Headteachers' Standards: summary

Read our summary of the Headteachers' Standards 2020 and how to use them.

Last reviewed on 15 February 2024
School types: AllSchool phases: AllRef: 5399
Contents
  1. Overview of the standards and how to use them
  2. Section 1: ethics and professional conduct
  3. Section 2: the 10 Headteachers' Standards

Overview of the standards and how to use them

The Headteachers' Standards 2020 are non-statutory.

The standards are divided into 2 sections. They're intended to be relevant to all headteachers and cover the full breadth of leadership responsibility within a school. Nevertheless, you and your headteacher should interpret the standards in the context of your school and your headteacher as an individual. 

Your school's employer will need to decide which of the standards applies to each role if:

  • Your headteacher is part of a larger leadership structure, such as a multi-academy trust (MAT)
  • Your headteacher is head of more than 1 school
  • The role is a co-headship 

The Headteachers' Standards build on the Teachers' Standards

You should use the standards alongside the Teachers' Standards which your headteacher is expected to continue to meet.

The Headteachers' Standards lays out how headteachers can meet: 

  1. The requirements of the Teachers’ Standards, and
  2. The additional responsibilities of headship 

To support your headteacher's own practice and