I’m seeing a few posts on social media from folks gearing up for their first headship in September. I have supported a number of primary colleagues in their first headships, and here are a few things that I know that they have found useful in their exciting new role:
👂 1. Listen - You probably have loads of ideas about things that you want to change or improve, but really listening to your team to seek understanding about the multiple perspectives at play is hugely beneficial. There may be something really urgent that you need to address first. Listening to people makes them feel valued and enables you to tune in to the dynamics at play.
👀 2. Be visible – Try to stand on the school gates at least once a day to speak to families. You will be surprised by how many little niggles you can head off early by spending time with parents chatting, rather than waiting for situations to escalate. If you can’t get there yourself, ask one of your SLT to stand in for you.
🚶♀️ 3. Wander around – I always started each day with a wander around school to check in with members of staff. It was SUCH a useful strategy. I was able to check in with colleagues to see how they were feeling, identify and fix emerging problems, share key messages and generally take the temperature of the school’s climate. It was invaluable.
✋🏼 4. Be proactive – If you can see a problem emerging, try to proactively plan for improvements/change before it becomes a crisis or something that you are fire-fighting every day. This might apply to a child who is beginning to have relationship problems, lining up, a child with poor attendance, lunch arrangements, an unhappy parent and pretty much everything else that is beginning to become a problem. Catch it early.
👬🏼 5. Don’t do everything yourself - It is really easy as a new head to think you have to do everything yourself – solve every crisis, lead every PDM, attend every meeting. You don’t. First of all, you need to stop and think about what is really important and will contribute to achieving your goals – some things can be binned or postponed. Secondly, you need to think about who might be able to contribute or collaborate with you. I have always found thoughtful delegation and collaboration to be hugely empowering for colleagues and massively positive for morale.
😊 6. Model the culture - I always think of my staff team as my class, and just like you would model learning to children, you need to do the same to your staff. Collective assembly is really useful for this. You can emphasise your values and recognise and reward examples of values in action. Try to prioritise being in collective worship every day – even if you are not leading it. It’s a chance for you to value your staff and be visible to your children.
🤔 7. Be consistent – remember as a leader you set the weather in the school. If you are having a bad day, work hard to hide it, keep away from others or work from home. Also, remember that everything that you do sets a precedent. So, if you let one member of staff miss a PDM after school, anticipate that everyone else will expect the same benefit on another occasion.
🕑 8. Take some dedicated leadership time – teachers need PPA time, you will need dedicated leadership team, where you have time to reflect and review, plan and work without interruptions. Don’t feel guilty for taking this.
⏸ 9. Go to the balcony! When the s**t hits the metaphorical fan (which it will frequently), don’t react impulsively. When you are taking action feeling stressed, worried, anxious etc, you may make the situation worse. Sometimes it’s better to take a break or sleep on something before taking any action. However, depending on what the problem is, you might be able to also pre-empt a problem. For example, if a child has been harmed in school, call the parent – don’t wait for them to come to you furious about the event.
🚧 10. Put some boundaries in place – Try not to respond to calls/ emails in the evenings or weekend. Tell your staff and parents that you will not do this and stick to it unless it’s an emergency. You will need to do this to safeguard your own wellbeing. It’s important that you have some escape and opportunity for relaxation and family time.
Experienced heads, what else would you add? New heads, any other ideas? I'd love to know your thoughts.
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