Moving from HE to a leadership role in secondary/primary - possible?

[NigellaWannabe1]

Hi, I just wonder if I can get your views on this, please. I am an academic working in a Humanities subject. I have QTS and did work in a college for a year before moving into academia over 20 years ago. My university is going to introduce redundancies and I want to start looking at my options in case it affects me.

In my current role, I am course leader for a massive MSc degree with a huge intake of international students. I've been involved in accreditation and revalidation exercises, visa compliance issues, pastoral care, internationalisation on a large scale, alumni engagement... you name it. I have also been course leader for smaller undergraduate courses, have redesigned full degrees in the wake of the pandemic, etc. 25 years experience overall.

I think I have a lot of transferable skills for a leadership role in a school but wonder if the lack of strong experience in primary/secondary education is a deal breaker. What do you think? Thanks.

Any thoughts?

As a primary school teacher, my thought would be that your role is very different to ours, so I think it would be tricky to walk straight into an SLT position in primary without any primary experience. A more realistic step may be to get a secondary humanities teaching role, or at a stretch a head of humanities department role, then hopefully after a couple of years' experience move up into SLT. Just my opinion though! Good luck.

Yes, I think what you say makes sense. Thanks.

I am inclined to agree with @CeciliaMars. Even with the current crisis in recruitment and retention the humanities tend not to be shortage subjects so I'm afraid you may not be snapped up in quite the same way as if you were a science, Maths, or MFL specialist.

I would explore the independent sector, especially if you have a PhD. If an international move is an option then you might also find that international schools are interested in hearing from you.

I think primary leadership is a bit of stretch, couldn't really comment on secondary. Maybe try a teaching role in whichever age you choose first and then see if school leadership actually appeals.

I'm sure you've got many generic leadership skills but I don't see much on your list that would actually help with primary leadership. For example, could you work with ks1 teachers to improve phonics results? Could you help the history leader to sequence the curriculum so that knowledge builds from EYFS to year 6? Could you support the year 6 teacher with maths and SPAG interventions to get their class through SATS? Not trying to be an arse but that's the types of tasks you could be dealing with in a primary school this term.

Yes, I can see what you mean and I appreciate your comment.

I’m sorry OP but I don’t think this is a realistic prospect without quite a few steps in between. It’s true that we have a recruitment crisis but in my experience recruitment at senior leadership level remains pretty competitive in all but the most challenging of schools. Secondary senior leaders at assistant and deputy head level generally still have teaching responsibilities. They will usually have an exam class and will often be given the trickier customers due to their combination of experience and seniority. In primary schools, senior leaders are less likely to have their own class but in smaller schools they are likely to have a class share. Even in larger schools there will be teaching, such as taking a phonics group. Every SLT person spec I have seen has ‘excellent classroom practitioner’ or equivalent as an essential criterion and I’m afraid that based on the experience you’ve outlined in your OP we couldn’t shortlist you for an AHT or DHT role.

If you are keen to work in schools you could pursue a classroom teacher route (although as a pp has said I should warn you that none of the humanities are currently shortage subjects so vacancies are still reasonably competitive). I have known a number of career changers who were able to afford to take a pay cut and come into the classroom in their forties and fifties thanks to generous redundancy packages. You and your school would need to be realistic about the amount of support that would need, which would be comparable to a new ECT in terms of classroom practice but without the usual provisions for a reduced timetable and mentor.

I agree with the pp who suggested independent schools if you have a PhD. Otherwise I would look seriously at FE colleges. If you could teach psychology in particular you would be much in demand as numbers are very high and specialists hard to come by.

I’m sorry if this sounds very negative but I hope you find it helpful as an honest opinion. If you’re committed to working in schools then it sounds like you may have some time to prepare for a move.

Unfortunately you would be starting as a regular classroom teacher. Having a PHD makes you an expert in your field but it does not make you a great classroom teacher :(
Before moving on to an SLT post you would need a proven track record of being an excellent classroom teacher

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. It's helped me rule out this move. I do have extensive teaching experience by the way, but I accept my overall skillset is not fully transferable to a school environment.

As a HT myself, I probably wouldn’t consider someone with your experience for an SLT position in my school - whilst you are skilled in your own field - I’d want someone who is experienced as a teacher and as a leader in a school.

I would consider you for a teaching post though to gain experience and look to progress but you’ll probably be taking a pay cut.
Education has changed a lot in 20 years as I am sure you are aware.

Private sixth forms might be interested in your HE and international student experience.