Best Practice

Making the leap to headship

Senior leadership Middle leadership
Making the move from deputy headteacher to headteacher can seem a daunting challenge. Experienced head Dr Jill Berry offers her advice on achieving the step up and making a success of your first headship

Of the seven jobs I had across six schools during a 30-year career in education, headship was definitely the most enjoyable and rewarding.

I fully appreciate the demands and challenges of the role – the responsibility and the pressure – however I found far more joys and satisfactions, far more reasons to be cheerful, than the reverse.

I certainly had many more good days than bad ones, and it is a role I would recommend to anyone who believes they have the temperament and the commitment to make a success of it. It will certainly allow you to make a difference to the lives of children, and of adults, on a scale unlike any other you have known.

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