Changing from pastoral to HoD : do I apply for a new job?

[stravagante]

Hello.

I've been at my school for 12 years and am currently a middle leader on the pastoral side of things. I live a 10 min walk from my school in a lovely town and I usually enjoy my work and my colleagues and my kids. Covid has dampened things massively of course but that's going to impact everything everywhere.

My role is being removed in 2023, restructuring in the sixth form. There will be a couple of Assistant Head roles come up when this happens but at this point there is no clear explanation of the roles and responsibility.

Curriculum wise, my HoD is v nice but disorganised and frankly not that interested in the curriculum which is very, very clear. This leads to some serious frustrations and he and I had some heated discussions where he just wouldn't answer some simple questions about department planning (because the answer was that he hadn't even thought about it...) and this kind of thing leads me to feel undervalued and under appreciated.

A HoD role has come up in in school an hour away. The role would be exciting. The school is strikingly similar to my current one (which is unusual in structure) and I have worked with the Head before - in fact I taught his son from year 7 - A level.
I'm not keen on the area though. It's further east than I'd like and I currently live in a fabulous town in my bargain house. It isn't perfect of course, but it is super. New area is just as expensive and doesn't appear to be as nice or as well connected.

Equally, I could just be complacent in my life. I'm 44 and have not been blessed with kids. I'm expensive though (and worth every penny of course).

I've not job hunted for so long and then it was necessity - now I am thinking about whether or not I should do this. And I genuinely can't decide. Any perspective or coaching questions would be gratefully received. Although good luck with the paucity of information provided

Thanks folks.

Could you commute? Many teachers where I work commute around an hour to school. There is no harm in applying- it would be good experience to write an application and attend an interview after 12 years. You could leave your current school for a year or so and then return as HoD as it sounds as if your current HoD might not survive the restructuring. I applied for a similar role last year, I wasn’t successful but glad I applied and interviewed.

Are you thinking of going for assistant head positions? Pastoral based AH roles have become less & less common so it could well be worth getting some experience in a HoD role to stand you in better stead re AH.

You probably need to separate the two things. Do you actually want to move? If not, then look for more local jobs. It doesn’t have to be this job or nothing.

@nonamenoplacetogo and @Treelawney thank you both for your feedback. Really good points to think about.

Re current HoD, his son is in year 8 so he is likely to stay with us until he reaches year 13. (Fee paying school). He won't be affected by the sixth form structure change, my pastoral role is sixth form and that is the one being changed.

You've given me great food for thought the commute. I'd happily commute for the right job but this is a hour each way on the motorway which is very unappealing. I also do a lot of anti social hours thanks to my specific subject and the thought of driving home for an hour afterwards is not a draw.

The area where the school is is very unappealing to me. A real lack of culture, diversity and bookshops for example so I think I'm answering my own question here!

I may use it as good interview practice.

Thanks again folks. Much appreciated.