Estelle Morris' speech to NCSL's New Heads conference

Estelle Morris wants to play devil's advocate and argue that the current generation of school leaders aren't the first to face considerable and fast-paced change. What about the school leaders of the industrial revolution? The school leaders after WWII? The teachers in the 70s making sure girls or immigrant communities could achieve to their potential? We can learn from those previous generations that have gone before us. Each generation has had to ask itself three questions:

• What's my context?
• What do I have to do for and with others?
• What do I have to do for myself in terms of preparing myself for leadership?

These questions have not changed and have always been asked by leaders facing change and large social expectations.

Think about the stories the public read about schools in the last week: Baby P, coasting schools, under 5s and exlusion.

These stories tell us something about what the public expect us to be solving this week. Public expectation of public services has gone sky high and tolerance of failure has gone very, very low. This is new. Our context is one where there is real concern about fragmentation. And real concern for fairness and social cohesion. This is new for the school context. Public confidence in school leaders has grown so much that, more than ever, society expects schools to solve many of its problems.

Schools have been so successful at taking on some of society's concerns that they are expected to solve many more. For example, schools have been so successful at addressing girls' underachievement or educating ethnic minorities that we're now concerned with white, working class boys' underachievement. Those leaders who came before you have delivered. They have been successful. And you will be successful.

Your predecessors who did deliver did not have the array of partnerships and opportunities now available to New Heads. You will be as good as the strength of the partnerships you have made.

Because of technology there are partnerships you can make with every continent. Some of the key partnerships you will and should make are with people who do not consider themselves to be educationalists. From other agencies; the local authority; the local community.

What's different about school leaders now compared to what came before?

School leaders have more power and influence than they have ever had before. They have more freedom and flexibility than they have had at every point in their career to date. Are school leaders bold enough to go beyond constraints they feel are in place? Have the confidence to break the rules. This is where you will find the roots of your success. Don't be nervous about realising the power you have to shape things the way you want.

What should I do for myself to prepare myself as a leader?

1. Think beyond education. Look at what societyy and your community wants of you. Not just the National Curriculum.

2. Have something in your school that is peculiarly you. It doesn't have to be big but it has to be yours. What's your passion? It can be quirky. Don't let your interests and passions be blown away by all the other competing demands.

3. Learn what you need to change

4. Know where you can break the rules

5. Know when to recognise and celebrate success

6. If you don't believe in what you are doing, you cannot withstand the storm.

We have great reason to believe that what we are doing is very successful, that the system is improving way beyond where we were 15 years ago.

Estelle finishes with two quotations. The first from George Bernard Shaw: "Be true to the dreams of your youth". Stay with and stay in touch with the passions that brought you to the professions. Her final quotation is from her grandmother: "I hope the work isn't getting in the way of you having a good time!"