All leaders and their schools are part of a much greater system of education. Your role in shaping society by your actions to support the educational progress of students with disability and additional learning needs cannot be underestimated.
School leaders are in a unique position to influence societal change, and leading a community of inclusive learning practice is an important contribution to this process. Munby and Fullan (2015) talk about the role of the Leader in the Middle – the ‘networked leader’. Such leaders embody the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and in particular the key professional practice of leading improvement, innovation and change. Through effective partnership with state (upwards) and schools and communities (downwards) these leaders create real change in the middle by challenging the status quo and developing models of collaborative practice.
Sharing practice through networks of leaders is an established method of positive development for sharing your work.
System change does not happen overnight. It also needs the innovation, courage and resilience of school leaders. By using the reflective process of Leading Learning 4 All you have challenged your thinking and that of your school staff and community to develop creative ways of responding to previously unmet needs of students with disability and additional learning needs.
‘But to change a culture, leaders within a system cannot be passive victims of someone else’s accountability system. Instead they should work to prove that cluster-based accountability can and will lead to better and more sustainable improvement. We need leaders who do not just accept the context but act in ways that change the context’.
(Munby & Fullan, 2015)
