Primary principals' annual calendar
Overview
Kiwi Leadership for Principals outlines five goals for educational leadership:
- improve outcomes for all students, with particular focus on Māori and Pasifika
- create the conditions for effective teaching and learning
- develop and maintain schools as learning organisations
- make connections and build networks within and beyond their schools
- develop others as leaders.
The size, complexity, and changing nature of the goals mean that principals need to establish priorities and balance competing demands on their time. This calendar will help you to keep a month-by-month overview of what’s ahead so that you can bring coherence to your planning. It has been grouped into sections that cover leadership actions and outcomes.
Ideas to consider in association with the calendar
1. Team and group development and performance – Add to the calendar the actions you take or the outcomes you want that will help strengthen the performance of the teams and groups that drive your school’s learning. These could include teaching as well as administrative and operating systems teams.
2. Annual plan – Refer to and make the links between the school’s planning documents, goals, and vision as you develop and use the calendar. For example:
- Confirm the school’s strategies and expected outcomes, and their timing and scope. Within each strategy, identify the known leadership actions/outcomes required and enter them in the calendar.
- Use Kiwi Leadership for Principals, pages 16–17 "Leading Change and Problem Solving" and pages 18–20, "Areas of Practice" to confirm the qualities, knowledge, and skills you are applying. This helps confirm actions to take about your learning needs as important parts of the calendar.
- Add all the actions/outcomes you want/need regarding Partnerships and Networks, Pedagogy, Systems and Culture, and give them your own best timings.
- Confirm that your calendar connects you with the teams and groups in the school that are implementing the annual plan.
3. Review and plan ahead for the strategic timings and consequent actions for the calendar. Set up at least four calendar review times through the year. Ideally, these look ahead for the next term:
- Year ahead and term 1 – complete in November–December
- Term 2 – complete before the end of term 1
- Term 3 – complete before the end of term 2
- Term 4 – complete before the end of term 3.
Establish a regular review-forward of what is coming (weekly, monthly) and reprioritise as change occurs.
Many principals use electronic calendars either in Outlook or i-calendar. (Time spent in mastering these programs allows you to link actions closely with both time and background information held in computer files and folders, such as data.)
4. Synchronise this calendar with the school events calendar – Review them with your leadership team, secretary, and bursar to ensure delegation and timings are checked and confirmed. Be alert for other important actions that emerge – change happens! Shift tasks to suit your context.
5. Confirm time for your leadership learning.
6. Block in appointments with yourself and other staff to attend to tasks that require in-depth thought, analysis, and preparation.
Download the calendar from the top of this page.
Does this guide meet your needs? If not, let us know: contact@educationalleaders.govt.nz
