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Experiences of new headteachers in cities

What are the experiences of school leaders who lead urban schools and how do they prepare for headship and the challenges they will face during their first year in post? Six new headteachers and four more experienced headteachers (in post between two and four years) were interviewed as part of a piece of research to investigate what the big issues are for new headteachers. The research was undertaken by the Institute of Education in 2011.

We have summarised some of the main points and findings from the report below.

  • Advice for new heads which the newly appointed headteachers offered during the interviews
  • Key findings for the research
  • Case studies of the new heads during their first year of headship and vignettes from headteachers who had been in post two to four years

Advice for heads

As part of the inteviewing and shadowing process the case study heads offered advice to other new heads about early headship. The following are some of the suggestions that were made.

  • Everything you do should be centred around outcomes for children
  • Make every child feel listened to
  • Don’t change things too quickly find out what’s working and what’s not working
  • Be strategic in everything you do, but you’ve got to be organised to be strategic
  • Give yourself time to reflect
  • Use the most appropriate leadership style for the situation – sometimes democratic, but at other times more assertive
  • Deal with issues openly, honestly and directly with people
  • Praise and thank stakeholders to make people feel appreciated
  • Hold open meetings with parents to show that the head is accessible and interested in their views

“Praising and thanking stakeholders really makes people feel appreciated - sprinkle that positivity! Always have that vision as a touchstone and everything you do should be centred around outcomes for children (even our staff are saying this now!).”

Key findings

The key findings from our research suggests that the issues faced by new, urban heads were many and varied. Heads found the work fast-paced, stressful, relentless, fragmented, and involved a wide variety and range of activities. Heads were keen to be seen as visible, open and accessible, devoting time to walkabouts, which included many interactions with pupils, parents and staff.

Rewards

  • A highlight of the job is being able to acknowledge the successes of the staff and of the children and in seeing the impact of the changes made on the progress of pupils.
  • On a good day heads say that they will have achieved the key tasks set for the day, spent time with children, seen a team work through a problem together to find a solution and achieve something, seen an exciting lesson and many others.
  • One head considers that one of the most valuable elements of their first term in post was to improve accessibility to parents by holding open meetings to seek their views on the strengths and weaknesses of the school which have received very good feedback.
  • Overall heads were enjoying their roles with comments such as, ‘it is challenging but also very exhilarating’ and ‘personally it is very demanding, but professionally very rewarding’.

Challenges

  • Many of the new urban heads in this study were taking up headships where there was a need for the school to raise standards and for change to be introduced. They were very conscious of the high-stakes, accountability culture in which they operated.
  • The speed with which change was needed and the manner in which it was introduced was an issue. Decisions were influenced by the competence and capability of existing staff and the possibility of making new appointments, especially to the senior leadership team. Reading the context of the school and its capacity for change were key components of managing change.
  • The new heads wished to share leadership but did not know staff well enough to be able to do so with confidence. As a result, the early days were much harder and demanding for some than expected.
  • The loneliness that headship brings and the isolation of the role were recognised pre-appointment but nevertheless came as a shock to the new heads in the research.

Preparation

  • New heads in the study felt that they had benefited most from a wealth of experience in assistant and deputy headship roles and talked about the benefits of working with heads who had been concerned with their professional and career development.
  • It was difficult to predict what would be encountered in the first year of headship and it was felt that no preparation programme could be sufficiently bespoke or comprehensive to cover every eventuality.
  • Some new heads had been able to spend time in their school in the term between appointment and taking up post. Where this was the case, they had found value in using the time to build an understanding and identifying priorities for change and quick wins.
  • For posts where the opportunity to spend time in the school prior to appointment was not available, the new heads felt strongly that there should be an expectation of a proper handover before a new head takes up post.

Mentors and other forms of support

  • The case study heads felt that mentoring was a very important form of support and referred to a variety of sources including the National College (Head Start), the London Leadership Strategy (Moving to New Headship), the local authority, the diocese and elsewhere.
  • Different mentors were needed at different times for different purposes and heads spoke of needing a range of people on whom they could call depending on the need or issue in question.
  • Networks were considered by the new heads as being important and in this study, they were many and varied, often including their previous headteacher.

Case studies

You can download individual case studies for this report. Each of the six newly appointed headteachers were interviewed and shadowed for a day to observe experiences of new headship in a variety of contexts in large cities. Four small vignettes of experienced headteachers - those who have served in post between two and four years - giving an account of some of their key leadership challenges. To help you reflect on your own practice, the case studies contain a number of questions which you may wish to consider.

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