The distributed leadership materials, including this website, contain plenty of information about the phenomenon of distributed leadership and about the practical steps that may be taken to introduce and increase it.

This practical guidance provides an opportunity to analyse the current state of leadership in your school and, in particular, to suggest the steps that might be taken to change how leadership is exercised. However, it is of crucial importance, when planning any major changes, that the available evidence supports these changes. This report presents a brief analysis of data gathered during school inspections by Ofsted, to investigate the extent to which middle leaders-those who manage subjects-are ready to take on more leadership responsibility.

The data show clearly that:

Leadership and management of subjects has improved steadily during the period Ofsted has been reporting on education in England. Standards remain better in secondary schools than in primary schools, and there is still significant variation between subjects. A good relationship between senior and middle leaders is vital if distributed leadership is to flourish. Both groups of leaders have their part to play: the headteacher and senior staff need to concentrate on ways of leading that encourage the development of leadership in others; the middle leaders need to see themselves as part of the school's leadership team and to exercise their leadership in a way that leads teaching and learning, and reflects the priorities for the school.