How to … be a Subject Leader

Leading a subject. At Secondary this means you could be leading a large department of multiple staff. At Primary, not so much and you might even be leading two or three subjects! So what do you do after the Headteacher has knocked on your door and asked you to lead a subject for the first time?

What should I know?

You may well have a degree in your assigned subject or maybe you won’t. Either way, it’s time to get learning. Check the National Curriculum so you have a solid grasp of what is expected and any nuances. It may be that there is no National Curriculum and you need to refer to your Trust or a Local Agreed Syllabus for information. Check if there are legal entitlements or conditions: this is especially important if leading PE or RE.

Hopefully you will have the previous lead to go and ask for help and advice from, but, they could have left the school and you have to do this on your own. Well, almost as there are great communities out there around each subject. They offer great benefits for joining such as magazines, access to CPD and special events to enhance your subject knowledge. There will be benefits for your school too so ensure you ask the Head to pay for this membership.

Don’t expect to learn everything at once. Ask about the staffroom, you may find that someone has led your subject in the past or at another school. Find out who leads your subject in neighbouring or cluster schools and visit them to get a rough guide on what to do.

What’s going on?

How do you know what is going on in your subject? Start digging into the documentation (if there is any). Is there a clear outline of the curriculum? Do you have a map to call upon that lists the topics or units being covered by each year group? For some subjects you could have six year groups teaching 6 units of 6 lessons per year. That is 216 lessons to keep track of and understand! Whilst this might sound daunting, all the information will already be out there in lesson plans and presentations by the teachers: go and ask for it and collect it all into one document for yours (and OFSTEDs reference).

What about pedagogy? How do you assess your subject and what does this data show you?  What does your subject look like in younger or older year groups? This is a time to be inquisitive and ask other teachers how they deliver their lessons and assess the learning.  

Whilst we don’t do our jobs for OFSTED, you will need answers for the 3Is. What is the Intent (or aim) or your subject is? How is this being Implemented through your school’s curriculum? And how are you measuring the Impact of this learning? How do you know if the Impact of the learning is meeting your Intent? Many web and magazines pages are filled with ideas and guidance on writing your 3Is, look for the best ideas to magpie.

Kicking the tires

Know you know the theory, it’s time to see your subject in action. This means looking in books and visiting lessons – and trying not to make yourself unpopular in the process. This part of the job is the simplest to get right. Our teaching is something we invest huge amounts of time, energy, love, care and parts of our soul into. Our teaching is something that can reflect the very essence of who we are.

When we look at books or visit lessons, we are a guest: so act like it.

Take on the mindset of a curious tourist, watch carefully and ask questions – suggestions are in the resources for this article. Keep the questioning light and positive, give people space to show off about their teaching. Ensure that feedback is timely and in person wherever possible. A quickly written What Went Well and Even Better If email is insulting.

Aim to send good news and deliver bad news. Send an email with what you liked, it’s nice to get good news in your inbox. Come with your questions and suggestions face to face. You can then judge the mood and tailor the delivery – rather than your points being read in an email at an inopportune moment and upsetting members of staff.

What not to do

·        Changing things straight away to flex your authority.

·        Not being cognisant of assessment and data.

·        Make assumptions on scant information.

Treat your team how you would wish to be treated: don’t start making changes straight away. Take the time to understand assessment data. It may be confusing; it may be that your assessment methodology doesn’t work. It is this fine detail which is tempting to ignore, and which will catch you out in the long run.  

How do you lead?

Having covered WHAT to do as a subject lead, now we should discuss HOW. Libraries of books have been written about leadership (my favourites are in the sidebar), but the core tenants are integrity, respect and communication.

Integrity means writing the plan and trusting in your staff to deliver it. SLT or twitter may have some great idea for you to do but does it work for your school? Are you supporting your team with your new initiative or just trying to make yourself look good? As the subject lead you often find yourself in the middle balancing the demands of those higher up with the needs of the teaching staff who deliver your subject. Try not to start changing things from day one, get to know your subject and earn the respect of staff.

Intertwined with integrity is humility. Ensure credit is given where credit is due. Own up to your mistakes and shoulder the blame if something goes wrong.

This follows with having respect for others. As outlined earlier, leading a team means earning the teams respect through your actions. Are you meeting the targets you expect of others? Are you giving people the time and support to meet your expectations?

Communication can make it or break it for you as a leader. Whilst you might have that brilliant Intent for your subject, do the team understand it? If you need something from your team tell them in person, then email it again with a deadline and then send a reminder nearer the time. Forward on resource emails from subject associations to everyone. Whilst the majority might delete it, someone may well find it helpful, and it shows you are thinking about your subject year-round rather than just when you are asked to do lesson observations.

Work worth doing

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Theodore Roosevelt sums up what it means to be a subject leader: it can be hard work, but it is work worth doing. By working to gain the subject knowledge and taking the time to know how your team delivers it gives your leadership the integrity it needs to succeed.