“School leadership” responsibilities
- Promoting the school’s ethos, values, policies and ways of working
- Communicating information
- Representing your SLT and your school
- Flagging exceptions to your school leadership responsibilities
- Leadership
- Motivation
- Managing change
- Resolving conflict
- Building teams
“Management of individual employee” responsibilities
- Agreeing roles and responsibilities with individuals
- Recruitment and selection
- Induction and probation
- Staff appraisal and capability
- Discipline & grievance
- Continuous Professional Development
- Staff welfare and managing absence
- Coaching & mentoring
“Self” responsibilities
- Leading by example
- Continuous improvement
- Problem ownership
- Creativity
- Delegation & accountability
“School leadership” responsibilities
- Promoting the school’s ethos, values, policies and ways of working
A School Leader is expected to understand and promote the school’s ethos, values, policies and ways of working and be responsible for ensuring that people understand them and work by them. To this extent, the school leader is the ambassador of the school and is responsible for clarifying and implementing the ethos, values, policies and ways of working, whatever personal views they may hold.
- Communicating information
A School Leader is a filter through which information flows to and from their SLT, teaching and support staff, parents, pupils and other stakeholders. Such communication should be conducted openly, honestly and promptly.
- Representing your SLT and your school
A School Leader is expected to ensure that the SLT’s opinions, concerns and feelings are relayed appropriately through both formal and informal channels. This may be done by acting on their behalf or by encouraging them to raise matters directly themselves. Individuals must feel able to confide in their school leader and trust them to act confidentially. Equally, individuals should feel able and willing to keep their school leaders informed where they choose to act directly and independently.
- Flagging exceptions to your school leadership responsibilities
A School Leader is responsible for ensuring that certain matters relating to the treatment or employment of individuals are brought to the attention of the employer as quickly as possible in order to ensure that the school is compliant with relevant legislation in managing its employees. Such matters include health and safety, contractual matters, discrimination and harassment. The school leader’s role in these circumstances is to inform the employer as soon as possible.
- Leadership
A School Leader is expected to lead their team ensuring that all team members contribute fully in seeking to meet the team’s goals. This requires the school leader to ensure that each team member understands the team’s goals and their role in the team and places the team above self. The leader is expected to inspire, guide, advise, influence and direct team members to pull together and to have a genuine interest in each other.
- Motivation
A School Leader is expected to stimulate a common sense of purpose through the setting of clear aims and objectives for the SLT, to develop a high level of enthusiasm and commitment among the team members, where the contribution of individuals is encouraged, recognised and valued.
- Managing change
A School Leader is expected to foster a working ethos that encourages continual improvement, whereby the SLT constantly strives to improve the quality of its work. Where this involves change, the school leader is expected to ensure that the process is both open and inclusive and handled with sensitivity, recognising that for some, change can and will be difficult. Although the SLT should take ownership for the change, the school leader is ultimately responsible for its implementation and checking that messages have got through.
- Resolving conflict
Where conflict arises within an SLT, a School Leader is expected to resolve areas of dispute quickly and effectively in order to avoid the output of the team being compromised. Ideally, an acceptable resolution should be achieved through a process of constructive mediation, although some situations may require a more directive approach.
- Building teams
A School Leader is expected to foster a spirit that values the principle that “the SLT as a whole is greater than the sum of its individual members”. The SLT should continuously seek to improve its performance and it is the school leader’s responsibility to ensure that this is achieved effectively, through the complimentary use and development of individual team member capabilities. The school leader is expected to ensure that the work of the SLT is shared equitably and that each member actively performs his or her individual responsibilities to a high standard. The SLT should work in an open and honest manner, where the contributions of individuals are both recognised and valued. The school leader is expected to encourage the team to take responsibility for solving problems in a creative and constructive way.
