International evidence suggests that educational reform's progress depends on teachers' individual and collective capacity and its link with schoolwide capacity for promoting pupils' learning. Building capacity is therefore critical. Capacity is a complex blend of motivation, skill, positive learning, organisational conditions and culture, and infrastructure of support. Put together, it gives individuals, groups, whole school communities and school systems the power to get involved in and sustain learning over time. Developing professional learning communities appears to hold considerable promise for capacity building for sustainable improvement. As such, it has become a 'hot topic' in many countries.

Reports selected findings from a national evaluation of a British pilot scheme for mentoring new primary and secondary headteachers. Information was collected by questionnaire from 238 new headteachers, from 303 experienced headteachers who acted as mentors and via 16 detailed case studies of reportedly successful pairs. Deals with the nature and impact of the mentoring process and the characterisitics of successful mentoring. Mentoring was judged to be a success by the overwhelming majority of participants because it offered considerable practical help with pressing problems and brought benefits which were distinct from other forms of headteacher training and support. Discusses major implications for practice, research and policy and concludes that mentoring should be offered as an integral part of national strategy for the management development of headteachers.

A B S T R A C TThis article reviews three historical phases of leadership development in England and Wales, together with parallel changes in in-service training and the broader professional infrastructure, in order to show how the idea of a national college developed and became viable. It argues that, as a policy innovation, the NCSL has built on earlier practice but also has several innovative features, including networked learning communities and its use of IT. It suggests that the transformational perspective should be interpreted in the framework of situational or pluralist theories of leadership. Finally, it considers some strategic issues affecting the college's longer-term sustainability.

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