A fantastic turnout was had at the recent Alliance of Leading Learning Middle Leaders’ Conference, which took place on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th March 2019. The two-day event was held at the impressive Rookery Hall Hotel and Spa, near Nantwich. The event saw a jam-packed schedule with delegates listening to a variety of presentations covering key topics under the theme ‘Together we are stronger’.
Middle leaders are the engine room of the school. They lead teams of teachers, helping to turn the senior leadership’s strategy into outstanding classroom practice on a daily basis. High-performing middle leaders drive consistent teacher quality in their areas of responsibility through curriculum leadership and data analysis which can help to identify pupil under-performance. Middle leaders play an important role in lesson observations, holding staff to account and developing staff. They also ensure consistency across the school by collaborating and challenging their fellow middle leaders, influencing whole school behaviours through sharing, coaching and mentoring.
The residential event gave delegates the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how The Alliance of Leading Learning invests in middle leaders and supports them through professional and future career development. As delegates congregated at the event from across the Marches Academy Trust, it gave attendees the chance to build positive working relationships with one another, an opportunity to take part in team building activities and discuss the sharing and modelling of good practice. Delegates also listened to presentations which discussed the importance of building consistency across the Trust.
The Alliance of Leading Learning are intent on utilising the exemplary professional learning they provide and investing it into leaders across the rapidly developing Multi Academy Trust. One of their aims is to instil the Trust’s core values and making sure that these remain consistent throughout all schools. The group also aims to invest in quality professional development which has been proven to drive success. The Alliance of Leading Learning has a clear focus to ensure that all staff across the Trust are committed to excellence, integrity, empathy, creativity and equality. By supporting our middle leaders in professional learning and helping them to acquire additional skills they have the confidence to drive our schools forward.
The conference gave delegates a quality experience and the time to focus solely on their leadership learning without the distractions of their day-to-day role. It is hoped that the experience provided Marches Academy Trust staff with the chance to network with colleagues, allowing them to really make an impact upon return to school to drive success.
