Effective middle leaders - the catalyst for school improvement

Effective Middle Leaders - the catalyst for school improvement

Middle leaders bridge the gap between the senior leadership's strategic vision and the teaching and learning taking place in classrooms every day; they ensure consistent quality within departments and across schools; they free up their Head teachers' time to focus on school improvement; and they become the next generation of Heads and senior leaders...

But, with the challenges around teacher retention that we discussed in a recent blog "how to keep teachers teaching", the pool of experienced teachers to move on to leadership positions is drying up in many schools. And, of course, there's a knock on effect for filling Head teacher and senior leadership positions with experienced individuals.

Can you speed up leadership development?

Can individuals be fast-tracked to fill this void or is it a case of gaining wisdom through years of teaching and leadership experience? Without effective scaffolding and support structures, then accelerating individuals into leadership positions isn't likely to be a smooth ride.

However, if there are more high quality development opportunities; more opportunities to work alongside and observe experienced colleagues; and effective scaffolding throughout careers then there's no reason why individuals can't step up to fill these roles faster and more confidently than might usually be expected.

Collaborative Leadership Development

Teaching Schools, Academy chains and Federations are well placed to provide these more meaningful opportunities for leadership development.

One of the 6 areas that teaching schools are tasked with addressing, is leadership development. If they are able to do this effectively, middle leaders in school will not only act as the mechanism to ensure consistency of quality in their own schools, but begin to ensure quality across groups of schools. They are able to become the "system leaders" on the ground, spreading good practice more widely than the confines of their own school walls. Effective middle leaders will be coaching, mentoring and collaborating with colleagues in other schools to draw on their collective experience and expertise.

Sounds great doesn't it? Capacity can be a real barrier to the success of these collaborative endeavours. Of the teaching school leaders I've spoken to recently, the ability to increase capacity to provide meaningful support is paramount for their ability to deliver in all areas of the big 6, including leadership development. A great example of a school that's used technology to increase their capacity is Wakefield City Academy Trust.

I think that this quote from Henry Ford sums up the challenge faced by groups of schools aiming to work together for school improvement...

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." Henry Ford.

How can schools increase capacity to deliver meaningful leadership development? I'd be really interested to know how schools are tackling this issue...share your experience in the comments below.

Find out how we support teaching schools to increase their capacity

Follow @IRIS_Connect on Twitter.