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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Are you Head-less or were you recently Head-less?

12 replies

NCjustincase · 23/03/2013 11:10

Our head is retiring.

I have heard views that no-one in their right mind wants to be a head these days, we are Greater London so anyone wanting a super-head type role would go a few miles further in for a much higher wage.

We are notice to improve on Ofsted. I think our school is an attractive proposition, a reasonably affluent area, low % FSM and EAL.

Others seem to think otherwise and there are lots of schools currently without a head.

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TeenAndTween · 23/03/2013 11:54

Well, my children have been at our primary for 6 years. We are now on our 6th head teacher, does that count? To be fair, 3 of them were temporary 1 term only. No where near London though. Our problem has been getting a head to actually drive forward improvements. We could be a great school but are still 'requires improvement'. Perhaps the latest new one will succeed ....

Original poster

NCjustincase · 23/03/2013 12:09

Obviously no head equals no improvement
for you

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MrsBazinga · 23/03/2013 12:47

We have just interviewed for a new Head, having been headless for 2 terms. 4 applications, interviewed 2, didn't appoint :( Doesn't surprise me. They want super duper, amazing, dedicated, give up your life and work 70 hours a week type, who will transform the school and local community...taking us from requires improvement to outstanding. That's some ask.

NorthernLurker · 23/03/2013 12:53

Our Head is retiring this term. We have a new one starting next term BUT the Governors had to advertise twice to get candidates they were happy to consider. That's for a 'good' school in a lovely city.

SanityClause · 23/03/2013 13:00

A teacher at my DDs' old junior school was appointed acting head, when the previous head left after only two terms "by mutual agreement".

After a couple of terms, she has been such a success, she has been permanently appointed. She was DD2's reception teacher, and she's loooovely!

DefiniteMaybe · 23/03/2013 13:01

Our head is retiring at the end of this school year, the school are confident that they will have found a new one by then.

MilkRunningOutAgain · 23/03/2013 13:03

We lost our long standing head at end of last academic year, after school went to requires improvement. Since had a temporary stand in head who has in theory improved things, or so ofsted tell us. But thank goodness we have just appointed the deputy head to full head from next term. The temporary head head made loads of changes, some of which are good, and some of which seem to be changing things for no real purpose other than to create lots of confusion and work for the teachers. But then I'm not really interested in ofsted grades, provided my own kids are doing ok, which they are. It's just been really stressful for parents, teachers and kids for as far as I can see a few policies and changes to procedures that have made no practical difference to the way my kids are educated, except they have had lots more supply teaching while the teachers do daft things like create individual tricky word spelling books for all key stage 1 kids ( they did the spellings before, just didn't have individual books for it) and produce booklets about learning styles and how parents can grade literacy assignments, plus bogging up changes o homework, which in practise have not been delivered as teachers no longer appear to have time to mark homework carefully, which was previously always done properly.

Rant over.

noramum · 23/03/2013 13:21

We will loose our head by end of the Summer term. I suspect they groom the deputy as she has been take out of the normal teaching cycle.

They look into becoming an academy, the main reason the head is leaving, she was there 12 years and it totally committed as a teacher but "not a business manager".

Mrsrobertduvall · 23/03/2013 13:26

IF you look at heads job vacancies on TES online, it's amazing how many posts are advertised 4 or 5 times.
One of our local schools has been searching for a Catholic head for almost a year.

AngiBolen · 23/03/2013 13:39

It took my DCs Catholic school two years to find a permanent head. They did however have a temporary head who was utterly fantastic.

Our LA tends to send it acting heads, rather than leave a school headless.

Original poster

NCjustincase · 23/03/2013 14:32

Good to hear stories for perspective. I have a younger child, whose school application would be submitted two weeks after a new head would in theory take the helm.

I have to consider choosing a different school, although with no sibling link, we may not get a place elsewhere anyway.

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RiversideMum · 23/03/2013 18:26

Lots where I am. Schools are being federated. In one case federated with a local senior academy.

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