Roles a responsibilties of a headteacher

Headteachers are the leaders or the person in charge of a school and are responsible for overseeing both students and staff. A typical day for a headteacher may involve working with the governing body to decide the school’s values, using data to track performance, keeping parents up-to-date about about progress, managing the school’s finances as well as leading and attending meetings inside and outside of the school.

To become a headteacher you must

Train as a teacher 

To begin teacher training you’ll need 5 GCSEs (including English and Maths - plus science for primary teaching), followed by A Levels and degree. You can either study for your degree and complete your teacher training at the same time or you can complete your degree and then follow up with the training afterwards. Most teacher training courses will look for experience working with young people which can be gained through paid work, volunteering or work experience. 

Pass the background checks

As the role involves working with young people, you’ll need to pass a number of safeguarding checks to ensure that it is safe for you to do so. The Disclosure and Barring Service will check for details of all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings held on central police records.

Have experience

Previously, all headteachers had to have the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). However, that is no longer the case, though it can certainly help! Experience is essential though. Typically you will be required to have several years of experience as either a deputy headteacher or as a senior manager in a school setting or as headteacher in another school.

If you are a teacher looking to progress we’d recommend looking at taking on extra responsibilities such as head of year, head of department or pastoral care as a starting point.

Looking for a headship?

If you are looking for a headteacher position, then Smile Leadership are here to support you. Submit your CV today and we’ll be in touch.