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Headteacher

Headteachers manage schools and create the right conditions for children and staff to achieve their best.

Annual Salary

£47,735 to £117,197

Working hours

35 to 37 term time

You could work: evenings; attending events or appointments

4.3%

Future employment

There will be 4.3% more Headteacher jobs in 2027.
In your local area

What's it all about?

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

You may:

set the school’s values and strategic direction and communicate these to pupils, staff, parents, governors and the community
create and maintain a healthy and safe space for learning
decide staff priorities and delegate tasks
set high expectations of achievement for staff and pupils
keep to rules on equal opportunities
use data to track performance and produce reports
inform parents and pupils about progress
select, support, assess and develop staff
lead and attend meetings
control school finances
work with external advisers and school governors
work and attend meetings outside of usual working hours

Working environment

You could work at a school.

Entry requirements

You can get into this job through:

working towards this role

Work

You can become a headteacher after working as a teacher in a school. You'll also need several years' experience as a senior manager or deputy head.

You can take professional development training to help with this. For example, the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership and the National Professional Qualification for Headship.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

pass enhanced background checks

More information

Further information

You can discover more about senior teaching careers from Ambition School Leadership and Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

Employment by region

Career path and progression

Due to the variety of schools in the UK, there are opportunities to move between different types and sizes of school.

You could also train to be an Ofsted inspector, an education adviser, or become a teacher training lecturer in a college or university.

Other useful information

You can discover more about senior teaching careers from Ambition School Leadership and Get Into Teaching.

You can also search for jobs through the Teaching Vacancies service.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

knowledge of teaching and the ability to design courses
knowledge of English language
leadership skills
business management skills
the ability to work well with others
to be flexible and open to change
the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
customer service skills
sensitivity and understanding
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

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General info

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