Choosing a school - how important is the Head?

[AChickenCalledKorma]

I've always subscribed to the notion that you can tell a lot about a school by meeting the Head. Organisations take on the personality of their leaders etc.

And now we have a choice of two secondary schools for our eldest child (just going into Yr 6). In one case, I loved the school but found the Head arrogant and somewhat smarmy. In the other case, the school was less impressive at first sight, but I warmed to the Head and felt that she was someone that had similar values to me.

I wonder whether secondary schools are such large organisations that the personality of the Head is less of an issue than it would be at primary? Presumably one deals with Heads of Year, form tutors etc far more than the actual Head. The school with the smarmy Head was definitely our first choice, right up to the moment when I heard him speak!!!

Any observations?

In my experience the HT has been crucial both in primary and secondary. I second what has been said about communication when you have a problem.

Our teachers are in a tailspin because the head is retiring and they are worried about what a new head will bring; given the old head is with us until Easter it kind of gives you a sense about what a head brings to a school in terms of vision, ethos, culture etc. Absoutely vital appointment as they really do set the tone for the school.

I have DC at two schools, both where the head will retire in the next few years (one in which I think he is definitely going in 2 unless something happens, the other I half expect him to announce it after some big celebrations coming up).
In one case I think relatively little will change, and don't have deep concerns. There maybe tweaking around the edges, but I very much doubt too much will change.

In the other case, it really depends who comes next. There are two possible internal candidates, one of whom I dread. For an external candidate I really wonder just who they would get, and if they could get someone who really wants to continue with pretty much the current vision. It is a concern.

Between them my children have been to 4 primaries and 3 secondary, and had 9 HTs. In every case the HT made or broke the school. In fact we moved 2 of them because of the HT.

DS1 was lucky that the HT started just before he did and was fantastic. He took a failing secondary school and in a short time it was oversubscribed. He retired the year after DS1 left and within an equally short space of time the school was back down to where it had been. Such a shame.

HTs are terribly important to the running and the ethos os the school.

But that's not a synonym for being a thing to select upon. For they may leave. That's when you have to start looking at what place the HT has put the school: what is its ethos, and how well embedded are the systems on which it is run? For although they may not survive a change of head, it'll give you a year or two breathing space post-departure, which might see your DC through that school.

I am confident about one of the schools because it has already survived one change of head. I also suspect they will probably appoint internally, after due process.

A weak head can damage a school within 2 years ime. Our catchment school had a fab head and it was ranked outstanding by Ofsted. She retired and new head arrived. He was so bad that within 2 years the school was in special measures. It has taken about 6 years to recover from that (and two more heads).

I would choose a school where I liked the head. Having said that the school ds has just moved to had a head that retired, new head came in (whom I met when I accepted the place and really liked) and then he left in the summer. We now have a new head that is very different from the previous head but probably more like the head that retired. It is early days and the limited contact I have had with him hasn't impressed me so far but I am trying to keep an open mind.

very important, they can and do ruin a school. You don't necessarily have to like the head-teacher but it is important that they be competent at their job. It takes time for a bad head to ruin a good school but they can ruin one child's life much faster and it could be your child's life that is ruined.

School's vary on how much contact you have with the head and the larger the school the smaller that contact is likely to be. You need to find out who the good people are at the school your child attends and try to deal with them if possible. This may or may not include the head-teacher.