AoEA Associate Accreditation

Department: Accreditation

Employment Type: Programme

Location: AoEA Office

Description

AoEA Associate level accreditation is for colleagues who have at least three years of practice providing advice and guidance to senior leaders, governors, trustees, or directors, for example, as:

an adviser working in school improvement and governance across multiple schools or settings.
an executive headteacher/principal or similar role working across multiple schools.
a headteacher or principal with proven experience of significant and sustained school improvement (eg in England taking a school to Ofsted good or outstanding)

An Associate member would be expected to demonstrate the ability to intervene successfully in identifying and tackling school improvement causal factors and demonstrate a broad sphere of influence in a variety of organisations more widely than their own institution.

Associate Criteria

Three core criteria will underpin the Associate Assessment: advisory skills & knowledge, school improvement skills & knowledge, and governance skills & knowledge.

Advisory Skills

Within the application phase for accreditation as an Associate Adviser, candidates will be required to demonstrate that they have a wide and up-to-date knowledge of educational issues, the skills required to use their knowledge and experience to support improvement, and a track record of professional success.

School Improvement

A high quality education adviser must possess the understanding and skills to have a positive impact on school improvement. Fundamentally, they must understand the causal factors that contribute to a school’s performance and be able to work in concert with the school’s leadership to achieve change and improvement. We have identified certain key skills and attributes that we believe are essential to the role.

Governance

An education adviser is required to have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience that allows them to effectively support and challenge the governance of an educational organisation regarding corporate oversight and impact on the development of the organisation. This aspect is of critical importance.

The Application & Assessment Process

Application

Submit application form with two case studies and referee details. Form & references are reviewed to ensure you meet the criteria and have the necessary experience to be successful at Associate level.

Professional Discussion

Invite to an online professional discussion panel to talk in further depth about experience and case studies. Informed whether ready to proceed to seminar or additional experience is required.

Seminar

Invite to attend full day training seminar (face to face or online) where we introduce the Associate accreditation criteria in more detail.

Portfolio

Produce and submit portfolio on two case studies exemplifying the AoEA Associate criteria. This is assessed and validated by our team.

Associate Accreditation

Upon successful completion, become an accredited AoEA Associate. Gain access to our Member Hub, the option to join the Register of Accredited Associates and member benefits for the first year.

Associate Application Form

Application Review

Professional Discussion

Associate Seminar

Portfolio

Accreditation as AoEA Associate

Associate Membership