Now, that’s a question that many people ask themselves and only you know the answer.
I had been at my school for 25 years under the same head and it was all I knew. Well, that isn’t strictly true. The head had encouraged me to branch out as a class teacher and I was a leading maths and literacy teacher for the local authority. That meant I went out into different schools to support their class teachers. And that had made me realise how lucky I was to work in the school that I did, and I wanted to stay there!
I was very happy as a class teacher – I loved being in the classroom, but I also knew I had to keep up with everything going on in education. CPD – good CPD – was really important to keep my teaching relevant and my understanding of education up to date.
Back in 2005 I was the assistant head at my school and quite satisfied with my role, but it was suggested that I should embark upon my NPQH. At that time, it was compulsory if you wanted to be a head. I didn’t think I did want to be a head, but it was going to be great CPD. Nowadays, the requirement for NPQH has been removed but I would say the qualification does put you in a great position when applying for roles.
It came as a great shock when my predecessor decided to retire – he was all I had ever known. So now it was time for some long, hard thinking.
These are the questions I needed to ask my myself:
Am I ready for headship?
How passionate am I about this school?
Are there other staff who will be interested in / eligible for applying?
Would existing staff support me if I became head?
And most importantly … Do I want to be the head?
Was I ready for headship? Are you ever ready for headship? I think it is like teaching, you don’t really learn what to do until you are given the keys and told to get on with it! As for the passion for the school, well, there was no question about that. I had been a part of developing the philosophy and ethos of the school and I didn’t want that to change. Were there other possible candidates within the school? There were three of us with the relevant experience. The deputy head said straight away that she wasn’t interested, she was too near to retirement and the senior teacher said he wouldn’t apply as he felt it was too soon for him. Both agreed that they would support me in any way they could if I applied for the job. Individual members of staff came to me and asked if I was going to apply which gave me the chance to test the water for their feelings and all seemed to have a positive attitude to me becoming head so I felt I would have the support of those around me.
Now, most importantly, do I want to be head? Being a headteacher is all encompassing. It would impact upon my homelife and those around me. I discussed it at home, but looking back now, I think I had made my mind up anyway that I wanted the job and I just needed to know I would have the support of my nearest and dearest! Which I had!
Once the decision had been made, I then had to ask some new questions:
What does the school need in a new headteacher?
What, if anything needs to change?
Can I effect that change?
I can’t answer these questions for you. I know what I needed to do. There were changes I wanted to make but also so much that I didn’t want to change. My interview presentation was all about Sustaining Success and that was really important.
At my first INSET day I invited all school staff and governors to attend and asked them 3 questions:
What MUSTN’T change?
What COULD change?
What SHOULD change?
The answers were interesting and gave me something to work on in those early days!
So should you apply for the headship of the school you are currently working in – Yes, if you have a passion for that school and those around you are willing to work with you for the continued success of the school then Go for It!
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