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This article examines the concept of distributed leadership, drawing from a systematic review of relevant literature commissioned by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) and jointly funded by NCSL and the Open University’s Centre for Educational Policy, Leadership and Lifelong Learning (CEPoLL). The concept attracts a range of meanings and is associated with a variety of practices, with varying implications for organizational processes and values. The article highlights key variables that emerged from the literature review. It then elaborates one of the emergent themes—the distinction between structure and agency—and seeks to utilize this further as a means of illuminating the concept and practice of distributed leadership. In conclusion, areas for future research are identified.

This article examines aspects of the monitoring role of academic middle managers insecondary schools since the implementation of the Education Reform Act of 1988,drawing on the perceptions of middle managers. The data were collected from a largescalepostal survey of middle managers in three local authorities and three case-studyschools. Middle managers acknowledge the need for management tasks, including themonitoring of colleagues teaching, to be part of their role but still experience difficultiesin fulfilling this task. One suggested cause of this difficulty is the fact that the departmental team is perceived by middle managers to be against the monitoring of its work.

At present, there is no proven cure for lipoedema. Nevertheless, much can be done to help improve symptoms and prevent progression. Many of these improvements can be achieved by patients using self-management techniques. This article describes the range of self-management techniques that community nurses can discuss with patients, including healthy eating, low-impact exercise, compression garments, self-lymphatic drainage, and counselling.

The relationship between departmental improvement and school improvement is well established within the research literature. Within the United Kingdom, subject or curriculum leaders play an increasingly important role in securing and maintaining departmental improvement, however preparation and training for the role is highly variable. This article outlines the findings from research funded by the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) that explored the nature, scope and impact of professional development and training opportunities available to subject leaders in England and Wales. Its central purpose was to identify the types of professional development and training opportunities that were most effective in changing subject leaders' practice within the school and classroom context. The article describes the most effective models of training for subject leaders and concludes by suggesting that the National College for School Leadership has a critical role to play in securing top quality professional development programmes for them.