THE headteacher and staff at Abbeywood First School RSA Academy have been selected for top roles supporting schools in challenging circumstances and training new teachers.
Di Smith is one of more than 75 headteachers to be appointed to the role of national leader of education in the latest recruitment round.
National leaders of education along with staff in their school – appointed as national support schools – use their knowledge and experience to provide additional leadership capability in other schools in need of support.
The type of support provided is flexible and tailored to meet the needs of each individual school. National leaders of education also have responsibility for developing the next generation of NLEs and national support schools.
Mrs Smith said: “I am extremely pleased the excellent work our school team does to support others to achieve better outcomes for children has been recognised and we look forward to continuing to work with other schools to continue that improvement journey.”
The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has responsibility for the appointment of NLEs and the quality of the NLE programme. There are now over 1,250 NLEs across England.
Roger Pope, Chair of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), said: “I’d like to congratulate Mrs Di Smith and Abbeywood First School RSA Academy on being appointed as a national leader of education and national support school. They should be very proud of this achievement.
“National leaders of education are at the heart of school improvement. They’re supporting other schools and developing the next generation of leaders. At NCTL, we want to do all we can to support their work. “
Successful headteachers will be invited to attend a national induction event.
