How can middle leaders improve the quality of teaching and learning outcomes in their department? Experienced head of department, Monir El Moudden reflects on five areas of practice where middle leaders can make a difference for the teachers they support


Goleman (2006) identified six leadership strategies which he believed all good leaders adopt depending on the situation that they are in:

A key point to Goleman’s argument was that the leader must be what he calls “emotionally sensitive” in order to know which leadership style to deploy.

He further argues that persistent coercive and authoritarian leadership creates dissonance and discord whereas the other four styles create team harmony and inclusion.

More than 20 years ago, the former Teacher Training Agency defined a professional development framework for heads of department (TTA, 1998). The strands still hold true today. Broken into four sections, they are subject development and strategic direction, teaching and learning, managing staff in the department, and effective deployment of staff and resources.

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