Everyone a Leader: Rethinking Leadership in Schools

Distributed leadership is widely discussed in education, yet in practice it is often interpreted narrowly. Leadership is shared, but typically within formal roles or among teaching staff. A broader, more inclusive approach can have a far greater impact on school culture and outcomes.

Throughout her career, Suzanne Owens, Headteacher at Rushen Primary School, has advocated for a model of leadership that extends across the entire school community. This includes not only teachers and senior leaders, but also support staff, lunchtime teams, administrative colleagues and pupils themselves.

When leadership is genuinely distributed, it changes the culture of a school. Individuals feel trusted and valued, and they develop a stronger sense of ownership. Rather than leadership being something assigned through hierarchy, it becomes a shared responsibility rooted in professional agency.

At Rushen Primary School, this approach was reflected in the development of structures that enabled staff at all levels to contribute to school improvement. Opportunities were created for collaboration, shared decision-making and professional growth, ensuring that leadership capacity was built across the organisation.

This philosophy also extended to pupils. By creating meaningful opportunities for children to contribute to school life, leadership became something experienced and developed from an early stage. Pupils were encouraged to take responsibility, support one another and engage actively in shaping their environment.

Support staff played a particularly important role. Lunchtime supervisors, for example, were recognised as key contributors to the social and behavioural culture of the school. With appropriate support and training, they were empowered to lead aspects of behaviour and relationship-building, contributing significantly to a positive and consistent ethos.

For Suzanne Owens, former Headteacher at Rushen Primary School, distributed leadership is not an initiative, but a fundamental way of working. It requires clarity of vision, consistency of approach and a willingness to trust others. When these conditions are in place, schools become more resilient, more collaborative and better equipped to sustain improvement over time.