PgDip School Leadership & Management

The SQH programme is designed to ensure that participants can develop the competences they need in order to meet the Standard for Headship in Scotland. It involves attending courses and seminars as well as working online with other participants. A major element of the course is the candidate's work-based learning project which is carried out in their school over an 18 month period.

Because of this blend of modes of learning, the SQH Programme is delivered on the basis of a partnership between local authorities and approved Higher Education Institutions.

The SQH Programme began as a pilot in 1998 and became fully operational in the year 2000. The programme has now been substantially revised and this booklet provides the detail of the course being offered by the Western Consortium from August 2005. With the introduction of the Framework for Educational Leaders in 2003, SQH has been aligned at School Leadership level.

Selection for entry on to the course is through the candidate's local authority. Candidates must be fully registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland and have at least 5 years teaching experience. Candidates must demonstrate the potential for school leadership by having established a basic understanding of management principles and having successfully undertaken leadership and management tasks in school.

Candidates must be sponsored by their employer. Candidates must also have, or be able to obtain, access to an appropriate work environment to enable them to undertake whole school leadership responsibilities.

The number of places available to candidates is based on the national requirement for new headteachers currently agreed by SEED.

The Western Consortium

The Western Consortium was formed in order to provide a sound partnership on which to develop the Scottish Qualification for Headship programme for aspiring headteachers and this is continuing and to develop to incorporate the new framework for Continuing Professional Development for Educational Leaders (SEED, 2003). The Western Consortium currently consists of 20 partner institutions: the Faculties of Education of the Universities for Glasgow and Strathclyde and the Institute of Education at the University of Stirling and seventeen local authorities - Argyll and Bute Council, Clackmannanshire Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, East Ayrshire Council, East Dunbartonshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, Falkirk Council, Glasgow City Council, Inverclyde Council, North Ayrshire Council, North Lanarkshire Council, Perth and Kinross Council, Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Council for Independent Schools, South Ayrshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council, Stirling Council, West Dunbartonshire Council and West Lothian Council.

Collectively the staff has extensive experience and expertise in training, course development and research in educational management and leadership training. Practice based learning has been a key element of the SQH work with considerable expertise in enabling, supporting and assessing SQH work within the Consortium. Co-operation between institutions and authorities is embedded in the Consortium management structure and practices and it is therefore well placed to provide support to participants.