The Ethical Leadership Commission (ELC) was set up in 2017 to help school and college leaders consider the ethical foundation of their work, and to offer guidance for colleagues at a time of great change and unprecedented pressure in education.
Ethical Leadership is leadership that is directed by ethical beliefs and values. It embraces the Seven Principles for Public Life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
Educational leaders face ethical dilemmas every day but have never had an agreed Framework that enables them to explore and test these dilemmas against ethical principles. Members of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) expressed concern that there was little specifically about ethics in the discourse on education leadership. They felt this lack was particularly noteworthy in a school leadership climate where decisions are often taken under great pressure with competing demands in play. They felt that a clear set of principles, owned by the profession, were needed to help everyone navigate the educational moral maze.
C.I.T joining THE PATHFINDER PROJECT means that as a Trust, we have the opportunity look at how we can ensure that our governance processes and practices are underpinned by sound ethical thinking. We will also be able to share what we have done with others as the approach rolls out to all schools and trusts.
Chair of the C.I.T Trust Board, Stephen Hopkins, said, “As a result of my work as a National Leader of Governance, I felt strongly that our Trust should be seeking to uphold the values and virtues of ethical education. We will now be aiming to use the Ethical Leadership Framework in all of our governance work.”
