Who’d be a primary headteacher?

Headteachers who fail to meet targets are not around for long, sunday evenings can shred the nerves, but some still claim it’s the best job in the world, say Richard Parker and David Middlewood...

Writing a book on the reality of school leadership leads you to reflect on why some people succeed in becoming school leaders, why some miss out and why so many decide they have no wish to take on the particular pressures and responsibilities that come with the job. The growing number of primary schools that have had to advertise two/ three/ four times before making an appointment reflects how unattractive the prospect of being a school leader has become, in spite of the significant rise in the salaries and the enhanced public status of headteachers over the last few years.

Some of the reasons people steer clear of headship have, of course, been around for many years: the long hours, the unrelenting pressures, constant social/ media/ public criticism, the buck stopping at your door, all too frequent and ill-thought through government overhauls of the system, difficult staff, even more difficult students, impossible parents, unreasonable governing bodies etc, etc.

However, some factors are more recent, not least the increased autonomy and much greater accountability (with ever more rigorous and potentially damaging Ofsted inspections), league tables, schools in open competition with each other, constant fighting for and over school funding, the need to be ever more entrepreneurial. Teaching is no longer a job for life; headteachers who fail to meet targets do not survive in post long, the previously well established career path is no longer relevant for the majority of young entrants to the profession and the hunger for promotion and the top job far less in evidence than it once was.

One of the major attractions of primary leadership has always been the size of the schools (around 150 to 700 in the main), which allow the head to get to know staff and students very well. However, in the next few years many primary schools will in all probability become much bigger. The huge growth in pupil numbers, the disappearance of small rural schools and the widespread development of federations will mean that primary school heads may well soon be leading organisations that number over 1000 pupils and 150 staff.

Saving graces

In view of all this, it is remarkable that anybody would ever want the job and yet interviewing headteachers for the book was such a positive experience because they so clearly loved what they were doing. The passion they showed for the role and the job satisfaction they gained from doing it were tangible and energising. They acknowledged that parts of the job were horrible and that some aspects never get any easier no matter how long you do it. However, all made the point passionately that headship can provide a unique level of job satisfaction. Summing up a recurring theme, one headteacher reflected:

“It’s a job like no other. You can be having a really tough day when little or nothing seems to be going right and then you walk into assembly and see some of your pupils doing a terrific sales pitch for charity and you feel so proud you could burst!”

The research for the book confirmed that although there is no one proven route to headship, a common theme coming from the interviews was that school leaders feared stagnation more than they feared failure. People who end up running their own schools come in all shapes and sizes. Although some started out wanting to be headteachers, the vast majority did not. Some hated their own school experience. The best school leaders we met did not necessarily fit the conventional profile: they were not interested in status per se and many confessed to suffering from high levels of anxiety. Two admitted finding every Sunday evening a struggle as they got ready to take on another week in school.

As far as self-confidence was concerned, again many of my interviewees talked about putting on an act and preparing a face to get them through certain tasks and aspects of the job. “I may look as though I am in control and not feeling the pressure but rest assured I am!” was how one headteacher expressed it. However, although some admitted they had no intention to be heads, when they took on the role – more by accident than design – they developed from the outset an overwhelming desire to accept the challenge and make a positive impact on the schools they had inherited.

In the final analysis, people who succeed in headship have mastered the skill of handling the huge responsibilities and making the most of the equally huge opportunities the job presents. There are few if any other leadership roles that give you the scope and the authority to influence an organisation’s culture for the better and make a real, positive difference to the life chances of young people. Obviously it is not a job for the faint hearted. To be successful you must relish change and manage it well, deal with adversity, be unendingly upbeat and accessible, negotiate successfully and rigorously with a wide range of clients and speak persuasively and effectively t o audiences made up of different ages, sizes, backgrounds and agendas.

The very best headteachers want to make a difference. They want to put their stamp on an organisation and create a learning culture that excites and inspires learning – lofty sentiments but true nonetheless. Two headteachers, in my view, spoke for the vast majority of heads when they made the following observations. The first reflected:

“If I had to describe my leadership style I’d say it’s constantly anchored in the principles I believe in combined with a sort of petulance that everything must be geared to student outcomes. My main strength is that I will do whatever it takes to see something through to a conclusion.”

The second said: In schools, we may not have the immediate impact of the surgeon or give the heights of collected pleasure or anguish of a Premier League footballer, opera singer or a ballet dancer, but we uniquely develop the minds and values of those who will one day become the leaders of those generations that we will never know.’

Put like that, it is no wonder headteachers reckon they have the best job in the world.