Middle managers in Further Education are the golden thread between senior leaders, teachers, and learners. They are the eyes and ears of the organisation, translating policy into practice, and challenges into opportunities. They make things happen and they keep all parts of the organisation connected to each other by straddling the operational and strategic worlds. Without their expertise, knowledge, and skills, FE would collapse.
So why is their professional development often an afterthought in organisations? Is it lack of funding or is it lack of foresight? Probably a combination of both and, like a lot of things in the FE sector, it has taken many years of gradual erosion to reach a point of crisis. The pandemic may well have brought that crisis to head.
