Inspired by a comment I heard made by David Mitchell on Changing Conversation podcast, this blog explores the importance of middle leadership.

He stated that middle leaders are ‘the engine room of a school’ – and it really struck a chord. I’ve held several middle leadership roles over the course of nearly 15 years – acting PT Art and Design and Music at Larbert High, Principal Teacher of Art and Design at Kirkintilloch High and my current post, Principal Teacher of Expressive Arts at Oban and Tiree High Schools. Each role has provided challenge and huge satisfaction. And in agreeing with David, I’m keen to unpick the importance of the role of middle leaders.

Middle leaders sit right between the demands of Senior Leaders and the equally strenuous demands of teaching staff. In essence, they bridge the gap between the high level, strategic overview of school improvement which SLT deliver, and the ‘at the coal face’ day to day delivery of this in the classroom by their teams of teaching staff. Middle leaders liaise with both groups regularly, and have an ideal platform with which to view the school and drive school improvement. They ‘go between’ both, and effectively communicate the struggles, successes and changes which are required to deliver whole school values. Their professional approach to seeing both sides of the coin is often complex and requires a high level of skill and tact in order to get the best from both groups. Middle leaders can provide vital intel from their work on the ground, day to day. From the morale and ethos of staff, to the challenges of new initiatives or the timescales required to complete tasks. Middle leaders go between two extremes of the school and as such, they are in receipt of a huge amount of information. Some of this, they cascade appropriately to their own teams, clarifying and making it crystal clear to everyone, ensuring a consistent message perhaps at departmental meetings or weekly bulletins. Other information they hold back to deal with individually, managing overload and processing in a timely manner.

Middle leaders lead small teams. Building a sense of team in which everyone feels empowered and motivated is a huge part of their role. Senior leaders motivate and inspire on a bigger scale. Most are also personable and approachable, but it is middle leaders who are the powerhouse in cultivating strong, individual relationships with staff through daily interactions. The way in which they skilfully build trust and achieve buy-in from staff, often comes from modelling in a way that it is perhaps more challenging for senior leaders to do, given their minimal teaching commitment. Middle leaders create opportunities to come together, to share, to collaborate, to socialise, and to connect helping to build belonging for staff and psychological safety. And with this strong foundation, middle leaders can drive forward improvement and ensure that staff delivering the best for young people.

Middle leaders are creative and flexible, yet realistic. They strive for continued improvement often in imaginative and interesting ways, whilst understanding the grassroots perspective and remaining close enough to the chalk face to foresee challenges.

And when teams are going through difficulties, middle leaders are the buffers for teaching staff. They are the first point of contact for complaints, moans, tears, challenges and difficulties. Often middle leaders deal with these small, day to day issues quietly, professionally and without the need to burden senior leaders with added stress. But all of this comes at a cost. And it is so important that middle leaders also have a platform to sound out worries, concerns or challenges which have the potential to weigh down middle leaders if not explored.

In addition, they do all of this whilst themselves, fulfilling a huge teaching commitment. Often teaching more than one certificated class, and sometimes covering extra classes for staff, or setting work for classes of absent staff. This commitment to the classroom though, is such a huge advantage for a middle leader. Maintaining contact with young people, curriculum and pedagogy, understanding challenges in the classroom and continuing to hone their craft is so important. Yes it is hugely demanding and difficult. Especially when they are called upon to deal with issues whilst teaching or late to teach their class when meetings overrun. But the level of skill and expertise they bring to the classes they teach, should outweigh the challenges and ultimately dictates their skill set.

Middle leadership is really special. It’s not an easy gig by any means and definitely not for the faint hearted. But the feeling of accomplishment in building a small team, who are all moving forward in the same direction and working through issues together, is really rewarding. Seeing how that small but integral part of the jigsaw fits into the bigger picture of the whole school, magnifies exactly how powerful middle leadership is and the importance of cultivating, growing and nurturing strong middle leaders.

As I approach 2024, I feel privileged to be in a middle leader role which allows me to remain committed to teaching young people, whilst shaping my vision for the faculty and delivering whole school priorities through our team.