Would anyone hire me as a school senior leader?

[want2return]

Hello! I did a Primary PGCE in 2005 and taught for 7 years. I was top of teacher pay scale and had a TLR to lead Maths. I also acted as a Mentor for our GTP students.

Since the early 2010s I have worked in education charities in senior leadership / director-level roles, managing large teams, budgets, high profile campaigns etc. I have had to stay up-to-date with education policy and pedagogy etc. I am also chair of governors at a local primary school.

I have always planned to go back into schools at some point, I know it sounds cheesy but I feel it is my vocation. I would like to be a Headteacher eventually.

I am wondering if anyone has any similar experience of leaving the classroom and going back in? I am not sure what to expect in terms of what level I can return at?

I think the leadership and management experience I have + experience as chair of governors means I would be able to hit the ground running in a leadership position, but I am not sure if that is realistic and I'd need to work my way up?

What do you think?

You’ve been out of teaching (doing the maths) since 2012, that’s a very very long time ago, a lot has changed since then.

I am a HT and if you want me to be honest, I’d only employ you as an Assistant Headteacher right now if I didn’t have any candidates that had recent experience.

Based on your recent experience, would a school business manager role not suit you better or look at wider senior roles within a MAT. I think you could hit the ground running and add more value in that environment.

A SBM would earn a salary of circa £50-60k, senior roles in a MAT could earn significantly higher.

If teaching is definitely your route though, apply for AHT roles or senior teacher positions and see how you go.

I agree that without recent teaching experience, I would honestly say you wouldn't be a particularly useful senior leader at the moment. You need to be able to guide teachers on teaching and learning, but you've not been in the classroom since the new national curriculum cam in (2014). This new curriculum was a total game changer in primary schools and you would need to understand how it is taught and assessed. I think you would be unlikely to find a role, and also unlikely to be confident in it.

If your vocation is schools, then school business manager may be the way to go. If it's teaching, then get a few years back in the classroom first.

Thank you both. An SBM role doesn’t appeal, I don’t really enjoy ops & finance.

It’s hard to explain without doxxing myself but I’ve been very involved in curriculum & other policy changes. I have been working with teachers and schools the whole time I’ve been out of the classroom & a big part of my role involves learning design & pedagogy.

I appreciate my experience isn’t the same as actually teaching and I’m not opposed to teaching again. Perhaps I’ll look for a job in a large school where there might be more progression opportunities.

No I don't think so. Leading maths in a primary and being at the top of the scale does not really qualify you for leadership particularly. I think you need to get back in and essentially prove yourself again before looking for an assistant head job. You also need to explain why you moved out of teaching.

Definitely the right route to go down then if you want to go back into it. Get new experiences and get a good track record established again and you’ll be progressing quickly.