Policy Hub
On 31 December 2007, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) published a report (The impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes: interim report) as part of three-year study which focuses upon the critical relationship between school leadership, in particular headteacher leadership, and improved pupil learning outcomes.
Taking a review and evaluation of the growing international evidence base as a point of departure, the study investigates not only how successful school leaders impact on students’ learning outcomes but also how, in order to do so, they adapt their practices to suit the many different contexts in which they carry out their work. Such contexts include: sectors of schooling (primary, secondary); amounts of experience leaders bring to their work; socio-economic levels of their school’s student intakes; and leadership in schools in three different ‘improvement’ groupings.
This interim report presents findings at the half-way point of the study. It summarises the project design, provides a discussion of key findings and
identifies emerging messages.
The impact of school leadership on pupil outcomes: interim report - research brief (PDF 250KB)