Co-headship: guidance for governors

Flexible working can work for leadership positions

Headship is no exception.

Headship is often referred to as a lonely position, and some headteachers are finding a better work/life balance through flexible working arrangements that allow them to share the workload and accountability.

The Department for Education (DfE) has stated that there's sufficient good practice out there to demonstrate that flexible arrangements for leadership positions can be successful (see pages 21-22). In fact, the DfE says that increasing opportunities for flexible working is an important part of its retention strategy.

And that's good news, because many experts see a headteacher recruitment crisis looming and cite unrealistic workloads and the accountability system as the root cause. 

But governors still need to be convinced

In writing this article, we spoke to numerous governors who all had one thing in common: they'd had doubts.

As demonstrated in this case study published by the DfE, prospective co-heads have to win over their governors.