The opening questions I faced in my interview for my head of year role was: “Why this job and why now?”
These questions neatly encapsulate two important considerations for those of us stepping into the head of year role: how do we identify and develop the skills required in the head of year role and how do we know when we are ready to take on the responsibility alongside our teaching commitments?
I first took on a head of year role for year 9 in my school and have since followed this cohort through to the completion of their GCSEs. I have now taken on a new year group cohort and am currently head of year 8.
Priorities
In my first year as a head of year I learned that much of this job is concerned with identifying where our finite time should be spent and split, including between the three elements: students, teachers, parents/carers.
The first months of the role should also be about identifying the parameters of what can be achieved. This is not defeatist – but rather pragmatic and sensible. It is crucial to identify what can be achieved with the students in front of us, what the biggest challenges are, and what our priorities must be.
For example, it is worthwhile knowing which parents you will be most frequently in contact with. This may be due to their child’s experience in school or their expectations as a parent.
Picking up the phone is often the best thing to do at the start of the year. Introduce yourself and give the parent a chance to speak – they will be grateful for the opportunity. Where students are concerned, speaking with them is positive but find an opportunity to drop-in to their lessons when you’re not teaching. Try to avoid students only ever seeing you behind a desk.
When you take on the role, if your predecessor is still at the school, arrange a meeting so they can help you understand what they consider to be the priorities and challenges; find out where and how they have been effective in their role.
This meeting will be a good opportunity to identify ahead of time where your time may be spent. This will also give you a sense of how they have approached common challenges at the school.
Generally, embrace the art of asking questions. Having a line manager with an open-door policy can be a huge benefit yet knowing who else to ask questions of and when can be an art in itself. In many respects, the colleagues within your room, fellow heads of year, predecessors, and of course the admin staff will be great fonts of knowledge.
Managing the workload
Some of the biggest challenges in my first year – as head of year 9 – were to do with managing my workload. As an English teacher, the marking is substantial and with a responsibility to my English students as well as my year group it felt like I was being pulled in two directions.
Have a calendar displayed near your desk as a frequent point of reference. While deadlines are usually immovable, knowing how to manage your time as they approach can be an invaluable skill.
For example, expecting to receive a barrage of parent/carer emails after student reports are sent home? Make sure your year 9 essays are marked before that point. Whichever year group you are taking on, find out what the calendar looks like for that year in order to get an idea of when to expect busy periods and filled in-boxes.
Parental communication
When taking on the role you must be clear and consistent in your communication. The role can often be reactive, but over time it also becomes centred around establishing and developing relationships with students and their families.
If these relationships can be based on trust, consistency and clear boundaries, underpinned with effective communication, then you have built the foundations for a prosperous and successful relationship.
One of the most important things you can be as a head of year is responsive to the parents whose children you take responsibility for. In my experience, there is an understanding from parents and carers that teachers are busy and that we can’t respond immediately to all requests, but if you know this, a quick two-sentence email carries great value. Knowing that they have been heard is very important for families and goes a long way to creating reassurance and establishing faith, not just in you but in your school too.
For example, the use of mobile phones in school is an area where expectations and rules need to be clear and reinforced with home. In this case, always be clear on what the policy is and use this as the basis upon which to take action if required.
My school has parents’ information evenings for each year group. If there is an equivalent event at your school, use this as your opportunity to set out your stall – state your values to the parents who attend and use it as a touchstone for future reference.
Key stage 3 vs key stage 4
The duties and experience of being a head of year can differ wildly depending on the year group.
Last year, I was head of year 11 and it was by far my most challenging year in the role. For all parties involved, the pressure becomes more significant and the communication more frequent. Overall, there is a greater sense of urgency from all quarters.
You can prepare for this by making good use of the data. Familiarise yourself with the students who are not on track to meet their goals and communicate this with the students and their families.
Identifying these students at the end of year 10 is advisable. Mock exams are often seen as the marker for identifying those students who are underachieving – but given that these are often completed early in year 11, it leaves little room for manoeuvre. The likelihood is that the end of year 10 exams will be just as accurate an indicator.
