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Leadership structures in primary schools

Understand the different primary school leadership structures, and see examples of how schools, including small schools, organise their senior and middle leaders.

Last reviewed on 20 June 2025
School types: All•School phases: Primary•Ref: 1143
Contents
  1. Things to consider
  2. Phase-based leadership
  3. Responsibility-based leadership
  4. Distributed, democratic or collective leadership
  5. Next steps

Things to consider

Not all leadership structures suit all schools. When planning your senior leadership team (SLT) and middle leadership (MLT) structures, think carefully about:

Your school's needs and context

For example:

  • Your school's size and type
  • Your catchment area
  • Your position in a multi-academy trust, federation or partnership, and any staff sharing
  • Staff skill sets and experience levels
  • Your school’s strengths, values and school improvement plan (SIP)
  • What you can realistically afford in terms of pay and staff training
  • Your and your senior staff members' leadership style
  • Your school's budget

Types of school leadership

Consider a variety of models and how suited they are to your context.

You don't have to choose a single approach – e.g. phase-based, responsibility-based, distributed – a hybrid approach of the different structures might suit your school best.

Phase-based leadership

Teachers on the leadership pay range make up the top 2 tiers of this leadership