This article covers headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers in maintained schools, including maintained nursery schools. These are the leaders / senior managers in a school and are collectively known as the ‘leadership group’. The roles and responsibilities of the leadership group cover a range of strategic and operational areas including:

• setting the strategic direction and ethos of the school
• managing teaching and learning
• developing and managing people
• dealing with the requirements of the accountability regime.

Leadership group roles, are subject to specific pay ranges, professional duties and conditions of employment.

The regulations governing pay and conditions of service of the leadership group are the same as for teachers, see the introduction to the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’. However, there are different organisations representing the interests of heads and senior leadership:

• the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)
• the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT).

The article does not cover other management roles that attract Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments. Such roles are dealt with in the subheading ‘Payments for additional responsibilities’ in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’.

This article does not cover management staff in independent schools. Nor does it cover staff in voluntary and independent pre-school provision.

Headteachers

All maintained schools are required to have a headteacher under sections 35 and 36 of the Education Act 2002. Academies have greater freedom in determining their leadership structure in accordance with their funding agreement. The headteacher in an academy may be known as the ‘principal’.

‘Executive headteachers’ who lead a formal group of schools, such as in a federation or multi-academy trust (MAT) are not covered in this article.

The School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document 2020, which provides the framework for teachers’ pay in England, sets out a number of specific professional duties which the headteacher may be required to undertake on pages 46 and 47. These include:

Whole school organisation, strategy and development

• Providing overall strategic leadership and, with others, leading, developing and supporting the strategic direction, vision, values and priorities of the school.
• Developing, implementing and evaluating the school’s policies, practices and procedures.

Teaching

• Leading and managing teaching and learning throughout the school.
• Teaching

Health, safety and discipline

• Promoting the safety and well-being of pupils and staff. 
• Ensuring good order and discipline amongst pupils and staff.

Management of staff and resources 

• Leading, managing and developing the staff, including appraising and managing performance.  
• Developing clear arrangements for linking appraisal to pay progression and advising the relevant body on pay recommendations for teachers, including on whether a teacher at the school who applied to be paid on the upper pay range should be paid on that range (see the subheading ‘Salaries’ in the article ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’ for further information).
• Organising and deploying resources within the school.
• Promoting harmonious working relationships within the school.  
• Maintaining relationships with organisations representing teachers and other members of the staff.
• Leading and managing the staff with a proper regard for their well-being and legitimate expectations, including the expectation of a healthy balance between work and other commitments.

Professional development 

• Promoting the participation of staff in relevant continuing professional development. 
• Participating in arrangements for the appraisal and review of his / her own performance, and, where appropriate, that of other teachers and support staff. 
• Participating in arrangements for his / her own further training and professional development and, where appropriate, that of other teachers and support staff, including induction.

Communication 

• Consulting and communicating with the governing body, staff, pupils, parents and carers. 

Work with colleagues and other relevant professionals 

• Collaborating and working with colleagues and other relevant professionals within and beyond the school, including relevant external agencies and bodies.

In addition, in October 2020, new Headteachers' standards were introduced. These replaced the national standards of excellence for headteachers from 2015. They provide guidance on the high standards of principled and professional conduct which headteachers are expected to demonstrate.

Deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers 

There is no legal obligation for a school to have a deputy headteacher, or an assistant headteacher, nor is there any limit on the number of deputy or assistant headteachers a school may have. Typically, a small primary school might have just one deputy headteacher, who combines management duties with classroom teaching, while a large secondary school might have several deputy and assistant headteachers who spend only a small proportion of their time in the classroom. 

The professional responsibilities of deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers are set out in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document 2020. Under the overall direction of the headteacher, they play a major role in:

• formulating the aims and objectives of the school
• establishing the policies through which they are to be achieved 
• managing staff and resources to that end, and 
• monitoring progress towards their achievement. (p.46) 

They must also undertake any professional duties of the headteacher reasonably delegated by the headteacher. In addition, deputy headteachers undertake the professional duties of the headteacher in his / her absence.

The appointment of a deputy or assistant headteacher is subject to no particular requirements other than those that apply to the appointment of all teachers. See the subheading 'Entry to the profession' in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’).

Requirements for appointment 

The Department for Education (DfE) offers the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). Until spring 2012, the NPQH was a mandatory pre-appointment requirement for headteachers, but it is now an optional qualification.

In all cases, appointment is subject to satisfactory checks on registration, qualifications, health and suitability to work with children. These are outlined under the subheading 'Entry to the profession' in the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’.

The appointment process must be conducted in a fair and open manner and applicants must be judged on their merits against the objective requirements for the job. The process must not contravene any discrimination legislation.

In maintained schools, it is the legal responsibility of the governing board to select a headteacher. The legal framework regarding the appointment of a headteacher, and the roles and responsibilities of those involved, is stipulated in the requirements of The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, as amended.  See pages 69-70 of the Governance Handbook, published by the Department for Education (DfE).

In academies, the trust’s articles of association act as a frame of reference, and Part 4 of the Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations 2014, contains standards about the suitability of staff that must be complied with when appointing a headteacher.

Guidance for both maintained schools and academies is provided by Recruiting a Headteacher, jointly published by DfE and the National Governance Association (NGA) and by government guidance for schools on staffing and employment (page 9 focuses on headteacher and deputy headteacher appointments).

This rest of this section focuses on the appointment of headteachers in maintained schools.

Headteachers are appointed through an open recruitment process for a specific post.

