Head of year

[howtomoveforwards]

It has been suggested I apply for a head of year position that has recently come up in my school. I am unsure. The TLR is bigger than I would have anticipated and all things being equal in the world we currently live in, I feel I don't want to let the opportunity pass me by without giving it proper consideration.

Can anyone who is a head of year give me an overview of the job and the time commitment (I work in an outstanding small school, about 100 in the year in a very much non-deprived area). What sort of time off-timetable do you get to help you manage the job?

Many thanks.

Unless you have an extremely light teaching load definitely not.
It is a full time job

Wouldn’t recommend if you teach a class most days I know heads of years who do and their workload is phenomenal

Agree it’s an extremely full on role.

Usually the time allowance given is far from sufficient and HoY still have a heavy teaching load. This means they cannot achieve any prep/marking in school as they are constantly dealing with pastoral issues. Contact with parents can also be very demanding.

Of all the roles, I think it can be one of the most time consuming and draining.

I’d speak to other HoYs in the school and ask for an honest assessment of the hours spent per week. Then you can decide if it’s for you.

Of course, some people just do it for a couple of years as a stepping stone onto something else.

Primary or Secondary ?

As pp suggested, I would go and have conversations with others in your school to see what they say.
Head of Year doesn't have a fixed job description from one school to another. Some focus on houses, some have more pastoral staff, some have a more challenging student base than others etc etc.

It's the worst role in terms of how much time it takes up and levels of responsibility and stress imo. I would only do it if it came with a very light teaching timetable.

I’m a head of year and I love it-it is frequently stressful and manic but I much prefer it to a HoD role (which I’ve done in three other schools) i found the results pressure really triggered severe anxiety. The HoY role is so different because literally anything can happen (and often does) I like the reactive and responsive nature of it and it really suits my personality. However it really depends on the year that you’ve got-I’m dealing with 6th form and the skills are very different to those required for year 7 or 8 for example. I don’t have to deal with many friendship issues or bullying but lots of mental health issues, lack of motivation, anxiety and difficult home situations. Every day is different, and it can be so difficult when the kids are going through a tough time, BUT the support you can give is amazing, and you can have such an impact. I find the curriculum and assessment side of teaching absolutely tedious, but the people side really rewarding. I teach 13/25 lessons per week and do 3 supervised study sessions which are kids working silently so I can do planning/emails then. You never get an uninterrupted break or lunchtime (when do you in teaching?!) and I spend a lot of time just chatting to the kids at break and lunch and before school to check how they’re getting on. It’s incredibly rewarding and I love the positive relationships it’s possible to build.