This paper discusses the methodology employed to examine patterns of variation in involvement in National College for School Leadership (NCSL) activity amongst secondary schools in England during the period 2000-2005 and presents initial findings on relationships between level of involvement and measures of educational standards. These measures include inspection judgements of the quality of leadership and management, teaching and learning, school effectiveness and improvement and measures of pupil attainment and progress. The characteristics of school contexts are taken into account in the multi-level analysis, which enables us to explore whether level of NCSL activity varies for different categories of schools (for example, schools facing difficulties may become more engaged in NCSL work as a means to promote improvement). Different patterns of outcomes are also explored by level of NCSL activity within different categories (within types and by level of social disadvantage) to establish whether level of NCSL activity shows different levels of possible impact for specific groups of schools. The paper also discusses evidence concerning which aspects of NCSL involvement appear to have shown an association with educational standards to inform the future development of the College’s work. Analysis of varied sources of evidence suggests that NCSL activity improves the quality of leadership and management, and teaching and learning in schools and that in the longer term such improvement in processes may promote higher levels of pupil attainment.

This paper discusses the methodology and main findings of a formative evaluation of aspects of the London Leadership Strategy (LLS). The LLS is an ambitious example of a programme designed and supported by the National College of School Leadership in England (NCSL) to enhance leadership and management so as to improve the quality of education and raise standards in London schools. This paper focuses on the Consultant Leader programme and the cumulative impact of involvement in multiple strands of the LLS programme. The research adopts a mixed methods strategy to identify the experience and impact of the Consultant Leader programme on the quality of life of staff and achievements of pupils in the 400 schools. It combines quantitative data about pupil attainment and progress and evidence on standards and processes drawn from school inspection reports published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) with qualitative case study data about engagement in different aspects of the LLS. These case studies explore stakeholders’ perceptions of the impact of LLS activity in their schools. The research identified a number of key factors which contributed to the relative success of the various programmes. These will be relevant particularly to leaders in low socioeconomic schools.

This paper will report on Phase One of a national research project into the impact of leadership on pupil outcomes. The main aims of the study are to (1) establish how much variation in pupil outcomes is accounted for by variation in the types, qualities, strategies and skills of school leadership, and (2) measure both the direct and indirect impact of school leadership upon pupil and teacher outcomes plus school-based and organisational factors. The complexity of the area of study warrants a mixed method approach which offers significant advantages through the use of case studies and qualitative data gathering and analysis, with quantitative (affective, social behavioural and cognitive) measures to increase the understanding of the impacts of and links between leadership and pupil learning.  Having discussed the research design, the paper will summarise the outcomes of analyses of international literature relevant to the project and various national datasets. These analyses focus on the patterns between measures of effectiveness and leadership and management, and fed directly into the selection of 1000 schools (500 primary and 500 secondary), providing a representative cross-section of schools and pupils in terms of social economic status, geographical areas, types of school, sizes of schools, professional life phases, and pupil attainment and background factors. Headteachers and selected key staff in each of these schools form the sample for the initial questionnaire. The paper will conclude with an overview of emergent themes from the questionnaire, and an outline the next phase of the study.