The recruitment process is led by the school governing body. It must follow a number of steps in accordance with the School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 (as amended). Under the staffing regulations, the school governing body must:

• Advise the local authority (LA) of the vacancy.
• Advertise the vacancy (unless it has good reason not to).
• Appoint a selection panel of at least three governors to select suitable applicants for interview. In community and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority, as the employer, has the right to attend all proceedings and provide advice. This right is not automatically granted in foundation and voluntary aided schools.
• Interview those applicants and, where appropriate, recommend one of the interviewed applicants to the governing body for approval.

In community and voluntary controlled schools, the local authority must appoint the person recommended by the selection panel if the recommendation is approved by the governing body. In foundation and voluntary aided schools, the governing body is the employer and may appoint the person recommended by the selection panel.

Conditions of service 

This section focuses on the pay and conditions, working time and holidays, professional development and performance management of headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers, collectively known as the ‘leadership group’. It relates specifically to maintained schools.

It does not deal with 'Professional status'; 'Mobility and transfers'; 'Dismissal'; and 'Retirement and pensions’, for which there are no specific arrangements for leadership group staff. See the article on ‘Conditions of Service for Teachers’ for these aspects.

Pay and conditions 

The framework for pay and conditions for the leadership group is determined annually by the Secretary of State for Education, based on the recommendations of the independent School Teachers' Review Body (STRB). The framework, which previously applied to both England and Wales, but from 2019, applied to England only, is published annually in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).

The school governing body determines the individual pay for headteachers and for deputy and assistant headteachers in accordance with the leadership pay range in the STPCD. The governing body:

1. Assigns the school to one of eight ‘headteacher groups’ on the pay range, based on the number of pupils in each key stage of education and the number of pupils with special educational needs at the school (together, these two figures make up the school’s ‘total unit score’).
2. Within the school’s ‘headteacher group’, decides on an indicative pay range for the headteacher’s pay, taking into consideration the responsibilities, challenges, and recruitment and retention issues associated with the headteacher position at the school.
3. Decides on the individual pay for the headteacher within this pay range, based on his / her skills and experience.
4. Sets the pay ranges for deputy and assistant headteachers in accordance with the level set for the headteacher. These pay ranges should only overlap with the headteacher’s pay range in exceptional circumstances.

Normally, the pay range for a headteacher must not exceed the maximum pay of the headteacher group assigned to that school. However, where the governing body determines that circumstances specific to the role or candidate warrant a higher than normal payment, it may increase the pay range for a headteacher by a maximum of 25% above the headteacher group. In exceptional circumstances, the governing body may increase the pay range beyond this but, before doing so, it must seek independent external  advice and support its decision with a business case. Factors such as the context and challenge of pupil needs, high levels of complexity and challenge, and additional accountability are taken into account when an increase is being considered.

The school governing body also considers annually whether or not to increase the salary of members of the leadership group. The decision whether or not to award pay progression must be related to an individual’s performance (see the subheading ‘Performance management’ below).

For more detailed information regarding leadership group pay, see pages 11-19 of the STPCD.

Working time and holidays 

Although headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers are not covered by the provisions in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) which set out the number of days and annual hours that a teacher must be available for work, they are entitled to a satisfactory work–life balance. Headteachers have a responsibility to have regard to the need for their staff, including deputy and assistant headteachers, to achieve a satisfactory work–life balance. School governing bodies have a similar responsibility, under Regulation 5 of The School Staffing England Regulations 2009, as amended, in respect of the headteacher.

Continuing professional development 

Transforming the quality of professional development available for teachers and leaders in challenging areas is a key focus of the Government's national plan to improve social mobility through education, Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, published in December 2017 (see the ‘Introduction’ to this chapter). The plan commits the Government to investing in evidence-based approaches for professional development. The plan also aims to support high-quality professional development and incentivise the take-up of leadership National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) in challenging areas. The NPQs, offered by the Department for Education (DfE), are available for all school leaders and serving and aspiring headteachers, and include the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) which, until spring 2012, was a mandatory pre-appointment requirement for headteachers. It is now an optional qualification.

The Ambition School Leadership Trust*, an educational charity offers a range of professional development programmes for school leaders in primary and secondary schools across England. For example, the ‘Future Leaders programme’ is aimed at senior school leaders looking to lead a challenging school within three years. It includes the option to gain the NPQH.

*The Trust merged with the Institute for Teaching in 2018 to become a new organisation dedicated to the improvement of teachers and school leaders. The new organisation was launched in Spring 2019.

Performance management 

It is mandatory for all teachers in maintained schools, including the leadership group, to participate in performance management appraisals. As set out under Regulation 7 of the Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012, appraisal must assess the teacher’s performance of their role and responsibilities; assess the teacher’s professional development needs and identify any action that should be taken to address them; and where relevant include a recommendation relating to the teacher’s pay.

Arrangements for the performance management of deputy and assistant headteachers are the same as those for teachers. See the subheading ‘Organisational aspects’ in the article on ‘Continuing Professional Development for Teachers’.

Arrangements for the performance management of headteachers differ slightly. For the headteacher, the school governing body acts as the reviewer. Two or three governors are appointed to perform this role and must utilise external advice. The headteacher’s objectives and the performance criteria against which success is to be measured are determined by the governing body. At or near the end of each cycle, the relevant governors meet with the headteacher to review his or her performance and determine a recommendation on pay progression. 

The (2020) Headteachers’ Standards, which provide guidance on 10 headteacher standards which aspiring and current headteachers are expected to demonstrate, can be used to inform the appraisal of headteachers.

The performance management regulations do not apply in academies, although they are free to use them if they wish.

Article last reviewed April 2021.