Improving education quality holds the hope of ending learning poverty for the most disadvantaged and marginalized children and young people around the world. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated many of the profound pre-existing inequalities in education provision, including the hundreds of millions of children who were not in school before the pandemic, and those not learning while in school (Save the Children, 2021). For these children especially, school represents an oasis of safety and hope where they can learn, play, grow and achieve. Although schools alone cannot address many of the centuries’ old issues of educational and social inequalities that still challenge many children’s fundamental right to quality education in modern times, they are spaces where many committed and caring teachers are dedicated to inspiring the learning and achievement of young minds.  

The disruption in learning caused by the pandemic calls for radical and positive change. Drawing on the research findings from a range of UK government and research council funded national and international projects over the last decade, Prof Gu will discuss five research-informed claims about successful leadership and school improvement. Principals who do well in steering their schools successfully through changing social and policy landscapes know how to use policies as opportunities (rather than threats) to anchor core values of the school and regenerate capacities for further growth and development. They know how to design the social and intellectual conditions that engage the hearts and minds of individuals in the school, and through this, harness their ideas, experiences, knowledge, and relationships to fulfil shared values and achieve shared goals. They are the architects of social relations and learning conditions in schools. Taken together, Prof Gu hope that the five claims about successful leadership will open a new conversation about how school leaders – individually and collectively – can build a stronger future for all children and young people.