We believe that great leaders make great schools – and in 2021, Springboard Trust’s programmes created positive impacts for hundreds of tumuaki who care for more than 44,000 tamariki across Aotearoa.
Our annual evaluation of learning shows significant positive shifts for principals in all impact areas of our foundation programmes, including:
Strategic leadership and planning capability
Stakeholder engagement (community, whānau, board, team, iwi)
Development of vision, goals and initiatives
Gap analysis, roadmapping and annual planning
Every single tumuaki who learned with us agreed that all of their key strategic skills improved, and that their learning would be relevant and beneficial for their school moving forward.
This amazing impact stands in addition to the tangible outputs of our programmes that will shape the future of a school: a three-year strategic plan, plan on a page and annual plan for the coming year.
Impacts on schools for years to come
Of course, Springboard Trust’s learning journey does not end there. The majority of tumuaki who undertake one of our Foundation Programmes then progress through our Alumni Services, focusing on the implementation of strategic plans, the development of individual and team leadership, and bringing a whole-school approach to creating change. Last year, based on the evaluation of our Alumni Services skills workshops and leadership development programmes, we saw:
Improved leadership team dynamics, collaboration and communication
Increased understanding of individual roles and strengths
Stronger leadership (for senior and middle leaders) and confidence (all leaders)
An interesting point here is that these workshops and programmes provided much-needed dedicated space and time for lead teams to work together away from the distractions of the school environment, bringing them closer together and allowing for focused strategic thinking time. This resulted in heightened confidence in strategic plans and their implementation.
Throughout their feedback, tumuaki remarked that students were of the utmost importance, and that the skills and planning developed through all Springboard Trust programmes were in their service first and foremost.
These are impacts that align strongly with what we know to be true about the flow-on impacts of school leadership. The impacts also find significant common ground in the Educational Leadership Capability Framework, notably building and sustaining high trust relationships, collective leadership, strategic thinking and planning as well as leaders attending to their own wellbeing and learning.
And beyond our analysis and evaluation, there are the less tangible impacts – the revitalisation of school leaders, the excitement with which principals and key stakeholders adopt their strategic plan, knowing the positive effect it is going to have for so many tamariki.
All of which is to say nothing of our volunteers. Principals told us they owe much of their learning to the contributions of Springboard Trust volunteers, particularly their outside perspective and ability to respectfully challenge thinking and provide professional and emotional support through the programmes.
Everywhere you look, there is a wonderful impact happening in our work – and we are honoured to have such a wonderful group of tumuaki and tūao make it happen every year.
