Middle leaders, such as subject heads, are key in delivering leadership at the ‘front line’ in schools. Yet teaching and lesson planning can leave little time to focus on leadership issues. Here are a few ways middle leaders can begin to develop their teams.

• Deliberately shift the vocabulary from ‘my team’ to ‘our team’.
• Involve the wider team in planning sessions and give other staff opportunities to take a lead.
• Take a really tricky lesson or concept and ask the team to redesign and ‘road test’ it together. This encourages sharing that goes beyond the usual subject alliances.
• Take time to talk to your individually and regularly about their needs, anxieties and aspirations.
• Use data with students and staff to raise expectations, to challenge preconceptions and stereotypes.
• Provide a written guide for teachers as a reminder of what good lessons should look like, emphasising teaching strategies and styles.
• Plan clear, thoughtful agendas for meetings and keep to them.
• Get the head and other senior leaders to recognise the commitment and effort of members of your team—this in turn gives them an opportunity to show how they know about the work of individual teachers.
• Agree and publish a programme of lesson observations in advance to take any perceived threat out of the performance management. Make it a transparent process.

‘I felt slightly daunted when I was asked to deputise for Andy White at the Networked Learning Communities Conference on building leadership capacity through enquiry. I eventually realised that it had nothing to do with asking nicely for a bigger office and desk!

The conference began with a keynote address by Professor John Macbeath of Cambridge University on the issues of school leadership and increasing the leadership capacity of a school or institution by devolving ownership and responsibility laterally across all stakeholders.

He advocated the movement from a pyramidal power structure and equipping teachers to lead innovation and development, hence achieving sustainable development. He argued that increasing the capacity of leadership is not about key, hierarchically highly placed leaders getting better—training the few. Rather, it is about creating the spaces, the contexts and the opportunities for expansion, enhancement and growth. ‘It is about creating the spaces between the pebbles in the jar.’ John Macbeath is a very respected and experienced educationalist whose address proved to be both entertaining and extremely informative

After break we split into our network learning delegate groups to explore and discuss the focus of ‘what is the role of enquiry in building leadership capacity within our network?’ It was an excellent opportunity to talk to Deputy Heads, Linda Rubio (Down Hall) and Sally Pemberton (Sweyne Park), and compare the different experiences that we enjoy.

After a very pleasant buffet lunch during which the networking continued apace, we heard from other network communities from around the country, outlining some projects they have undertaken under the auspices of network learning.

I could not stay for the promised Network Café sessions as I had to make my way to the station for the Herculean journey back to Billericay. The whole experience was very enlightening. The NCSL presentation was very slick and the course contents the right mixture of information and networking time. Sally, Linda and I would be happy to deputise for Kate Spiller, Anne-Marie Lavender and Andy White as long as the food and accommodation are up to scratch!

<PETER GIBBON (AST - ENGLISH) WOODLANDS>

"Go where you're a little afraid - success will be all the sweeter"

<Andrew Harvey of the Harvey corporation>

"Well prepared is half won"

<Seen on a wayside pulpit noticeboard outside a chapel in Denbigh, North Wales in the 1970s. It can be applied to a lot of circumstances - Carol Voderman>

"Good communication - keep your staff informed and make them valued and appreciated"

<Angela Rippon>

"Ask yourself what you really want to do. If you set your mind on it, somehow you will achieve it. Or it will lead to alternative fulfillment. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"

<John Snow>

"Don't tell lies. If found out, no-one will trust you again"

<Jack Charlton>

"Be open to opportunities and be prepared to go down that unexpected path. Do your very best at all times and remember when a door closes another one usually opens"

<Valarie Singleton>