Headteacher

Head, deputy head teacher

Headteachers manage schools and create the right conditions for children and staff to achieve their best.

Salary range: £46,457 to £114,060

How to become a headteacher

You can get into this job through:

• working towards this role

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

Registration

• you’ll usually need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in a state school in England

Further information

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.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You’ll need:

• knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
• knowledge of English language
• customer service skills
• leadership skills
• business management skills
• the ability to work well with others
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Restrictions and requirements

You’ll need to:

• pass enhanced background checks

What you’ll do

Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day tasks may include:

• setting the school’s values and communicating them to pupils, staff, parents and the community
• creating and maintaining a healthy and safe space for learning
• deciding staff priorities and delegating tasks
• setting high expectations of achievement for staff and pupils
• keeping to rules on equal opportunities
• using data to track performance and produce reports
• informing parents and pupils about progress
• selecting, supporting, assessing and developing staff
• leading and attending meetings
• controlling school finances
• working with external advisers and school governors

Working environment

You could work at a school.

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.