Assistant headteacher: interview questions and tasks

Cover everything you need to during the interview process with our example questions, with some specific to primary, secondary, special and faith schools. Understand what you can't ask in an interview and use our tasks document to see a candidate put their skills into practice.

Last reviewed on 25 November 2021
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 4322
Contents
  1. Use the interview to check they’re right for your school
  2. How to use our list of questions 
  3. Download and adapt our example tasks 

Use the interview to check they’re right for your school

By the time the interview swings around, you’ll have already confirmed the candidates’ competencies through their:

  • Application form and CV
  • References
  • Interview tasks

The interview is your chance to make sure they’re the right leader for your school.

How to use our list of questions 

Here's a list of questions that are suitable for any headteacher post, plus tips for what to look for in a candidate's answers.

In the download, you'll find:

  • General questions for any school type
  • Tailored questions for primary, secondary, special and faith schools 

Be sure to personalise our example questions to the role you're recruiting for, your school and any issues your school is facing  Don’t treat our ‘what to look for’ column as a checklist – candidates' answers will vary based on their experiences Don’t plan to ask all of these questions in each interview – that would