What should I look for in a new headteacher?
Your analysis of the current and future needs of the school and the current team will generate a number of criteria that you will be able to build into your job description and person specification. You should also take into account a number of factors about the context of the school and the community it serves, which will have an impact on the type of person needed to lead it into its next phase of development. These include: • current levels of pupil achievement and the school’s overall performance • development needs of the school • make-up of the local community • the school’s situation in respect of students numbers • budget • likelihood of any major new initiative taking place, eg building work, extended services etc • Use these to inform the development of the job description and person specification (see below). Try to establish seven or eight criteria to judge potential applicants against.
