Headteacher vacancies

Before I write too much in this blog, can I just say that I am not an expert on football. That said, I have had people say to me over the years that headteachers are like football managers. They coach the team, and of course, are responsible for results. The new England manager has a huge task ahead given the current state of the team (or so I am told). So far the analogy holds quite well, up to a point. However, this week I have been out and about interviewing Heads about the effects of recent policy changes on the ground, particularly in terms of the restructuring of schools etc. After the official research work, we often discuss many other issues and one mentioned her colleague who has just left his school after an OFSTED inspection. This lead to a discussion of what happens to such Heads, who, one presumes must have some talents going for them. In the olden days, they might have been whisked away by the LA and used for support in their area of specialist knowledge originally for example literacy. These days with academies, the Head opined, what happens to them? They are unlikely to get another headship, because their leadership will inevitably be linked to the failure of the school, as categorised by OFSTED. The football manager, it seems to me, has it easier. Yes, he may get the chop for poor results, and may well deserve it (or not), but he usually gets the chance to rise (and fall) again - Kevin Keegan? Somehow in football the manager is allowed to take the blame for failure, but is not seen to be a person who has lost his talents as a footballer and leader. Interesting. Of course, we know from the leadership research that context is very important (remember the failed Superheads of the 1990s?), and research (Leadership) also shows that practices of leadership are important to context. So, did the last two England coaches fail because they failed to adapt their leadership styles to the context of the national team, which was outside their cultural norms? Sorry, getting a bit academic here. So, the ousted headteacher has, mostly, nowhere to go. He or she rarely gets that second chance. The Head and I came up with the names of six people we had known as teachers who were brilliant, but had left Headship following OFSTED. You may, of course, be a star player, but a poor coach, and that is not good for the team. However, it could just be that the team you were appointed to lead was dysfunctional and needed more time than the Proprietor of the club was prepared to give, or spend money on. Not that this has any relationship at all to today's schools, of course. Football managers get another go, especially if they have something good in their track record. Acting football managers can move swiftly on to a new job anytime, as can acting Heads. I think I have probably stretched this analogy as far as it will go, but doubtless my sporty readers can add more. In the meanwhile, it is less than surprising that primary head vacancies are at a high level.

Tennis anyone?