ABSTRACT
Effective middle leaders constantly evaluate the work of their departments. They recognise that the departmental or subject evaluations led by members of the senior leadership team – in other words, the school’s accountability mechanisms – tell only part of the story. Good middle leaders know what needs improving; making their ideas explicit is more challenging. Examination and test performance are the obvious places to start. Analysis of pupils’ performance in each topic or individual paper reveals the areas where they did well or struggled. Careful discussion of each curriculum topic by the teachers concerned is bound to illuminate its strengths and weaknesses. Such discussions should therefore form a regular part of department and subject meetings. In the best departments, teachers work as a team and share ideas; lesson observations are regarded as part of the sharing process.
