Taking this on board, and a growing body of evidence that shows that teachers’ professional development can have a positive impact on student performance and teachers’ practice (Yoon et al., Some jurisdictions and national organisations have also developed professional learning standards or their equivalent (e.g. Learning Forward, 2011, AITSL, 2012, GTCS, 2012), highlighting that standards for teaching need to be complemented by standards which ensure high quality learning opportunities for teachers and other practitioners. An OECD initiative on Improving School Leadership concluded that leadership development needs to be a lifelong learning process through different stages in the school leadership career (Pont et al.,