Empowering Our Community: Distributed Leadership in the Primary school

Over my recent years in leadership in various international schools, and now more specifically at Sir Manasseh Meyer International School (SMMIS), my experiences have consistently highlighted the crucial need to distribute leadership in all areas, wherever possible. This intentional approach, shifting away from a top-down structure, creates a profound sense of empowerment and agency. We’ve seen that this has deep-rooted, long-term positive effects, both at the individual level and in how it strengthens our entire school community.

Distributing Leadership with Staff

Empowerment begins in our interactions with teaching and support staff. Our goal is to move from a dictatorial style to a coaching one, ensuring that every professional voice is heard and valued.

• Coaching in Line Management: During line management meetings, I prioritise using probing questions and directing the conversation to draw out development ideas and solutions directly from the staff member. This coaching approach encourages the development of their ‘inner voice’ and fosters ownership over their professional growth and responsibilities.
• Collaborative INSET Time: We utilise INSET (In-Service Training) time as a structured opportunity for all staff to contribute to school-wide development. Whether through verbal input, small group discussions, or formal written suggestions via shared active links (e.g., updating our Feedback for Learning and Marking Policy), we create a clear window of opportunity for interjection and collective policy shaping.

Partnering with Parents

Our parents are a rich, often untapped, source of expertise. Leveraging their professional skills transforms them from passive recipients of information into active co-educators and community facilitators.

• Experts in Residence: We recently hosted parents who currently work, or have worked, for companies like Google. They generously provided insights into the latest developments in Generative AI with a specific focus on its implications for education. This exchange enriches our whole community's understanding of emerging technologies.
• The PTA and Community Learning: Events like our International Day are perfect examples of distributed leadership in action. By utilising parent volunteers to run cultural and informational booths, parents become teachers/educators themselves. This powerful shift further embeds our community identity as ‘lifelong learners’ and the facilitators of that learning.

Student Agency and Voice

A core part of our mission is to cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. This involves making student leadership visible, valued, and expansive.

• Visibility and Acknowledgement: We are challenging our staff to make the actions and impact of our Student Council and House Leaders more visible across the school. This includes updating display boards and offering explicit appreciation and acknowledgement of their hard work.
• Empowerment and Expansion: The goal is to not only empower our current student leaders but also to encourage the formation of future student leaders and other key roles that extend beyond the existing structure of the Student Council and House Captain systems. This broadens the scope of agency and responsibility among the student body.

Next Steps for SMMIS:

We believe that by consciously distributing leadership across staff, parents, and students, SMMIS continues to build a resilient, engaged, and highly effective learning community.

Get in touch with our friendly team to learn about how SMMIS’s unique approach to education can support your child’s development. We look forward to welcoming you into our vibrant community and sharing how we help students build lifelong connections and a foundation for success.