The role of a headteacher is incredibly complex. No two days are the same and at times you feel like you are not only juggling several balls and spinning many different plates, but you are trying to conduct the whole circus simultaneously from the steady base of a unicycle!
Yes, it is stressful, but it is also very rewarding. I often get asked “why did you want to be a headteacher?” My answer is simple: it is without doubt the best job in the world. The opportunity to shape the ethos and culture of a school which will then in turn help shape and develop thousands of wonderful young people is a genuine privilege.
I also get asked “how do you become a headteacher?” and this is slightly more complicated. My answer to this is that first you need to be a great teacher. You must be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk if you are to gain the trust and respect of the teachers you are leading. You must also be a great leader and you must thoroughly enjoy leading people.
Leadership can bring the same levels of joy and satisfaction that you get as a teacher when students have a “lightbulb moment” or when they open their envelopes on results day. Seeing leaders thrive and succeed when you have helped shape them is incredibly satisfying and it is important to remember these moments when you are having to deal with some of the more unsavoury aspects of school leadership.
To be a headteacher you need to have the stomach for it. You need to be brave in your decision-making, be willing to take risks and understand that it is your own head on the block if things go pear shaped.
You also need to have an unflinching calmness when dealing with difficult situations and occasionally you are called to deal with the most horrific of circumstances; it is at these moments when your calm assuredness is most critical to ensure the right course of action is taken. You need to have students at the forefront of every decision that you make and filtering this mindset down throughout all members of staff is incredibly important if you are to be a truly great leader.
One thing I have learned though, in my past two years as a headteacher, is that at times I need to be completely ruthless in my approach to school improvement. This is not anything to do with Ofsted or the governing body; this is to do with doing the right thing for the young people in my school.
I recently thought back to my PGCE year and a meeting I had with my mentor at the time. He explained to me that I would become a different teacher once I had children of my own. I stored that nugget away and when my son was born my life obviously did change significantly, but my former mentor was indeed correct, not only did I become a different teacher, I became a better one.
I became more empathetic to young people, more understanding and more holistic in my approach. I took this into leadership and as I moved up the leadership ladder I always used the “parent test” in difficult situations. Would I be happy if this was my son? If the answer is no, then as a school leader I need to do something about it.
As a headteacher I am sometimes faced with a difficult choice, more often than not it is relating to teachers who are causing concern and the dilemma of whether or not the individual is someone we can work with to improve, or whether they are someone that needs to move on from the school.
My approach has and will always be to help and support in the first instance; teachers causing concern are often going through difficult periods themselves and this can affect their performance. However, if an individual is unwilling to take on support or refuses to engage then this doesn’t pass the parent test for me and this person will not have a future at the school.
I always wondered, back when I was an assistant head, whether or not I would have the stomach to act in such a way when needing to move teachers on; it is not pleasant and can be a very stressful experience for all parties. However, when placed in the larger context of acting in the best interests of young people and ensuring they get the best possible education while at my school, it most certainly becomes an easier thing to do.
- SecEd’s headteacher diarist is in his second year of headship at a comprehensive school in the Midlands.