Barnsley Teaching School Alliance Specialist Leaders of Education Frequently Asked Questions; What is the time commitment? There is no pre-defined time commitment for SLE work because models and types of deployment will vary, but on average it will be around 15 days a year. My school is not ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted; can I still apply for SLE status? Whilst SLEs will be outstanding at what they do, they can come from any school, regardless of the school’s Ofsted grade. However, the head and chair of governors must agree that the school has the capacity to release them. How will I be deployed? The Teaching School has a strategic role in the deployment of its SLEs and must maintain an overview of all SLE activity for accounting purposes and to ensure appropriate impact evaluation can take place. All deployments will be focussed on addressing the strategic priorities of the partnership. There are three typical ways in which SLEs are being deployed:
School Initiated – individual schools (or groups of schools) contact the TSA to request the support of a SLE. The TSA can then broker the support of a SLE with the appropriate specialism, experience and skills to support the request. SLE Initiated – the SLE contacts the TSA to inform them that they’ve been approached by another school/group of schools to provide SLE support. The TSA will review this and perhaps broker additional support should it be required (for example from an additional SLE with appropriate experience and expertise and/or from other system leaders such as LLEs and NLEs). TSA Initiated –Barnsley TSA may approach SLEs to inform them of and promote SLE deployment opportunities. These may involve working with an individual school, a group of schools.
How will I be supported in my SLE deployments? Where possible, SLE deployments will be contracted as part of a wider school-to-school support strategy. All deployments will be discussed with the SLE and require the support of their headteacher before being confirmed. What paperwork is involved with SLE deployments? Reporting structures and paperwork will be kept to the essentials and be firmly focussed on impact. SLEs will be provided with a sample action plan template that can be used to support their work in other schools. Timescales and accountability to be agreed by the SLE and the headteacher of the school they are supporting. A copy of the action plan will be submitted to the Teaching School.
Is my school financially reimbursed for my time? The SLE daily rate for all SLEs designated by Barnsley TSA will be charged at £300. An administration fee of £50 will be charged for each SLE deployment (in line with agreed regional charging structures). All financial transactions must go through the Teaching School for audit and reporting purposes. The Teaching School will invoice the school receiving support and will arrange payment to the SLE’s employing school. The administration fee will be retained by Barnsley TS. No monies will be paid directly to individual SLE.