The Standard for Headship in Scotland began in 1998 to provide a framework for describing the professional practice of headship and providing a benchmark for developing potential headteachers.

It avoided narrow, competence-based approaches to practice by developing a model which required the successful development of “professional values, management competence and intellectual and interpersonal abilities”, and was generally acclaimed within the profession for this balance.

The Scottish Qualification for Headship, a work-based programme of development, was then introduced last year, and offered - accelerated routing (for those who were already competent school managers), and standard (for those seeking development).

Both programmes start by pushing all candidates to undertake a rigorous self-evaluation of their current practice against the Standard for Headship. Learning takes place through academic coursework (reading, reflection, written assignments, class meetings and workshops), and just as importantly through reflective experience. Candidates should not just know about leadership and management but be able to practise it in a school setting.

This experience in using a portfolio of evidence, structured against a Standard, as the basis of assessing quality of practice, will be useful as Chartered Teacher initiatives get under way.

To pass SQH, participants need to prove that they have been successful in improving pupils’ learning experiences and the way the school works to support these. This emphasis on measuring impact on pupils has sharpened the focus. There is also evidence from our evaluations that having one member of staff on the programme has affected others in schools.

There is substantial evidence of related benefits across education authority staff development programmes: for example, field assessors comment positively on their own learning through involvement with the programme, supporters have spoken of the increased rigour associated with SQH projects, while the sharing of practice across consortia partnerships has supported co-ordinators, who often have multiple staff development responsibilities. There are also many lessons to learn. We need to develop the capacity to support work-based learners at school and authority level.

This kind of work-based learning, with its focus on school culture and professional development, makes demands on schools. Some school contexts can be particularly difficult to work in, for example where the headteacher is not supportive or there has been a breakdown of relationships within the school. These contextual factors can limit the development of participants and in some cases make it difficult for them to meet the criteria for competent performance.

The programme also makes demands on education authorities which vary in their capacity to support work-based learning. Factors such as the stability and expertise of local authority personnel or the level of direct support to learning have emerged as major variables. Some authorities have been significantly more successful than others in helping candidates to complete the programme.

The second area of concern has been with the logistics of the programme. Co-ordinators report that clear and effective communication at all levels, with so many parties involved, can be challenging. This is a new programme, with new types of assessment procedure, focusing on evidence of practice, so communication is necessarily more complex and time-consuming than with traditional modes of written assessment. The costs in terms of time for all involved are significant. Meantime, candidates who are mainly completing the programme alongside demanding full-time jobs most commonly voiced difficulties relate to workload, although whether this is any greater than involvement in other postgraduate programmes is unclear.

As broader patterns for “post-McCrone” professional development emerge, with a wider range of structured and accredited staff development on offer, SQH will be adjusted to the wider strategic CPD picture. Those involved believe that the positive lessons of SQH contribute greatly to that development.

Danny Murphy is director of the Scottish Qualification for Headship Unit in Edinburgh University’s education faculty.