Implementing a new leadership model

Information about the setting

St David’s Catholic Sixth Form College was established in 1987 by the Archdiocese of Cardiff.  It provides sixth-form provision at its campus located in the Penylan area of the city.  The college employs approximately 130 staff members and caters for around 1,400 learners, nearly all of whom study full-time and are between 16 and 19 years of age.

The college offers learners a choice of 30 A level courses as well as level 3 vocational courses across eight subjects. AS and A level courses account for 64% of enrolments at the college, with level 3 vocational courses accounting for 23% of enrolments. Level 2 courses make up 10% of enrolments, with level 1 courses accounting for 2% of enrolments.  The subject areas that have the largest proportion of provision are science and mathematics; business, administration and law; arts, media and publishing; and social sciences.

The college recruits learners from a wide range of schools, including four Catholic secondary partner schools.  Learners from a diverse range of socio-economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds attend the college.  Thirty-four per cent of learners live in some of the most disadvantaged areas in Wales as defined by the first quintile of the Welsh index of multiple deprivation.  Twenty-six per cent of learners reside in the least deprived areas in Wales.  Thirty-six per cent of the college population are black, Asian or have minority ethnic backgrounds.  Thirty-nine per cent of college learners are followers of the Catholic faith.

The governing body is working on a proposal to dissolve the college as a designated further education institution and re-constitute it as a voluntary aided school according to the schools’ regulations, under the control of the City of Cardiff Council.

Context and background to sector-leading practice

This case study relates to inspection area 5.1 of the common inspection framework ‘quality and effectiveness of leaders and managers, including the governing body’.  Using the servant leader methodology, college leaders have developed highly effective, engaged teams of staff that work together to secure outstanding outcomes by learners.  This supportive leadership approach models and promotes professional values and behaviours that have led to college-wide improvements including strong collaboration between staff members.

Significant emphasis has been placed on improving outcomes for learners across schools and colleges.  Sustainable high performance can, and should, be achieved by adopting an approach that promotes the wellbeing of all within the college community.  The servant leadership model, with its potential for alignment with Christian theology and a supportive, inclusive ethos, enables the college to realise this ambition.  The model allows for the integration of approaches to learner and staff pastoral care within a leadership framework that is applicable to the whole college. Consequently, mutual support and the achievement of excellence have become a focus for the entire college community.

Description of nature of strategy or activity identified as sector-leading practice

The servant leadership model requires that the leader becomes the one who serves others.  It is a radical model.  The college’s own approach is based on three principles.  Firstly, a commitment to the common good.  Unlike the ‘greater good’ the common good emphasises the dignity and rights of each and every person.  Secondly, all people are seen as persons of equal value and as a result the role of the leader is to serve others.  Thirdly, there is praxis, where leaders reflect on their actions to optimise future actions for the common good.

Using the servant leadership principles, the college developed its leadership model to integrate theology with the skills needed by servant leaders, and the college’s core behaviours.  The associated skills include: listening, awareness, empathy, foresight, conceptualisation, persuasion, healing, stewardship, and community building.  Development of these skills and commitment to the growth of people are central to the college’s servant leadership training programme.  The behaviours are derived from Jesuit teachings that emphasise an ambition to be learned and wise, curious and active, eloquent and truthful, faith filled and hopeful, compassionate and loving, attentive and discerning and intentional and prophetic.  Frequent self-reflection by leaders is an essential part of the college’s dynamic and evolving leadership approach.  This involves recognising, addressing and forgiving the failings that are inherent within any human endeavour.

Senior leaders have recently extended the servant leadership training programme to college learners.  Learners are able to work alongside teaching and professional services staff in the development of the skills necessary for successful servant leadership.  Learners who wish to serve on the student council or lead groups or activities within the college are welcomed to the programme.

Leaders promote community and ethos through staff community development days, staff wellbeing programmes and through the college’s bespoke reflective education programme for learners.  The behaviours inherent within the leadership model are the same as those aspired to by learners and promoted within the reflective education programme.  These behaviours are strongly influenced by the classical virtues contained within the Jesuit pupil profile scheme.

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

The college community is very diverse; approximately half of learners join from Catholic schools, a fifth of learners are from Muslim backgrounds and others come from a range of faiths or none.  The college has a high proportion of young people from socio-economically deprived areas and is the most ethnically diverse college in Wales.  The servant leadership model and its integration with the college’s pastoral care programme, helps all stakeholders to unite as a community.

Leaders at all levels see their role as supporting and facilitating change and improvement.  This supportive approach has encouraged co-ordinated and managed risk-taking by teams across the college.  Accountability mechanisms apply horizontally across the organisation rather than top down.  This has led to greater innovation by staff members, which has impacted positively upon the learner experience.  The college has achieved an increasingly diverse intake of new learners alongside continued improvement in learner outcomes that include outstanding learner grade attainment and successful completion rates.  The college’s own annual teaching and learning survey shows significant improvements in learner perceptions of the college that recognise teachers’ innovation. The servant leadership model has ensured that a culture of mutual support, managed risk and continuous improvement has become embedded across the college and should continue even after current leaders have moved on.