Staffing and HR glossary

The key staffing, HR and employment terms you'll encounter as a governor, plus a downloadable version to share with new governors.

Last reviewed on 22 September 2022
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 34913
Contents
  1. Roles in school
  2. School-specific terms and conditions
  3. Employment law 
  4. Downloadable version

CEO Chief executive officer. Title usually given to the chief executive of a multi-academy trust (MAT). MATs must appoint a chief executive in order to comply with the Academy Trust Handbook. Some smaller MATs refer to the chief executive as ‘executive headteacher’. DPO Data protection officer. The person in your school, or an external data protection adviser, who takes responsibility for monitoring data protection compliance.  DSL Designated safeguarding lead.  This role must be held by a senior member of staff. They're responsible for safeguarding and child protection in your school. They'll also support other staff members to carry out their own safeguarding duties. ECT Early career teacher. Teachers taking part in a 2-year early career induction provided by your school. They have a reduced teaching timetable during this time. Executive headteacher Usually refers to the headteacher of more than one school. Can be appointed in both maintained school federations and MATs. The remit of the role varies depending on the