In the first phase of the research (Brown et al., 1998), we looked at middle managers' access to real power in whole-school decision-making through a series of structured interviews. These middle manager interviews enabled us to develop a typology of school management. Three distinct patterns emerged in the styles of decision making in schools and these were classified as types, A, B and C for the purposes of the research (see Data and findings below). This typology was extended and explored further in this current research to identify correlations between the heads of department in the types A, B and C schools and the quality and systems of professional development support provided