Leaders leading leaders

Last year ECMS re-invigorated our support for leaders, with the re-introduction of Educational Leader Forums, run by Head of Pedagogy Emma Forsyth and Head of Practice Kathryn Main. While Emma and Kathryn’s expertise guided the sessions, they gave our leaders the opportunity to lead each other, sharing experience and insights, and developing the all-important skill of critical reflection.

What does it mean to be an educational leader in early learning? For some, when educational leadership became mandatory, the Shakespearian idea of having greatness thrust upon us might well have resonated. There was not a lot of clarity about the role, and finding time to actually think about leadership in the incredibly busy life of a service wasn’t easy.

Kathryn explains how the first ECMS educational leader forums supported leaders in this challenge:

“Establishing forums when the educational leader role was first introduced in 2012 allowed us to explore what was being asked within the role and to define the responsibilities and opportunities of the role together. It also afforded us a space where peer relationships could be forged, and a culture of inquiry and shared learning established.”

The forums were paused for a period however the ongoing call and advocacy across many levels for these to be reinstated saw their return with a commitment to ongoing funding.

“We know that time for leaders is divided across many priorities, responsibilities and relationships. Within this, often the urgency of operational and compliance commitments means that the curriculum aspect often gets missed. Creating a dedicated space to come together and actually sit in a space of learning, deep thinking and reflection around educational leadership, was really important.

“There is a plethora of research evidence (check out the reading list below!) to suggest that taking the time to understand what this role is about and then what it looks like at ECMS is worth it. Educational leadership really does make the most difference for outcomes for children (AERO, 2024).”

Last year Emma and Kathryn ran five regional forums in both term 3 and 4 and will increase that to three terms this year. This time together has huge benefits for our people, and ultimately, a direct link to better outcomes for children, Emma confirms.

Before Kathryn and Emma began the forums, they took the time to get to know the needs of our Educational Leaders through a survey that ultimately guided their starting point and approach, based on what leaders highlighted they wanted the most support with.

From this survey, they discovered, “When people haven't been inducted or it was just a role thrown to them, they didn’t feel overly confident - this was no surprise. The surprising thing for us was people didn't want that much support around what the role is, they wanted support with pedagogical leadership, and most importantly the leading of people.”

The goal was to foster an atmosphere of critical reflection, and this can sometimes be a challenging step to take. To engage people in critical reflection you need to develop relationships that allow that openness. Emma and Kathryn used the Circle of Security, which is an attachment model for children, but adapted it to create these conditions:

Emma:

“We're re-imagining it as a model for leadership: how do we see ourselves as attachment figures for others so they feel safe to be able to do the really hard work of teaching and learning?”

Unlocking critical reflection required exploration of feelings, which is the enabler of thoughts and behaviour:

"These are definitely spaces of courageous vulnerability around what is showing up for self and really having to pay attention to how things feel. What does it mean to lead as my wholehearted self? What do I value? What does that mean for me and my team and therefore children, families, community?”

The courage to be vulnerable helped with leaders’ feelings of isolation.

Kathryn:

“The lovely part is coming together through shared experience. Within the discussion and reflection comes the recognition that we are all facing similar challenges or wondering about the same things. Our contexts might be slightly different yet sitting and rumbling through things together, the sense of ‘I am not alone’, is powerful.”

Our work as an organisation through our transformative practice wheel and pedagogical framework has already set the tone for a willingness to engage in critical reflection, with incredible shifts in practice.

“When we first started the forums it took us a long time to create a culture of safety, openness and sharing. That hasn't been the same this time, even with new leaders. It’s reflective of our commitment to coaching and transformative practice where people are actually in service with others, learning together, doing that reflection in a relational way and simply delighting in ‘being with’.”

And the feedback has been affirming.

Emma:

"Forums have been seen as a pivotal resource for professional development. Our leaders have expressed profound gratitude for the leadership and organisation of these reflective spaces, with special mention for creating an inspiring and supportive environment. As one leader beautifully stated, 'Every time I attend one of these sessions, my passion for learning and leading is ignited.'"

Why invest in educational leadership? It’s this flow-on effect of leaders leading leaders. Research tells us it leads to the best outcomes for children.

Kathryn:

“If we want to make sustainable change across our organisation, then we need to start with leaders because their work and influence is across teams and communities.”

Emma describes the way forward:

"We’ve made a commitment as an organisation to ‘being with’ and meet people where they are. There’ll be a big spectrum in any given forum cohort - some people are all in already, they've gone off and done their own learning and this feels like affirmation for them. But there are also others who may sit there thinking ‘that feels so far from where I am.’

“But what I hope is that they also think: ‘ECMS will still take the time to be with and meet me where I am and learn alongside me on this journey because they value me as a person.'”

Kathryn:

“Our people matter. The work that they do with children and families is so important and our role is to be the hands that raise them up to do that well.

“The work that we do here isn't just changing practice. It actually changes people and that leads to the change in practice. That’s why it's so deeply important and fulfilling and keeps us so close to our purpose.”

References and Further Reading

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2018. The role of the educational leader. Found: https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-05/QA7_TheRoleOfTheEducationalLeader.pdf

Australian Education Research Organisation, 2024. Linking quality and child development in early childhood education and care. Found: https://www.edresearch.edu.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/linking-quality-and-child-development-in-ecec-research-summary-aa.pdf

Torii K, Fox S & Cloney D (2017). Quality is key in Early Childhood Education in Australia. Mitchell Institute Policy Paper No. 01/2017. Mitchell Institute, Melbourne. Available from: www.mitchellinstitute.org.au