The Challenge of Headship

Independent Online Edition > Schools

To add my twopenny worth (from the Independent...)

In theory there has never been a better time to be a head teacher. In the
secondary sector, salaries have soared in recent years, with £100,000 packages
not unusual for the larger urban schools, while Brent in north-west London
recently advertised for a primary head at £90,000.

I have, at last reached my career enlightenment and finally understand that Headship is not simply a progression from Deputy. It is entirely another job altogether, one that we are not prepared for just by teaching for years.

As Peter Stanford, in the Independent points out:

She [Kerry George of the NAHT] also believes that imposing
career expectations from the commercial sector on to the teaching profession can
be a mistake. "There seems to be an assumption in government thinking," she
reflects, "that every classroom teacher has a headteacher's baton in their
knapsack. But that isn't why many people go into teaching and the whole way
teacher training is set up has little to do with an expectation that you may one
day end up as head."

And yet, I have met many inspiring teachers in both the Maintained & Independent Sectors who should be the leaders of their communities yet do not feel that it is for them. I am very afraid that what we will get are passionless, vision-free heads who are simply a safe pair of hands. And who's decision will that be?

A safe pair of hands is exactly what Authorities and Governors want, of course. But it is, I am convinced, only part of the story. A head has to carry their passion for education with them from their career as a teacher. However, they have to understand how to realise that vision in a way that carries the whole community along. Communicating to children, parents, governors and any others with an interest in the school. And the sooner that the teachers with real passion for education are trained how to do this, the better.