By Gillian Hamilton, Chief executive, Scottish College for Educational Leadership

STRONG leadership is a catalyst for positive change in all areas of life, and as Chief Executive of an organisation dedicated to enhancing leadership in the teaching profession, I’m passionate about making sure we have the best people leading our schools.

It’s crucial that we attract the right people in the first place, and that we are relentless in our drive to support teachers and school leaders who make these rewarding career choices with the right tools and skills to do the best possible job.

We know that effective headteachers are passionate, talented individuals who set positive examples and aspirations for staff and students alike. They build schools and communities as places that offer opportunities for learners to thrive; stretching ambition and supporting and celebrating success in many forms.

Much of what they do seems instinctive, and perhaps for some, it is. But it would be naïve not to recognise that to do their best, even heads need a helping hand, a guide and mentor; they need different types of developmental support, and a commitment to professional learning throughout their working lives.

Research tells us that the highest performing education systems are those that invest in improving and supporting teacher quality and leadership, and so we make sure that the development opportunities offered at the Scottish College for Educational Leadership are evidence based, tailored to help teachers and school leaders be the best they can be.

In every profession, people perform at optimum capacity when they continue to learn, to challenge themselves and when they look at issues through a different lens.

‘Excellence in Headship’, our new professional development programme for experienced headteachers ensures exactly that, by enabling participants to build on their professional experience, to strengthen and expand school leadership skills and to develop a critical understanding of leadership strategies for greater personal impact.

Working with universities across Scotland, we also offer an increasing number of national postgraduate qualifications for aspiring and new head teachers to better understand the strategic challenges and policy contexts involved in school leadership.

For example, Into Headship - Scotland’s national qualification for headteachers, is aimed at teachers aspiring to headteacher posts within two to three years, while In Headship is the next step and supports new headteachers’ ongoing impact.

Since Into Headship was launched in September 2015, over 300 teachers have participated in the programme, with another 178 starting this September. We opened recruitment for In Headship in April, and 45 new headteachers have already signed up, demonstrating a commitment to continuing learning in their new posts.

Into Headship participants tell us they have become less operational and more strategic, that they benefit from a renewed focus on the moral purpose of leadership, on leading strategically, and on delivering the complex changes required to improve the lives of our young people.

And while we recognise the importance of school leadership, we also offer programmes and opportunities to support teachers develop leadership skills at all career stages. Our teacher leadership programme, being upscaled across Scotland in the coming months, confirms this commitment.

Our aim is to ensure every teacher benefits from excellent leadership learning and development so they can make a direct difference to young people and society. This can only happen when we work in partnership across the education system, and when we achieve a serious and sustained commitment to the future of our young people, recognising that a continued drive to build teacher capacity and improve leadership are fundamental to this.

As an organisation, it’s vital for us to listen and understand the challenges and opportunities experienced by the teachers and school leaders we seek to support.

We’re committed to building on feedback from current and aspiring leaders so that we understand fully the learning needs that they have and can keep all our programmes and opportunities as relevant as they can possibly be for the ultimate benefit of our wider Scottish society.