News in brief

ASCL publishes New to the Leadership Team

The ASCL book New to the Leadership Team, published and sent to all members last month, is a practical and reflective guide for individuals new to senior leadership and for experienced leaders who want to development the skills of new members of their senior team. Authors Harvey Black and Jill Clough discuss what effective school leadership looks like, qualities needed to be an effective leader, the benefit a new leader can bring to a school or college, how to work well in a team and how to create a team that functions well together. In the appendices are a range of exercises and tools that can be used individually or as a group to hone leadership and team working skills. Members and non-members who would like additional copies for themselves or other members of staff, are welcome to order them from the website atwww.ascl.org.uk (There is a cost for additional copies.)

Legal appointment

ASCL is pleased to introduce Aman Patel, who joined us in February as the association's second full-time, in-house solicitor. He will work closely with solicitor Tim Glover, legal consultant Richard Bird and ASCL's legal firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain in supporting individual members.

ASCL's increasing membership, plus the change to grievance procedures, single status agreements and growth of academies, has meant that ASCL's legal department has been busier than ever in the last year, with little sign of slowing down.

Prior to ASCL, Aman worked for seven years as a legal consultant for a 24/7 telephone legal advice service. He gave advice on a broad range of subjects - from noisy neighbours to divorce to speeding - but especially employment advice to small and medium sized enterprises. This gave Aman a wide background on employment law issues, including disciplinary, maternity and sickness and it often meant advising from the beginning of a problem through to the end. Aman's appointment will help ASCL provide an even higher level of service to members.