“Management of individual employee” responsibilities
- Agreeing roles and responsibilities with individuals
A School Leader is expected to ensure that each member of the SLT has a job that is well defined, with discrete responsibilities and a clear understanding of their unique contribution to the school. These definitions and understanding should be documented in a consistent format (i.e. role descriptions, objectives etc…) and reflect the need of the school for flexibility. The school leader is expected to ensure that these roles and responsibilities are commensurate with the pay policy, alerting the employer’s attention if they are not.
- Recruitment and selection
A School Leader is accountable for the recruitment and selection of individuals of appropriate calibre to the SLT. They must ensure that the recruitment and appointment process is conducted fairly, in line with the school’s practice and legislative requirements and draw on HR support as appropriate.
- Induction and probation
A School Leader is expected to take responsibility to ensure that each member of the SLT receives appropriate induction and probation on joining the school or on appointment to a new position within the recommended timeframe. The induction programme should include statutory, core and job-specific induction. The school leader should take personal responsibility for making sure the induction and probation programmes happen.
- Staff appraisal and capability
A School Leader is accountable for the performance appraisal of each member of the SLT. They must ensure that each team member understands what performance is expected of them and continually monitor and review performance with the individual so that they are clear whether they are performing satisfactorily. If performance is unsatisfactory, the school leader has a responsibility for ensuring that appropriate action is taken within an acceptable timeframe. If performance is satisfactory or exceeds expectations, the school leader is expected to ensure that this is also appropriately recognised. The school leader is responsible for ensuring that performance is adequately documented (e.g. records of 1-2-1 meetings, appraisal reviews etc.).
- Discipline & Grievance
A School Leader has a particular responsibility to fulfil when a formal disciplinary matter or grievance is brought with regard to or by one of the SLT. These responsibilities are documented in the discipline and grievance policies.
- Continuous Professional Development
A School Leader has responsibility to help their SLT develop and to provide opportunities for them to grow professionally. This requires the school leader to have an understanding of the school’s needs and their SLT’s interests, capabilities and development requirements. The school leader should be establishing clear development goals with their SLT and helping them to identify ways to meet those goals.
- Staff welfare and staff absence
A School Leader should be aware of and sympathetic to their SLT’s welfare, taking an appropriate interest to enable them to operate as effectively as possible, recognising when it is appropriate to hand over responsibility to the employing body.
- Coaching & Mentoring
As a leader of staff, a School Leader is expected to generate high performance from each one of them, ensuring that high standards are set, appropriate resources are made available and performance is adequately monitored. The school leader should develop a culture of continuous improvement, recognising the need to exhibit different leadership styles with different individuals at different times.
A School Leader is expected to help each team member through active coaching, whilst recognising that it may be beneficial for others to play this role too. They should be providing feedback, motivating, questioning and adapting their management style to reflect each team member’s readiness to take on a particular task.
“Self” responsibilities
- Leading by example
A School Leader is expected to demonstrate behaviour and standards of performance that inspire their team and their peers and provide an exemplar model of practice.
- Continuous improvement
A healthy school needs to be flexible and be prepared to change in order to grow and make progress. School Leaders should be constantly challenging themselves to ensure that they are performing to the best of their capability. The school leader should be open-minded and self-critical and be aware that there is always something new to learn, whilst valuing their own and others’ skills and contributions.
- Problem ownership
A School Leader is expected to take responsibility for problems and to find appropriate and constructive ways to solve them. This involves sharing information, avoiding a blame culture and ensuring others also take responsibility.
- Creativity
A School Leader is expected to find creative and appropriate approaches to deal with problems, issues and opportunities. This involves being prepared to review and challenge the accepted ways of doing things, being open-minded, thinking laterally, involving others and valuing their views.
- Delegation & Accountability
A School Leader is expected to identify appropriate opportunities for delegation of responsibilities whilst remaining ultimately accountable for the overall end result. This involves allocating tasks fairly, giving clear instructions and parameters, being clear about the level of responsibility delegated, monitoring progress and providing feedback.
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