Argyll appoints virtual head teacher

Argyll and Bute Council hopes appointing a new virtual head teacher will help secure a better future for young people who have experience of the care system.

 

Former primary school head teacher Louise Chisholm started in the post on Monday April 17.

 

More than half of Scottish local authorities have a virtual head teacher (VHT) post, which involves working at a strategic level away from a school building.

 

Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, Argyll and Bute Council’s policy lead on education, gave details on the position in a report before a full council meeting on Thursday April 27.

 

She said: “The VHT responsibilities focus on improving the educational experiences and outcomes of care experienced children and young people in the whole local authority area.

 

“VHTs also provide key links between multi-agency teams and advocate for the needs and rights of care experienced children and young people.

 

“This is a new post and will replace the previous ‘principal teacher for care experienced children and young people’ post.

 

“Making this post a head teacher post raises the profile of the role and allows the post holder greater credibility.

 

“Our expectation is that the post holder will work collaboratively with head teachers in each establishment and offer support and robust challenge around data and the strategies in place to secure better outcomes for each and every one of our care experienced children.

 

“Louise has previously been a head teacher in Argyll and Bute and within another local authority and brings substantial leadership experience to the post.

 

“Louise has experience in leading strategically and also has experience of internal and external scrutiny processes.”

 

Head teachers across the area have also been sharing good practice and collaborate with educational experts from across the country this month at the third Headteacher Conference of this session, held in Oban.

 

Elizabeth Morrison, a professional advisor at Scottish Government, spoke about her vast career in education, focusing on strategic leadership, while Joan Mackay from Education Scotland’s Curriculum Innovation team, provided head teachers with an insight into evidence-led curriculum design.

 

Head teachers also took part in various workshops focusing on the likes of Leadership of Early Learning and  Shared Leadership Across Settings.