Headteacher

Headteachers manage the day-to-day activities of an educational institution. They make decisions concerning admissions and are responsible for meeting curriculum standards, which facilitate academic development for the students. They manage staff, working closely with the different department heads, and evaluate the subject teachers in a timely manner in order to secure optimal class performance. They also ensure the school meets the national education requirements set by law and cooperate with local communities and governments.

The following job titles also refer to headteacher:

headmaster
academy school manager
grammar school manager
primary school manager
executive headteacher
secondary school manager
educational institution manager
headmistress

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as headteacher. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Headteacher is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to headteacher.

deputy head teacher
admissions coordinator
further education principal
head of higher education institutions
nursery school head teacher

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of headteacher. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of headteacher with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of headteacher.

Curriculum standards: The governmental policies concerning educational curricula and the approved curricula from specific educational institutions.
Financial management: The field of finance that concerns the practical process analysis and tools for designating financial resources. It encompasses the structure of businesses, the investment sources, and the value increase of corporations due to managerial decision-making.
Education law: The area of law and legislation that concerns education policies and the people working in the sector in an (inter)national context, such as teachers, students, and administrators.
Project management: Understand project management and the activities which comprise this area. Know the variables implied in project management such as time, resources, requirements, deadlines, and responding to unexpected events.
Budgetary principles: Principles of estimating and planning of forecasts for business activity, compile regular budget and reports.
Accounting techniques: The techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.
Office software: The characteristics and functioning of software programs for office tasks such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, email and database.
Electronic communication: Data communication performed through digital means such as computers, telephone or e-mail.
Accounting: The documentation and processing of data regarding financial activities.
Curriculum objectives: The goals identified in curricula and defined learning outcomes.
Education administration: The processes related to the administrative areas of an education institution, its director, employees, and students.

These skills are necessary for the role of headteacher.

Trace financial transactions: Observe, track and analyse financial transactions made in companies or in banks. Determine the validity of the transaction and check for suspicious or high-risk transactions in order to avoid mismanagement.
Cooperate with education professionals: Communicate with teachers or other professionals working in education in order to identify needs and areas of improvement in education systems, and to establish a collaborative relationship.
Supervise educational staff: Monitor and evaluate the actions of the educational staff such as teaching or research assistants and teachers and their methods. Mentor, train, and give advice to them if necessary.
Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
Provide education management support: Support the management of an education institution by directly assisting in the managerial duties or by providing information and guidance from your area of expertise to simplify the managerial tasks.
Develop organisational policies: Develop and supervise the implementation of policies aimed at documenting and detailing the procedures for the operations of the organisation in the lights of its strategic planning.
Manage staff: Manage employees and subordinates, working in a team or individually, to maximise their performance and contribution. Schedule their work and activities, give instructions, motivate and direct the workers to meet the company objectives. Monitor and measure how an employee undertakes their responsibilities and how well these activities are executed. Identify areas for improvement and make suggestions to achieve this. Lead a group of people to help them achieve goals and maintain an effective working relationship among staff.
Manage school budget: Conduct cost estimates and budget planning from an educational institution or school. Monitor the school budget, as well as costs and expenses. Report on the budget.
Maintain records of financial transactions: Collate all the financial transactions done in the daily operations of a business and record them in their respective accounts.
Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
Manage enrolment: Decide on the number of available places and select pupils or students on the basis of set criteria and according to national legislation.
Communicate with youth: Use verbal and non-verbal communication and communicate through writing, electronic means, or drawing. Adapt your communication to children and young people`s age, needs, characteristics, abilities, preferences, and culture.
Provide information on education financing: Provide information to parents and students concerning tuition fees, student loans and financial support services.
Handle financial transactions: Administer currencies, financial exchange activities, deposits as well as company and voucher payments. Prepare and manage guest accounts and take payments by cash, credit card and debit card.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of headteacher. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Labour legislation: Legislation, on a national or international level, that governs labour conditions in various fields between labour parties such as the government, employees, employers, and trade unions.
Funding methods: The financial possibilities for funding projects such as the traditional ones, namely loans, venture capital, public or private grants up to alternative methods such as crowdfunding.
Contract law: The field of legal principles that govern written agreements between parties concerning the exchange of goods or services, including contractual obligations and termination.
Primary school procedures: The inner workings of a primary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Post-secondary school procedures: The inner workings of a post-secondary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Kindergarten school procedures: The inner workings of a kindergarten, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, policies, and regulations.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of headteacher. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Provide information on school services: Present information on the educational and support services of a school or university to students and their parents, such as career guidance services or offered courses.
Evaluate education programmes: Evaluate ongoing training programmes and advise on potential optimisation.
Use different communication channels: Make use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.
Show an exemplary leading role in an organisation: Perform, act, and behave in a manner that inspires collaborators to follow the example given by their managers.
Evaluate budgets: Read budget plans, analyse the expenditures and incomes planned during certain period, and provide judgement on their abidance to the general plans of the company or organism.
Identify education needs: Identify the needs of students, organisations and companies in terms of provision of education in order to aid in the development of curricula and education policies.
Develop curriculum: Develop and plan the learning goals and outcomes for education institutions, as well as the required teaching methods and potential education resources.
Promote education programmes: Promote ongoing research into education and the development of new education programmes and policies in order to obtain support and funds, and to raise awareness.
Manage contracts: Negotiate the terms, conditions, costs and other specifications of a contract while making sure they comply with legal requirements and are legally enforceable. Oversee the execution of the contract, agree on and document any changes.
Maintain contract administration: Keep contracts up to date and organise them according to a classification system for future consultation.
Manage student admissions: Assess students’ applications and manage correspondence with them concerning their admission, or rejection, pursuant to the regulations of the school, university or other educational organisation. This also includes obtaining educational information, such as personal records, on the student. File the paperwork of the admitted students.
Liaise with board members: Report to the management, boards of directors and committees of an organisation.
Apply for government funding: Gather information on and apply for subsidies, grants, and other financing programmes provided by the government to small- and large-scale projects or organisations in various fields.
Secondary school procedures: The inner workings of a secondary school, such as the structure of the relevant education support and management, the policies, and the regulations.
Analyse curriculum: Analyse the existing curricula of educational institutions and from government policy in order to identify gaps or issues, and to develop improvements.
Prepare syllabuses for vocational courses: Prepare syllabuses for use in different kinds of vocational courses. Compile, adapt, and integrate important study subjects in a course to assure integral teaching programs.
Create a financial report: Finalise project accounting. Prepare an actual budget, compare the discrepancy between the planned and actual budget, and draw final conclusions.
Prepare examinations for vocational courses: Prepare examinations that test both theoretical and practical understanding of the content and the procedures imparted during a course or teaching programme. Develop exams that assess the most important insights that trainees should have gained from participating in the course.
Advise on teaching methods: Advise education professionals on the proper adaptation of curricula in lesson plans, classroom management, professional conduct as a teacher, and other activities and methods related to teaching.
Work in vocational school: Work in a vocational school that instructs students in practical courses.
Lead inspections: Lead inspections and the protocol involved, such as introducing the inspection team, explaining the purpose of the inspection, performing the inspection, requesting documents, asking appropriate questions, and maintaining a high level of professionalism when investigating subjects.

1345 – Education managers

 

 

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References

1. Headteacher – ESCO