Middle Leadership Programme
Day 1: The Effective Middle Leader
Today’s Objectives
• To gain an overview of middle leadership
issues and processes
• To be introduced to a range of models and
tools for applying to the role of middle leader
Session 1:
The Active Leader
• Objectives:
– To identify the role of the middle leader in school
– To distinguish between leadership, management
and administration
– To understand the key elements of the role in the
leadership of people, processes and provision
Fullan’s definition of
moral purpose
• “acting with the intention of making a
difference…” what does this mean to you?
• acting – leadership behaviours
• intention – strategic thinking, values
• making a difference – the nature of outcomes
for children
People Process Provision
• Use the post its to note down all the actions a
good middle leader will take during a normal
school week
• Now divide all these activities into 3 columns
a) Leadership
b) Management
c) Administration
• Who will do what in your setting?
Active Middle Leadership
Lead on preparing or reviewing the school policy
for teaching your subject
Plan and organise the curriculum ensuring
standards continuity and progression
Monitor and evaluate the implementation
Regularly systematically provide guidance
Ensure assessment and recording of pupil progress
Use assessment to judge impact of actions and plan
next steps
Successful Middle Leadership
Involves
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Working with the SLT to raise standards
Observing lessons or parts of lessons
Working alongside colleagues
Assisting with planning, teaching assessing and
reporting of the subject or area
Leading discussion of the subject or area
Organising and leading INSET Days – prompting
others for training
Attending own relevant subject leader INSET
Audit resources and advise on acquisition of new!
Session 2:
Managing Processes
• Objectives:
– To understand key processes in managing
development and change
– To explore effective tools in these processes
• As a middle leader, three key expectations
dictate your work and behaviour:
– What you are responsible for
– Who you are accountable to and how you account
for your successes and failures to them
– What authority is invested in you
How important?
• Responsibilities of middle leaders:
– Attainment
– Achievement
– Success
– Enjoyment
– Learning
• What is your collective view on the relative
importance of these responsibilities?
• What is the relationship between them?
• How do you go about achieving them?
The
Development
Process
Session 3: Being Effective
• Objectives:
– Using the tools for managing development
• Auditing
• Planning
• Monitoring
• evaluation
– develop confidence in being accountable –
what makes good reporting/accounting for
success and failure
Subject Leader Actions
• In your pairs work out at least 10 or 12 actions
you think a subject leader should take during a
normal school year
• Arrange them in an order or in a hierarchy
• Be prepared to state your reasons why you
have chosen the top 3 / bottom 3 / Middle 3-6
Auditing
Strengths & Weaknesses of a subject
• What sorts of things Must you know? Key Info
Core Leaders need
• Attainment on entry (KS1 SATs v Entry Ass)
• Attainment at the end of Year 6 (KS2 SATs)
• Attainment and Progress of Groups eg Boys v
Girls, PPF, SEN, More Able, Others?
• Attitudes to learning and Views of Pupils
• Action Planning – Long Term
• Planning Teaching – Medium / Short
Auditing
Strengths & Weaknesses of a subject
Look at the Audit sheet provided
• How would you adapt this for your subject?
• What do you need to think of in order to be
able to carry out the audit?
• Who will you report the audit and how?
Planning
Actions to learn about your subject?
• What are the actions a good subject leader
takes to know about their subject? Discuss!
Five Best Monitoring Actions to Take
• Visit Classrooms – talk to teachers
• Look at Books – Work Scrutiny
• Interview Pupils at least annually
• Look at Teachers’ plans at least termly
• Assessment Tracking of En, Ma, Sc, at least termly
Monitoring
Learning Walks
• What can you learn from briefly visiting a
classroom?
• Are targets visible?
• Working Walls or Window Dressing?
• Are Success Criteria visible?
• Prompts on display
• Is the room set out to support learning?
• If in lesson time – talk to pupils! Do they know
what they are learning about?
Monitoring Book Scrutiny
Yr1
Differentiation
Marking and
Feedback
Range and
Cover
Presentation
Assessment and
Selfassessment
Progress and
General
comment
Yr2
Yr3
Yr4
Yr5
Yr6
Using a Work
Scrutiny Grid
Decide on
how many
books from
each class
Decide on
which
children’s
books you
wish to see
Put time
aside for this
Monitoring
Pupil Interviews
What can you learn from briefly interviewing
groups of children? How do you go about this?
• Interviews to be held where? And with which
children?
• Decide on the range and number of children
• Decide are you seeing KS 2 and KS 1 separately
or Lower and upper KS2? separately
• Decide on the questions to ask the children
Before the Interviews
Monitoring
Planning Scrutiny
What can you learn from scrutinising Teachers
plans? How do you go about this?
• Do you check the plans alone or with the team?
• Do you have a planning proforma all must
adhere to or is it a free for all?
• Decide on the focus of the scrutiny
• Decide on how you will follow up on the scrutiny
Monitoring
Assessment Tracking
What can you learn from trawling Teachers
Tracking? How do you go about this?
• Do you check the tracking alone or with the SLT?
• Is tracking just of English, Maths and Science?
• Take your lead from the Head and Deputy
• Decide on how you will follow up on the
Tracking DATA Trawl. Eg will it lead to a change
in lesson planning / interventions / curriculum
planning?
Evaluation
Reporting
How and who do you report to?
• Reporting to the Head Teacher and the SLT
• Sharing information with the staff team
• Reporting to Governors
• Reporting to Parents
• Speaking with the LA adviser / Consultant
How to Report to
Governors
• Governors need top level info not detail
• Governors need this written down succinctly
on 1 side of A4 if possible to include the:
– Strengths & Weaknesses
Summary of
– Progress towards targets
Developments
– New Resources bought / needed / Budget
– Staff Training
– Priorities
• Make sure the report is based on clear
evidence collected during the year
Session 4:
Managing People
• Objectives:
– to explore, understand and apply
approaches to managing a team effectively
– to identify good tools for managing the
team in meetings and other situations
• What makes a good team?
• What makes a good team leader?
Plenary
• What I intend to improve or develop in my
leadership
• How I intend to go about it
• When I intend to do it
• How long it will take me to achieve.
Thank you for your engagement today
Have a safe journey home