This paper builds on papers presented at ECER 2020 and 2021, the former focussing on the first phase of a small-scale longitudinal study examining how current and former students on the Into Headship (IH) programme in Scotland supported their school communities during the first lockdown in the UK, with a particular emphasis on children and young people (C&YP) considered to be vulnerable through disability, poverty, being looked after or otherwise disadvantaged. The latter paper drew from the second phase of the study (see methods), drawing from the perspective of participants from the secondary sector (aged 11/12-17/18). This paper draws from the findings from the primary sector (aged 4/5-10/11) and a special school for children with severe and complex needs which shares a campus with a primary school. 

The Incheon Declaration sought to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (Sustainable Development Goal 4) [1]. Yet, even prior to the pandemic, the UNESCO Global Education and Monitoring Report [2] highlighted the dire circumstances of the 28 million children homeless and/or displaced due to conflict across the world  and the 124 million children and adolescents not in schooling [3]. Likewise, the first global State of the World Report to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of C&YP drew attention to the disproportionate effects of the hardships experienced by the most disadvantaged C&YP and the fragility of support systems [4, 5]. 

Across the world, the pandemic has served to amplify and exacerbate these existing inequalities, particularly so for those who are marginalised through poverty, displacement and/or disability [6-9]. The disruption to health and social services in many countries and the failure to facilitate learning for disabled children, together with a lack of support networks, may have compounded mental health issues for C&YP so affected, putting pressure on family life and exposing them to greater risk of abuse and neglect [3,6]. The Health Behaviour in School Children report on Europe identified that adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds were more likely to report negative effects of the pandemic in two thirds of countries/regions [7] whether or not they were in receipt of support from family, teachers, classmates or peers [8]. In the UK, a study published in Nov 2023 found that there were significant disparities in access to support services between children living in poverty and those living in more affluent areas, with the former more than twice as likely not to be in receipt of support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services [9]. Thishighlights the key role that schools play as places of learning but also places of safety and belonging.

The quality of school leadership is an essential element in creating schools which are equitable, inclusive, and compassionate in their approach. This requires a focus on the whole school community and on responsive and adaptive leadership which has at its heart inclusive practice and social justice [10]. School leaders have had to navigate an unprecedented landscape of complex and rapid change and therefore the quality of headship preparation programmes becomes crucial in ensuring that prospective headteachers can rise to the challenge.

This small-scale empirical study focusses on Into Headship, a masters-level programme delivered within a single academic year in partnership with Education Scotland. Through examination of the ways in which IH students supported their school communities during and in the aftermath of lockdown, the study seeks to ascertain the degree to and ways in which engagement with the IH programme had prepared them to meet the challenges in order to inform the development of headship programmes globally.

This paper focusses on the second phase of a longitudinal, qualitative study, with phase one being an online survey based on an open-ended questionnaire administered to two cohorts of Into Headship students conducted in June 2020 towards the end of the first lockdown in the UK. 46 students responded to the survey. Phase 2, conducted in Dec 2022/Jan 2023, focusses on the period beyond the initial lockdown and, drawing from the findings of phase 1, has a specific focus on the wellbeing of the school community – pupils, staff and families. It has been conducted via. individual interviews with eight respondents to the initial survey, drawn from the secondary, primary and special education sectors. In addition to reflecting on how they had supported the wellbeing of their school communities beyond the initial lockdown, participants were provided with their response to the survey (phase 1) and asked to reflect on how close to reality their initial perceptions of the challenges to be faced as schools emerged from lockdown had been and whether there were challenges that had not been anticipated. Three focus group discussions have also been held with participants from each of these sectors. The focus group discussion had a broader focus, examining the response of the Scottish Government to Covid recovery; insights about leading in times of crisis; and insights to inform the development of the IH programme nationally. Participants within the 2nd phase of the study were drawn from respondents to the survey who had indicated a willingness to participate. An open invitation was sent and criteria were drawn up to select the sample such that it was representative of respondents to the survey as a whole: the SIMD (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) status of the school; urban/rural; sector (primary, secondary/special education); and gender of the participant. Participants attended a short briefing and informed consent was gained. Whilst the initial intention had been to conduct data-gathering face-to-face, this proved to be too complex to organise and interviews and focus group discussions were held via. Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Data have been analysed via. thematic analysis, drawing on a modified framework of King and Horrocks [11], generating, initially, descriptive and analytical codes and then over-arching themes.

UNICEF [12] poses the question: ‘The world stands at a crossroads. We have a decision to make. Do we rally and unite to protect years of progress on child rights? Or do we allow the unequal recovery from COVID-19 to further marginalize the disadvantaged and increase inequality even more?’ (p.2). This paper addresses this challenge through exploring the means by which prospective headteachers, in the midst of a rapidly changing policy landscape, have supported their school communities (staff, families and children) in the recovery period of the pandemic and the challenges they have faced. In particular, the findings identify barriers to the inclusion of children facing adverse circumstances, whether through disability, poverty, being care experienced or marginalised in any shape or form, and affordances. They provide insight into the approaches that prospective headteachers have adopted and their perceived efficacy which should inform the work of senior leadership teams in Scotland and beyond. They will demonstrate how priorities may have changed over time as schools have moved into the recovery phase. It will enable insights to emerge regarding the national response to recovery and will also identify those aspects of the Into Headship programme which have provided IH students with the knowledge, understanding, skills-set, confidence and resilience to address the needs of their school community and areas in which the programme could be strengthened, insights which can inform the development of headship preparation programmes more widely. The case study within the Special Education sector illuminated the fragility of the relationship between the special education school and the mainstream school with which it shares a campus. The pandemic had served to disrupt the shared learning and socialisation which, pre-pandemic, the children had experienced, and a narrative of risk emerged as barriers were put in the way of re-establishing practice.

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