This seminar is intended to support newly appointed Co-Curricular Deputy or Assistant Heads – as well as teachers intending to apply for these roles this year. Because these are relatively new positions in schools, priorities and operating processes are often not yet firmly established. The course will look at the aims of the position, and how success might be judged.  It will include the methods by which these priorities can be pursued, and quality controlled, across the whole school. Frequently encountered frustrations and challenges will also be considered, alongside the various communication mechanisms and people management skills that are crucial to success.

Programme

• The place of the Co-curriculum in an era of political threat
• The role of the head of Co–curricular activity
• Defining the Co–Curricular programme
• Working with the Head and other school leaders
• What is left when it is all over?
• Agreeing the success criteria
• Programme content and management
• Establishing aims and objectives
• Leadership and administration
• Managing the managers
• Leading parental engagement
• Staff recruitment
• Communication pathways and programme promotion
• Establishing priorities and refereeing the clashes
• Participation vs High performance
• Meritocracy v Democracy: the place of inclusiveness