Former Chief Inspector of Education works with system leaders

Frank Crawford held the position of Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland for 15 years

Frank worked with senior leaders within Catholic Education to discuss strategy and transformational change

On Thursday 2 February, respected education consultant, Frank Crawford, worked with senior leaders within Catholic Education to discuss strategy and transformational change.

Frank has been involved in a number of international projects and held the position of Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland for 15 years working on a range of issues including school transformation, quality systems, identifying and sharing best practice, and health and wellbeing. He now works as an education consultant working with school and system leaders in their professional learning and advising on a range of educational issues.

In his session with Catholic Education leaders, Frank discussed the importance of leadership in developing and implementing strategies to improve learning and teaching in schools.

‘The greatest challenge faced by leaders is how to transform a good school into a great school,’ he said. ‘Partnerships between Australia and Scotland, Canada, UK and New Zealand are valuable because we are learning so much from each other and sharing good practice.’

Frank identifies four phases of change that he says is crucial in overcoming the fear or anxiety that can often be associated with change which he calls the 4 Es: explore change, engage people in the change, execute change and embed change.

‘It is about getting others to explore the possibilities of change,’ said Frank. ‘Keeping every single student at the forefront of school leaders’ minds is the most important thing because it is their classroom, their school and their learning.’

Director of system performance, Anna Dickinson, said Frank’s presentation was thought provoking and engaging.

‘We engaged in candid conversations about managing change and were provided with an excellent planning tool to overcome potential issues when introducing an initiative,’ said Anna. ‘The strategies and innovations we discussed in our session support our focus on improving student learning outcomes.’

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