Governor Q: finding an interim HT

[reallyalurker]

I'm a governor at a primary school. Our HT is off sick. School has some significant problems and therefore we think we need interim cover asap - this term, despite the lack of time remaining. Local authority has tried and failed to find someone. Where would we look for people with HT experience who could start immediately? No time to advertise.

As other local schools if they have any capacity to send someone in.
Our two very experienced deputies often help local schools out in this way.

Thanks. We have tried that with a few schools but we may need to widen the net.

Have you got a teaching school alliance close by? Some SLEs and NLEs might have some capacity to support your existing deputy and SLT.

I would say cast the net wider. Is there a “lighthouse” school near-ish you? Their HT or deputy might want to take you under their wing and rope you into their MAT

Don’t discount secondaries either, ask the schools you feed in to.

Hi OP - we had the same issue and managed to share a HT with another local primary. The LA did look at neighbouring boroughs too. HT was seconded for most of the week to us in an agreement with her primary. What helped was that her school had a really good Deputy who was prepared to step up for a term to be acting head while her head was with us. Another option might to share a Head 50/50 so that both schools effectively have an Exec Head for a term overseeing both - but that does depend on having good Deputy's in both schools who can act up in to a role like Head of School.

I have been an interim ht and travelled from one side of the country to the other. I got one job through a recruitment agent but you will pay £££ for that. Another job I got on Indeed.
Whereabouts are you?

You could try your local Diocese to see if any of their headteachers could help with an experienced deputy.

We're in the south, on the coast. Thanks for all the suggestions. I've passed them on the LA which just says it is trying hard to find someone and the school is its top priority ... which just makes me feel baffled that they can't. We're pretty much at the stage of giving up for this academic year, but will still need someone for next. I'm so frustrated - there's work we need to get started now rather than waiting until September. We have approached MATs and local trusts in the past but they say they don't have capacity to support pre-academisation and with no guarantee that academisation would indeed go ahead.

Being a governor is the hardest thing I have ever done ...

The LA has finally found us someone. Thanks, everyone.