Keep the school running smoothly while you search again
If you haven't been able to fill your outgoing headteacher's role before their planned leaving date, you'll need to think about how to provide stability while you carry out another recruitment round.
Check if you can phase out your current headteacher
If your headteacher is retiring rather than moving on to another role, consider asking them to phase out slowly.
For example, perhaps the current head could drop down to 2 or 3 days a week or work half-days while you search for their replacement.
Support your deputy to act up for longer
A deputy head can and should act up during the search for a headteacher, but that doesn't mean they're expected to fulfil the role indefinitely. Have a frank conversation with your deputy head about what they want and about what your expectations are.
If they are acting up for a significant amount of time, such as more than 1 half term, you should appoint them acting headteacher (see the section below).
Make sure you provide adequate support. For example, if they've never prepared the headteacher's report to governors before, give them plenty of time and assistance putting it together as the report is even more vital right now.
Don't forget that your school is in flux, and being a headteacher is difficult in the best of circumstances.
Appoint an acting headteacher
Whether it's your deputy or not, if you have someone in place to keep the school running, you can take more time to find and recruit the right candidate. Our article explains how to appoint an acting headteacher.
Seek support from your local authority
Even if you're in an academy, the local authority (LA) still has responsibility to ensure the education of all pupils in its constituency. Consider asking them to help you find someone from a teaching school or a national leader of education (NLE).
Tweak the advertising
Instead of running a typical advert requiring candidates to impress you, which can make job-hunting daunting and disheartening, run a job advert that will impress applicants and encourage them to apply.
Be reflective. Instead of describing what the ideal candidate will look like, ask yourself what you want the ideal candidate to find:
- Who are you and why is your school a great place to work?
- What's your vision and what's the new headteacher's role in fulfilling that vision?
- What great things has Ofsted said about you that you can share?
- Does your advert use collaborative language, like 'together we will'?
- What's so great about where you live and why do you live there?
Give applicants a chance to see themselves in your context and feel excited about the opportunity. Highlight the effectiveness of your governance. Or if you're in transition, explain how the incoming headteacher will be pivotal in making a positive change.
Right advert, wrong place
Perhaps your advert was just right, but didn't reach the right people. Try asking:
- If we've advertised locally, should we advertise further afield?
- If we've advertised nationally, have we overlooked candidates closer to home?
- Have we taken advantage of our LA for advertising?
- Have we used our network effectively?
Some new ideas for where you might want to advertise:
- Some LAs have created campaigns specifically for schools in their areas. For example, Teach Northamptonshire has a job board, information on teacher training and local area highlights. Check if you have a similar resource
- Go directly to a National Professional Qualification for Headship provider. Many offer career services and would be happy to let their alumni network know about your opportunity
Right place, wrong time
Plan your advertising to run well in advance of headteacher notice periods and resignation deadlines, as this will be the time that headteachers who are considering a move will be looking. You can take the time to do this if you've arranged interim cover.
Improve the recruitment package
After advertising, the next thing to consider is your package:
- Is our salary in line with the level of responsibility we're asking for? Find out more about determining headteacher pay
- If it's not, can we either offer more money or lower our expectations?
- Do we think our benefits package is competitive?
- If we're having to cast a wide net in this search, can we cover or at least off-set the cost of a move?
Obviously, offering more money can help, but that's not always an option. Instead, here are some creative ways to boost your offer:
- CPD - but not your standard offer. Recognise that your next headteacher's career path might not end at your door. Offer support for real career development, like supporting them to become an Ofsted inspector or a school improvement adviser
- Flexible working - can they work from home one day a week? Maybe job-share?
- Work/life balance - saying that you value it isn't enough, make a compelling offer. Say that you want to talk about it and discuss what that balance looks like with the candidate
- Children of staff - if your admissions policy allows you to prioritise children of staff, say it. If it doesn't, consider whether it should. Being able to work around their children's schedules is one of the reasons people go into teaching in the first place
Say up front that you want to personalise the benefits package to the individual. It'll demonstrate your collaborative nature and also mean you don't spend money on things your future headteacher doesn't want or need.
Reconsider candidate selection
If you came out of the first round with some candidates, but none that you wanted to bring to interview, think about how you shortlisted. Before you instantly dismiss any candidate, consider the following with complete honesty:
- Were you asking for more experience/education/credentials than you can afford?
- Is your person specification realistic?
- Can you genuinely afford your current level of selectivity?
Don't use an impossible person specification
It's good to have a clear idea of what the non-negotiables are, but your description of a perfect headteacher might not be realistic. For example, studies have shown that women are less likely than men to put themselves up for a promotion unless they match 100% of the qualifications. Make sure you're not eliminating appointable candidates with an impossible person specification.
Use our resources
Use our model headteacher job description and person specification.
Overhaul the interview process
Make the interview panel less formal, more conversational
Do away with the interrogation format and keep the panel on the smaller side. That said, your panel should include:
- The chair of governors
- This is going to be an important relationship, and any headteacher candidate needs to get a sense of that relationship from the beginning
- An academic adviser, if you're using one
If you have a great parent governor, consider asking them to be on the panel as well. This will give your candidate a chance to meet someone from the parent body and the parent governor has useful insight into how a prospective headteacher would be viewed by parents.
Read our article on headteacher selection panels for information on who's eligible.
Get pupils involved
Create a pupil selection panel that's also involved in the recruitment process. It demonstrates the collaborative nature of your school and gives your future headteacher an opportunity to meet the people they'll spend most of their time with once they join you.
Ask the hard questions
It's possible that you'll continue struggling to find a suitable candidate. Be prepared to think and talk honestly about these questions as a board:
- Has recruitment been getting progressively more difficult at our school?
- Is this a trend with other schools in the area? Have they been able to get around it?
- Is the local population on a downward trend?
- Does our school size mean the job of a headteacher isn't viable?
If you're struggling to recruit due to factors you can't control, it could be time to differently about the leadership structure in your school:
- Are there nearby schools we can federate with?
- Forming a federation has the advantage of sharing resources. The truth is that smaller schools can't afford full-time headteachers anymore, and a federation can hire a permanent executive head
- Have we considered the advantages of joining a MAT?
- There are pros and cons, but one of the benefits of forming or joining a MAT is having a permanent leadership structure overhead that can provide cover
- Can we share the cost of a headteacher with other schools?
- If your school is too small to afford a suitably qualified headteacher, other schools in your area might be in the same situation. A study from the DfE on running rural schools efficiently discovered that these arrangements allowed small schools to remain viable