Ofsted asks a lot of middle leaders: inspectors want them to have high expectations of themselves and, more importantly, for these expectations to be embedded in the day-to-day running of school. 

An outstanding middle leader will always aim for excellence and the quality of education needs to be the main focus. Therefore, they need to have a very clear idea of what outstanding pedagogy looks like and how to facilitate it. They also need to place  professional development at the heart of everything and look for a strong link between it and student progress. 

Ofsted will ask a middle leader to provide evidence of “coherence and consistency…so that pupils benefit from effective teaching and consistent expectation”, and therefore monitoring is a vital part of a leader’s role. 

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There is no doubt that it takes a special someone to be a middle leader but their success relies heavily on the team behind them. So what can we do to build an outstanding team?

Step one: define outstanding learning

It’s our job as middle leaders to turn the immense complexity of pedagogy into something our team can easily digest. So, make time for some thinking. Turn your phone off and push distractions away. Think about your colleagues and your students, and what works for them, and set out on the most important task you’ll ever attempt as a leader. 

Define what outstanding learning looks like in your area and then, turn your vision of outstanding learning into a simple, easy to remember, aid. An image? A tick list? A road map? You know your team; it’s up to you. 

Use your vision for all planning, reflection and monitoring and, before long, it’ll be second nature for your colleagues - and those elements of outstanding learning will make their way into every lesson. 

Step two: create structures to support outstanding learning

Look into your department’s practice with a critical eye. Is everything they need for planning a couple of clicks away? Are there any tasks that can be shared? No member of staff should have to waste time looking for a resource or wondering what they’re teaching next week.

Structures to support learning are things like a tidy virtual resource sharing area, an easy-to-interpret curriculum plan, a prominent calendar or even a sharing rota. We probably all have these but are they optimised? 

Step three: skill and support staff

Professional learning needs to be at the heart of the time we spend together as teams. 

Look at your vision of outstanding learning. It’s those elements in your vision that you want your staff to feel confident about. Use them to determine a personalised learning path for each of your team members. 

There’s been a professional learning revolution during lockdown, and you’ll be familiar with where this new research-rich online library is. This could be a useful starting point when it comes to skilling staff. 

Step four: create a culture of continuous learning

Creating a culture of learning demands a conscious effort to change. Reflection time is precious for students and teachers alike. Does your team have dedicated, quality time when they can stop and think about pedagogy? 

They will already have a lot of strengths, so create regular opportunities to celebrate and share these, both face to face and online. 

Encourage an open-door policy, where staff observe and learn from each other in a non-judgemental way. Time is precious in schools but this is often the quickest way to grasp new pedagogical concepts. 

Step five: embed effective monitoring

Monitoring is part of a learning journey and we must all recognise that, when it comes to pedagogy, the destination is always one step ahead of us. Be genuine when you tell your colleagues this and don’t judge someone who’s learning for not knowing everything. 

Monitoring is always less threatening and more effective when it’s planned and we know it’s coming. Establish your requirements for what will be required at every stage - what will be monitored and when - in your shared calendar. This will allow team members to self-monitor in advance and facilitate reflection as well as promote wellbeing. 

Elena Diaz is head of modern foreign languages and research lead for MFL at Northeast Learning Trust, and an associate consultant for Durham Education