In a school that has effective teaching and intervention strategies across the board, you will often find that subject teachers have identified students in need of extra support. Your role then becomes focused on the students where there is concern across a number of subjects.
With these students, find a way to balance the fact that you are being supportive while also holding them to account. A student who is not on track to meet requirements for sixth form needs to know that.
For year 11s, I met with students after mock exams and completed with them a target sheet in preparation for their GCSEs. Their focus was specific and targeted, identifying not only the gaps in their learning but also the reasons for this. Putting harsh truths in writing is an effective way to get students to acknowledge where they really are.
On the other hand, if a student is constantly underachieving in one subject and their physics teacher looks to me for help, I politely remind them that I am an English graduate and not best placed to advise on the matter. I politely ask (and gently nudge) teachers: “So which interventions have your department put in place?” or even better, the presumptive: “What was the parents’ response when you spoke with them?”
One of the most marked changes between being a head of year for GCSE year groups (9, 10 and 11 in my school) and a key stage 3 year group is the nature of concerns you are faced with.
I moved to head of year 8 this year after a three-year journey with the same students concluded as they completed their GCSEs last summer.
Last year I was supporting students through various stages of their personal development, dealing with anxiety, school avoidance, or concerns that remarkably capable students might not achieve perfection!
This year while still dealing with the academic progress that students are making, social anxiety and a sense of belonging play a far greater part of my role.
Last year, my students were adolescents beginning to ask mature questions about the adult world. This year the excitement has not always been tempered by responsibility in all cases.
Once again, I am taking on responsibility for students who last year saw a different colleague sitting in my place. I am managing a shift in their expectations and seeking to establish my own identity within the role.
Behaviour and the reactive nature of the role
On occasions dealing with behaviour can become one of the most substantial parts of the role. There are exceptional circumstances such as an unexpected behaviour incident. These occur more commonly during non-lesson time and should be followed up as promptly as possible.
In these cases, the priority should be taking statements from students and then deciding whether a sanction can/should be issued.
While those incidents are reactive, the more proactive approach is to use time with the whole year group, such as assemblies, as an opportunity to remind them about what good behaviour looks like.
Teachers often contact heads of year when there are challenges with a particular class. Make it a point to drop-in on these classes and have a conversation with the teacher about the behaviour. It is important that students see you in a variety of contexts and situations.
Remember that you have other tools at your disposal – reports are a great way to have a daily check-in with students. Be mindful that the targets that you set students should link directly to the concerns that have been raised by staff. If punctuality, homework and behaviour are the issues, then the targets set should be in accordance with that.
Be prepared to take on a role that can at times be reactive. If an event takes place during a break or lunch-time, a significant part of your day can be taken up dealing with the aftermath. The priorities will be to ensure that those who need to be informed and reassured, namely parents and students, are contacted at the earliest opportunity. Adults are far more willing to demonstrate patience and understanding for you and your colleagues when they have trust in the communication that exists between them and the school.
Crucially, remember to close the loop. When a situation has been resolved, inform the parents. They will usually be grateful for the communication.
One of the most common interactions I have with teachers in my role is regarding a single student and involving a behaviour incident or indeed series of behaviour incidents over a period of time.
There is a temptation to resolve these issues on the behalf of the teacher. However, schools will have a behaviour policy, and it is in the best interests of everyone that this is used by teaching staff in the classroom before any kind of escalation.
For your part, use the school’s behaviour policy as a means to ensure consistency – a reminder of behaviour strategies can be used as a means of encouragement, not an attempt to undermine experienced staff members.
As a head of year, you are tasked with supporting individuals in your group academically, emotionally and pastorally. But by the same measure, so is every other individual that teaches them.
Safeguarding
There may be occasions when a disclosure is made to you, either by a student or a parent, that gives rise to an immediate safeguarding concern. In these circumstances, it is important that the situation is dealt with promptly and professionally. When you are speaking with the individual, make notes so that your account is accurate. You should be aware of who your designated safeguarding lead is, as they will be the person that you will first speak with. There will usually be a database on which safeguarding concerns can be recorded and it is essential that this is done.
- Kamraan Khan is a teacher of English and is currently the head of year 8 at John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.