Anyone who signs up for one of our programmes has the added advantage of being looked after by a member of the Business Support team. They are the glue that holds everything together and we are entirely grateful to them as they help us and participants at every turn.

Here Nicola gives an overview of her role.

Coming from a 15 year career in the Financial Investment industry to the Educational Sector was such a big change and career leap and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it was the best decision I have ever made. Hearing from teachers in our touchpoints and sharing the learning sessions on how their professional learning impacts children in their own learning is something I never tire of - it is always such a joy to hear.

My role within Education Scotland is to support the administration and delivery of our Middle Leadership and School Leadership programmes, so if you have taken part in programmes such as Middle Leaders Leading Change or Into Headship you’ve probably had an email from me…well quite a few!

When you enrol in one of our programmes there is so much support available to you from the Business Support Assistants, to the Lead Specialists and of course your fellow participants. It’s so great to see participants collaborating in the MS Teams Space! I’ve seen participants creating reading groups, arranging to meet to support each other with the programme, and two participants realising that they knew each other from a placement – such a small world!

One of the many great things about my job is seeing the results of the evaluation that we ask all participants to complete at the end of the programme – this allows us to see what went well, what participants enjoyed and any suggestions of what could have been done differently. Having this invaluable feedback allows us to continually work on the content and the delivery of the programme to ensure it meets the needs and the requirements of participants.

I see participants getting so much out of our programmes, such as the impact of coaching techniques, and moving their thinking forward. Not forgetting being more able to support their team, and also being promoted and increasing confidence – it truly is amazing to see!

I get the opportunity to speak with our local authority and university partners; collaborating with them allows me to see the wider impact of professional learning… and of course meet lots of new people.