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• Leading schools
  • Developing your leadership
    • Middle leadership
      • Middle leadership in primary schools
        • Set direction and plan
        • Innovate and lead change
        • Motivate and influence others
        • Professional expertise and knowledge
        • Teams and teamwork
        • Value inclusion
        • Role of the headteacher

Professional expertise and knowledge

Middle leaders act as lead professionals through their own practice, their understanding of the curriculum across all the relevant key stages, and their own ability to pass on their knowledge and skills to others.

The video clip sows Jenny Huscroft who is responsible for mathematics at Birley Spa Community School in Sheffield. She has earned strong credibility with colleagues through first-rate knowledge of her subject and through the ability to pass on her skills and expertise to others.

Birley Spa already has very high standards in mathematics, which Jenny needs to maintain.

We see Jenny using her depth of mathematical knowledge to build the skills and confidence of a recently-qualified colleague. She uses a skilful blend of monitoring and modelling, combined with professional dialogue, to help her colleague refine and extend her range of teaching skills in maths.

Jenny also makes good use of structures and systems, such as the pro-forma for recording her lesson observations and the process by which she mentors a colleague.

As part of Birley Spa’s programme of continuous professional development (CPD), the school finances a half-day a week when, as part of their studies, staff can analyse their work as teachers in school, supported by a tutor from a local university. Several members of staff have attained Master’s degrees in this way. The school continues to see the rewards and benefits of this system, with professional dialogue taking place at a whole new level.

The headteacher feels strongly that teachers need to see results for their efforts, and this is seen as one way of acknowledging their hard work and commitment.

Clare Hill is a middle leader at Oldway Primary School, Paignton. We asked her what she thought was key to being a successful middle leader.

"My role as middle leader is to manage and enthuse! I consider myself a key factor in the development of art, as a creative force in our school. My passion for the subject disperses amongst my colleagues, who seek to deliver a high standard of teaching and learning for all our pupils."

Developing her own professional knowledge and expertise has been one of Claire’s key goals since her appointment to this post. She has been relentless in her search for in-service training and other sources of professional expertise through which she could achieve this goal.

Claire makes very good use of this knowledge and expertise. For example, guiding and supporting colleagues in the classroom by working alongside them during an art lesson. She models good practice in the teaching of observational drawing and painting skills and engages in professional dialogue with other teachers.

View a transcript of this video.

How the school developed their own CPD

Oldway school set up its own leadership programme in 2003. This was seen as an opportunity for the school to use its existing performance management and CPD systems to offer leadership training and development to aspiring middle leaders.

• Leaders are mostly identified through performance management reviews, but the school does occasionally make direct overtures to teachers they believe have the potential to become good middle leaders.
• Trainee middle leaders are asked to carry out an initial self-audit on what they perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses. Following this audit, an action plan is constructed in collaboration with a senior leader.
• The middle leader is then buddied up with an experienced leader within the school and programme of development activities begins. Activities include working alongside each other in a variety of settings and delegation of specific tasks and responsibilities. Coaching and mentoring feature strongly throughout the programme.

This programme has had an impact on learning and teaching in a number of ways. The middle leaders involved have gradually moved from learning collaboratively with colleagues to playing a leading role in developing learning across the school. Their ability to motivate and influence others, to take others with them in the changes they are making to improve learning, has been a particular strength.