Top heads for toughest schools

Published: 01 January, 2007

An experimental project to provide fast-tracked, intensively trained head teachers for tough inner-city schools is to be expanded. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced a wider role for the Future Leaders scheme at a Downing Street seminar.

This project is designed to recruit candidates from outside education into becoming head teachers. It will also seek to alleviate the growing shortage of head teachers.

The Future Leaders scheme, based on a project in the US, provides hothouse training for a small number of potential heads and deputies - specifically recruited to manage the most challenging schools.