The role of leaders within the typical school structure has changed significantly over the years, with different forms of leadership evolving to encompass subject and curriculum leadership, cross-school responsibilities, programme development and operational management.
If you’ve been teaching for a little while, you’ll probably have started to get a feel for what you’d like your next steps into a leadership role to be. We’ve examined some key considerations for aspiring school leaders to aid your preparations and development.
Mentor programmes
Peer mentoring is commonly established within primary and secondary schools to build relationships and encourage support but has increasingly been implemented within workplaces to help colleagues develop within their roles and feel more motivated at work. According to a 2017 report by Deloitte, professionals who receive mentoring feel more satisfied with both their job and career progression. Moreover, receiving professional mentorship from someone that is a leader within their field can be valuable for understanding the skills you need to develop from an objective point of view, whilst receiving solid advice from someone you trust.
If your school offers a staff mentorship programme, we would really encourage you to consider signing up. If there isn’t yet a programme within your school, why not ask about setting one up?
Collaboration is key
Having a good support network in place is integral for maintaining good wellbeing at work, but also creates a culture of problem sharing. Preparing for a step up at work is a challenging time, so having a support network with other colleagues in place is valuable for sharing learnings, advice and experiences. Even after you progress into a leadership role, you’ll always find value in sharing your experiences with trusted individuals.
Training and development
A significant part of your preparations to move into more of a leadership role will involve expanding your knowledge and awareness of key issues in education and understanding some of the decision making that will be involved in various functionalities of the role.
At NAHT, we provide a wide range of training and development events throughout the year. Take a look at some of our upcoming training and events that might be useful if you’re on the pathway to becoming a school leader.
If you’re interested in finding out more about the training and development we offer, you can find a full list of our upcoming training courses here, as well as some of the conferences we hold throughout the year.