement. LPSH was developed under contract by Hay McBer, which owns the model and data collected from diagnostic questionnaires used to examine headteachers’ leadership styles, strengths and weaknesses. The college wants in future to lead on quality assurance issues, and on developing the programme’s trainers. However, it does not take over funding for LPSH until next April. Finally, heads with a record of success would be challenged to become consultant leaders, with opportunities to train as Office for Standards in Education inspectors, undertake research within the college, and mentor, coach, and train their successors.

The “deep thinking” underpinning some of the proposals can be found in a report from a think-tank that helped to draw up the framework. Led by Nottingham University’s Professor David Hopkins and including former education standards guru Michael Barber and chief inspector Mike Tomlinson, the group looked at emotional and moral aspects of good leadership.

“Above all, school leadership should be infused with a moral purpose. The reason for this is the vital importance of closing the gap between our highest and lowest achieving students and to raise standards of learning and achievement for all. This is the contemporary moral purpose of school leadership,” it concludes.

The framework, think-tank report, and reviews of LPSH and Headlamp are available from NCSL, www.ncsl.org.ukldf; or tel 08701 601 604. Consultations close on January 10

ROLES FOR THE FUTURE

* A new national training programme for middle managers such as department heads and special needs leaders.

* Consistent focus on improving leadership in order to raise pupil attainment.

* Funding for induction training for new heads to increase from pound;2,500 over two years to pound;3,000 over three years.

* New heads to carry a “leadership development profile” to inform their training needs.

* New cadre of experienced and proven “consultant” heads to help mentor and develop their successors.

* Training providers to be registered and quality assured.

* Programmes for encouraging more women and black and Asian teachers to seek promotion.

* Training for experienced headteachers could count towards Masters degrees.

* Top leaders to give masterclasses, including chief inspector Mike Tomlinson and BBC director general Greg Dyke.