Job Description

Head Teachers or Principals will run and lead their school. They will be responsible for the learning and achievements of both pupils and staff and will set expectations in line with governing bodies. They will make sure parents and pupils are informed about progress and encourage their support and involvement, select and develop staff, lead and attend meetings inside and outside school and control the schools finances. Basically head teachers are in control of all aspects of the whole school.

Entry Requirements

You can get into this job through:

Work

You can become a headteacher after working as a teacher in a school. You'll also need several years' experience as a senior manager or deputy head.

You can take professional development training to help with this. For example, the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership and the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

More Information 

You'll usually need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in a state school in England.

You can discover more about senior teaching careers from Ambition School Leadership and Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

You'll need to pass enhanced background checks.

Career Path and Progression

Due to the variety of schools in the UK, there are opportunities to move between different types and sizes of school.

You could also train to be an Ofsted inspector, an education adviser, or become a teacher training lecturer in a college or university.

Related careers you may be interested in:

• Primary school teacher
• Secondary school teacher
• Early years teacher
• Special educational needs (SEN) teacher

Required Skills

• Good managerial and decision making abilities
• The ability to inspire others to learn
• Open to change and new ideas
• Excellent communication skills
• A willingness to work with governors, parents and official bodies
• Creativity
• Confident public speaker
• Good ICT skills
• The confidence to challenge others and express your own ideas
• A good team leader

Salary Range

£46,457 to £114,060