This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Raising the standard for headteachers
16/09/1999
The Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) is the first of a portfolio of powerful and effective development programmes to help direct and support teachers throughout their careers, said Sam Galbraith, Minister for Children and Education, today. The qualification will have an important role in raising the educational standards in Scottish schools.
The SQH is aimed at aspiring headteachers. It is a combined development programme and qualification to help candidates achieve the Standard for Headship in Scotland, and will ensure that newly appointed headteachers are well prepared for the challenges of the job before they take up post.
Mr Galbraith, speaking in Edinburgh at the award ceremony for successful candidates in the pilot project, said:
"This government has an over-riding commitment to raising the educational standards in Scottish schools. Hand in glove with this goes the modernisation of the teaching profession. Schools must be encouraged to adapt and change to meet the needs of our children and the legitimate aspirations of teachers.
"The candidates whose achievements we are recognising today will be catalysts who will bring about change and improvement in the Scottish teaching profession. The world around us is changing rapidly. Education and the teaching profession has to respond to that change. The needs of our children and the aspirations of our teachers demand it.
"Through their success in the SQH our candidates have shown their willingness to develop and extend their thinking and behaviour. They have shown a willingness to change. The process of change is necessary and it needs effective leadership together with new management skills. Leadership is crucial for the education system at all levels and the SQH marks an important turning point in the way we address that leadership challenge."
BACKGROUND
1. The Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) is aimed at aspiring headteachers. It is both a development programme and a qualification designed to help candidates achieve the Standard for Headship in Scotland. The intention is to ensure that newly appointed Heads are well prepared for the challenges of the job before they take up post.
2. The Standards, qualification and associated development programme have all been developed in full consultation with the profession and other interested parties. The SQH forms an important part of the framework for continuing professional development.
3. Last year, local authorities were invited to take part in piloting various elements of the development programme. As a result, fifteen candidates from three education authorities have been able to demonstrate that they meet the Standard for Headship.
News Release: SE0629/99
16 September, 1999