Middle leaders are the engine room of the school. Find out how the AIS Leadership Centre is supporting this important role, writes  JENNIFER DAVIES.

The middle leadership tier in schools is important for generating positive change and school improvement. Many scholars and practitioners refer to this tier as the engine room of the school, a metaphor that embodies the heart and soul, the place where it all comes together, the energy source and operations, without which the school would not function.


To support middle leaders meet the challenges and embrace the leadership opportunities inherent in the role, the AIS Leadership Centre offers two leadership development programs.

Being the engine room suggests the complex and overwhelming nature of the role: bridging senior leadership and classroom teachers; leading, promoting and sustaining effective pedagogy for good learning outcomes; continuing to provide high-quality teaching in their own classrooms while simultaneously being a mentor, coach, supporter and evaluator for their colleagues.

To support middle leaders meet the challenges and embrace the leadership opportunities inherent in the role, the AIS Leadership Centre offers two leadership development programs:

1. The Middle Leaders Program, a three-day career stage program held at AISNSW. Middle leaders from across New South Wales and other states and territories gather to learn with and from each other and from the diverse contexts their schools represent. 

See Middle Leaders Program dates for 2020 (Please note, some of these dates have now been postponed and we will advise when new dates have been allocated. Thanks for your understanding.)

  • Program 1: 9, 10 March and 29 April
  • Program 2: 11, 12 May and 23 June
  • Program 3: 29, 30 July and 14 September
  • Program 4: 26, 27 October and 23 November

For more information please see The Middle Leaders Program. 

2. Leading from the Middle, a school-based strategy to develop the competence, confidence and vision of middle leaders in your school and tailored to meet the needs of your school.

In their twelve-month investigation of Leading from the Middle, Professor Christopher Day and Dr Christine Grice commented:

“Participation in the program caused a shift in thinking towards a realisation that central to their roles was a responsibility for leading pedagogy that focussed on student engagement and outcomes. Middle leaders saw their practices extending from managing the task to leading the people, within and beyond their traditional spheres of influence” (Day and Grice, 2019).

The report contains twelve research-informed claims and a framework for diagnosing school readiness for middle leadership development. See the Leading from the Middle executive summary and full report.

If you are interested in Leading from the Middle for your school, please contact Robyn Edwards, AIS Leadership Centre consultant redwards@aisnsw.edu.au.