Making The Leap

Are you considering headship? Are you looking for advice about whether that would be a good career move for you? Maybe you're applying for roles, or have secured one and are wondering how to manage the transition. Drawing on her personal experience of moving to headship, her doctoral research and her extensive reading on the subject, Jill Berry offers practical advice which will be invaluable to anyone considering headship.

As your career progresses and you move from one leadership role to another, your sphere of influence gradually grows. You will be required to take on new challenges and will, in every new job, be called upon to do things you may never have faced before. You will have the chance to learn, to grow, to prove yourself. You will make mistakes and survive them. Jill believes that the qualities that make you a good teacher are closely related to those which will serve you well in leadership. Every teacher is, in fact, a leader of learning within their own classroom. Headship is demanding, but it is also extremely rewarding: this book will encourage readers to be clear-sighted about the challenges and responsibilities that lie ahead. Managing the transition from deputy headship to first-time headship successfully will ensure that incoming heads are on the most positive trajectory as they continue their leadership journey.

In Jill's experience, new heads often ask themselves similar questions. How can I balance the two roles as I begin to hand over my senior leader responsibilities and, at the same time, begin to assume the mantle of the head? How can I establish the most positive and productive relationship with the outgoing head, so that confidence is maintained and the school is energised, rather than threatened, by the change of school leader? How can I ensure the early months and years of headship are as successful as possible, so that the school develops and grows even stronger under my leadership? This book will answer all those questions and more.

Suitable for teachers, middle leaders and senior leaders who are considering school headship.