System leaders working with organisation leaders: Ethical leadership working in practice

JOHN WESTWELL, DIRECTOR FOR SYSTEM LEADERSHIP, NCETM, UK  WITH  ALISON KNOTT, HEADTEACHER, HOLY TRINITY CE PRIMARY, BURY, UK  DIANNE ELLITHORN, ASSISTANT MATHS HUB LEAD (PRIMARY), NORTH WEST ONE MATHS HUB, UK School improvement can be a field full of risk for leaders in schools, often resulting in unsustained change and negative impact on the leaders themselves. Are there ways of approaching school improvement that have lasting benefits for the students and teachers, and which allow leaders to work together with mutual respect?  In this case study, the pathway of one primary school’s significant improvement in mathematics over a number of years (expected level at Key Stage 2 in 2018: 26 per cent; and in 2023: 79 per cent) is examined. In particular, the relationship between school leadership and system leadership is explored, along with whether principles of ethical leadership (ELC, 2019) and collaborative professionalism (Hargreaves and O’Connor, 2017) provid