Through the implementation of this project, the Ministry of Education, Sport, and Youth (MESY) and the Directorate of Secondary General Education (DSGE) in particular, aimed to fulfil the following objectives: (a) to identify the learning needs of secondary education school heads; (b) to develop and strengthen the skills and competences of secondary education school heads in educational management, leadership, and planning and also their digital skills and ability to integrate new technologies/tool in their daily work i.e., their ability to identify education system’s strengths and weaknesses, formulate planning, implement and monitor progress, and define the best education policy options; (c) to strengthen their competences and skills in comparative analysis on policies implemented for school inclusion and student support systems, and skills in organization and implementation of research programmes and (d) to build a quality culture in the school and use quality instruments in their teams for strategic planning.
In Cyprus, despite a short pre-service training course offered by the Cyprus Pedagogical Institute (CPI) that School Heads are required to attend, newly promoted secondary School Heads currently face a substantial gap in their induction. Further to that, there are very few opportunities for them during all stages of their career to attend focused in-service training. There is now more than ever the need to support them to respond effectively to the growing need to create a dynamic, well-structured school environment that support the improvement of learning outcomes. The carried project explicitly targeted that gap, namely it aimed to support them to further develop their skills & competences, especially their ability to successfully integrate the dimension of well-informed educ. management, leadership & planning, by providing them with opportunities tailored to their needs, in order to expand their experiences and collect good practices. The activities that carried out in the project, helped the DSGE in creating an environment of professional development that no doubt placed secondary school heads in an immensely more advantageous position, thereby equipping them to carry out their role as efficiently and effectively as possible