Leading Edge for middle and senior leaders
Empowering middle and senior leaders who are new to leadership to transform teaching and learning.
Why Leading Edge?
If you're navigating the tension between classroom teaching and leadership responsibilities, Leading Edge offers the clarity and support you've been looking for. We work alongside you to equip your middle and senior leaders - especially those new to team or syndicate leadership - with the practical tools, coaching, and cultural capabilities needed to lead learning and lift outcomes for ākonga.
Designed specifically for our Aotearoa context, our coaching helps middle leaders address real curriculum improvement challenges in their schools and focuses on what matters most in their work. We draw on the work of our expert partners: Emeritus Professor Viviane Robinson, Dr. Jacqui Patuawa, and Dr. Melanie Riwai-Couch.
Job-embedded, tailored support
We tailor the approach that works for your setting. It might begin with a face-to-face workshop with a small group of fellow leaders and a coach, focusing on job-embedded specific leadership challenges directly aligned to your role and the annual plan and goals of your school.
You'll gain insights into overcoming barriers and achieving progress in real-time, responding to the emerging needs of your team.
This is a collaborative journey designed to empower you to lead improvement, raise achievement, and reduce disparity for your ākonga.
What you will learn
Over the course of the professional development, you can learn to:
use evidence-based tools to lead learning improvements for your ākonga
troubleshoot and solve problems of practice in relation to curriculum and assessment goals
navigate important conversations and provide actionable feedback with your teams
tackle tough issues and make significant progress in leading your team to improve teaching and learning
weave the leadership and cultural capabilities needed to help ākonga Māori thrive throughout.
Kaua e mate wheke mate ururoa
This whakataukī speaks to the tenacity of the hammerhead shark. Just as the shark never gives up, we can draw inspiration for our mahi, mindsets, and drive to raise achievement and reduce disparity. Let your pursuits be guided by resilience, determination, and unwavering resolve.
Build on your strengths and improve your ability to shape the transformation of teaching and learning in your kura.
Suggested structure:
Begin with an online introductory webinar for you, with your school principal or supporting senior leader
Face-to-face workshops facilitated by an expert leadership consultant
Responsive, small group coaching for your middle/senior leaders
A final wānanga to celebrate and evaluate your learning.
Go deeper
Find out more about the underpinning research on middle leadership behind Leading Edge:
Blog posts:
Research:
Patuawa, J., Robinson, V., Sinnema, C., & Zhu, T. (2021). Addressing inequity and underachievement: Middle leaders’ effectiveness in problem solving. Leading & Managing, 27(1), 51–78.
Patuawa, J. M., Sinnema, C., Robinson, V., & Zhu, T. (2023). Addressing inequity and underachievement: Intervening to improve middle leaders’ problem-solving conversations. Journal of Educational Change, 24(4), 661–697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-022-09449-3.
Who is this for?
You might be new to your leadership role, or have not yet had leadership support in your senior position:
Deputy Principals, Assistant Principals, Associate Principals
Leaders of Learning (LOL), Heads of Faculty (HOF), Heads of Department (HOD)
Team/syndicate leaders
Deans
What leaders told us in 2025
These reflections below are from our 2025 cohort, captured mid-way through their year-long journey:
