BLS Course Content

During the DTS
Because there is so much to learn to become competent in leading a DTS and because there is so much to process and communicate, we meet for an hour to an hour and a half each afternoon during the week. A typical meeting of the BLS during the DTS may look like this

Goal of the BLS
The BLS is not a normal course or school in as much as the goal is to train school staff to become very competent at the job of running a great dts. Hence the focus is on giving them the competencies to do the job well before any consideration is given to preparing them for an imaginary job in the future. Secondly, when school staff have already the skills they need for an aspect of school leading, no teaching is necessary. Thirdly, it is then important to determine what the staff know and what they don't know. The curriculum is then not a list of subjects to be taught but a menu of subjects that may be necessary and relevant and selected at will to meet the need. The course is also an apprenticeship course which seeks to develop skills in the context of the work as and when the individual or group needs them. We have coined the phrase 'just in time training' for the concept of imparting the skills (or not if they already have them) just as the leader needs them. eg, if next week the speaker is going to talk on prayer and intercession, then this week is the time to check if they are competent and either do nothing if they are, or teach if not.

Transferrable Skills
Over years of practice and observation, a person who has gained competence at playing their part in leading a DTS has a set of skills and competencies that are very useful and transferable to many other settings. We thus strongly sense we should continue majoring on imparting the skills associated with leading a DTS. Some schools try to train and equip staff for many other jobs out there somewhere and yet neglect to equip the staff for the job at hand. Generally they are a combination of getting a task done with a group of people. The balance between task and people is one of the most positive and long lasting impacts of the BLS. Some consider that the long term stability of the work in the UK is due to the development of leaders who are able to take people with them over many years in the completion of the task.

Subject/Teaching Menu
' MENU '

It is impossible, and undesirable, to plan a BLS months in advance. The content, the subjects we look at week by week can only be planned during the course when we know what the DTS staff have already learned to do. We only teach what they need to know, when they need to know. If everyone knows how to lead a small group we don't teach it. If we are taking the DTS on outreach next week and the staff don't know how then we teach it this week, just before they need it.

How do I know what the BLS needs to learn this week?

Remember the guiding principles


 * Just in time training. What will they need to be able to do next -- later this week, next week....
 * What preparation do they need now to lead the outreach?
 * What is the best way to teach that?
 * Before we invite someone in to teach, does one of us know and can we learn it together?
 * Then look through the menu below (or elsewhere since they aren't yet an exhaustive list) and select one of them. It is a menu!

There are four somewhat overlapping areas in the curriculum:


 * Small Group Leading
 * Management
 * General Leadership and
 * Small Team Outreach Leading

The list of subjects below corresponds to these four areas and an indication of how they might be taught is included. Remember that it is a menu to be selected from at will and not a list of subjects that must be included. Only select a subject if the leaders need to learn or relearn it and if it is something they will need to be competent in soon.

Outreach
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