Cambridge takes the lead on learning

A new initiative which will support and improve the practice of leadership in schools will be launched this week by the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education.

'Leadership for Learning: The Cambridge Network' will hold its inaugural conference on Monday 12 November. Over 120 headteachers, senior staff, local education authority advisers and consultants will come to Cambridge to hear the latest thinking on leadership for learning. They will be addressed by speakers from the University and across the world, and attend workshops run by Faculty staff and Associates of the network.

Research has consistently shown that the quality of leadership in schools has a major impact on pupils' attainment. Leadership for Learning brings together academics and practitioners who share interest and experience in leadership issues in education. It will seek to identify best practice in this area through high quality research undertaken locally, nationally and internationally.

Knowledge about learning and leadership will be promoted through a programme of conferences, seminars and workshops, the publication of occasional papers, and the Leadership for Learning website. The network will also undertake consultancy for schools and local education authorities. The Faculty already has strong links with leadership centres in other countries, as well as particular links with schools and authorities in the local Cambridge region.

Professor John MacBeath, the Chair of Education Leadership at the University of Cambridge and Director of Leadership for Learning, is a world authority on this issue. He says that the network will provide a distinct and independent voice, and operate to clear values and principles.

"Learning, leadership and their interrelationship are our central concern. We see leadership as a shared, as much as an individual enterprise. Leadership does not just rest with the headteacher: it should be exercised at every level within a school and its community," says Professor MacBeath.