NFCC outlines plans for Supervisory Leadership Development Programme

Set to be led by project executive Chris Blacksell (chief fire officer at the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, the intention is for the design and development of the programme to be completed in time for a July 2022 launch.

The NFCC comments: “This is an exciting time to introduce a national Supervisory Leadership Development Programme as the fire sector continues its journey on transformational change.”

In essence, the Supervisory Leadership Development Programme aims to produce leadership pathways through standardised development programmes to prepare staff and nurture existing leaders at the first level of management within Fire and Rescue Services. It targets all staff (encompassing both non-operational and operational roles) who have a role that involves supervising members of staff.

The overall purpose of a national Supervisory Leadership Development Programme is to achieve the consistent development of first line leaders across Fire and Rescue Services measured against the NFCC’s Leadership Framework and Core Learning Pathway. It aims to create leaders who are people-focused and more empowering and encouraging to those whom they lead through the development of a leadership style that’s collaborative and inclusive in equal measure.

Varying degrees of success

Currently, supervisory leadership development is approached very differently in each Fire and Rescue Service with varying degrees of success, but also with some great examples of Best Practice. The criteria required to access first line management development opportunities also differs across the fire sector, with some Fire and Rescue Services only offering limited development pathways.

The new project aims to develop a Supervisory Leadership Development Programme that will be centrally co-ordinated and supported at a national level, even if it happens to be delivered at a regional and local level. This will enable the Supervisory Leadership Development Programme to be overseen nationally for the sector and provide consistency which is going to be essential for sustainable success. 

Having a national Supervisory Leadership Development Programme provides a level of consistency across the fire sector, while still enabling individual Fire and Rescue Services to add more local training if and when required.

The benefits of delivering this project include:

*an opportunity for realising a nationally recognised standard at the supervisory management level

*the credibility afforded by a national programme

*consistent delivery of training and development

*the formation of a National Leadership Portal affording an opportunity for learning materials to be made available in different formats and to be accessible for all

*a consistent national qualification which will enable staff to transfer between Fire and Rescue Services

*an opportunity for Fire and Rescue Services to maximise efficiencies through the Apprenticeship Levy