Tooltip
These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

CPD taster - Established heads of science: strategic leadership of your team

This is a CPD taster created to give teachers a better understanding of what to expect when joining one of our secondary science leadership courses. Below you will find a video and a task for you to do in your own time. Once you have done the activity, book on Established heads of science: strategic leadership of your team (NY257).


Have you been leading a Science department for a while and want to move your department to outstanding? Do you want to hone your skills to meet the challenges of taking your department to the next level? This course, the third in the trio of Leadership courses (RX017, NY200, NY257), will help you do just that. 

In the video, Tim Bradbury, Professional development leader, explains more. There is then a short task that gives a sample of the types of activities you will be guided through on this CPD course.

Task: Reflective audit

As Tim mentions in the video, it is vitally important to be evaluative of yourself and your team as a leader of a school or college. In this short task, we invite you to conduct a rapid audit of your current position to help identify your priorities for further development.

Task instructions

  1. Download the NY257 reflective audit template.
  2. Complete the audit, either by yourself or as a collaborative task with your team. Try not to spend too long on each answer, as quicker responses are often a more accurate representation.
  3. Once you have ranked your department on the scale for each of the criteria, select one strand for development and consider:
    1. What is your current position?
    2. Where do you want to be?
    3. How are you going to get there?
    4. What milestones will you need?
    5. How can you measure success?
    6. What will the impact of this action(s) be?

Next steps

In the summary video, Tim explains what you can expect from attending the Established heads of science: strategic leadership of your team course.

Book your place on Established heads of science: strategic leadership of your team (NY257).

Show health and safety information

Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

Information on the permitted use of this resource is covered by the Category Three Content section in STEM Learning’s Terms and conditions.