Headship appointment service

Key governor role
The selection and appointment of a new headteacher is the most important, single responsibility that governors are required to undertake. Their choice will have a long term and far reaching influence on the school or college they serve. Governing bodies are made up of people from a variety of backgrounds with few as educational professionals. Given this, it is normal practice for governing bodies to engage external professional support to assist in this vital process.

All recent research points to the importance of the headteacher as the key person in determining the quality and degree of success of the school.

Context
When the headteacher gives notice of resignation, the governing body will need to implement a process that will lead to the appointment of the very best person for the job. It is vital that this process follows correct procedures and is carried out efficiently and effectively, ensuring that the school secures a good successor who matches the school’s needs.

Governors’ questions
Following the resignation of their headteacher, governors are likely to have many questions about what to do next. Some of these are listed below:

How can governors access completely objective advice?
What are the current and future needs of the school?
What kind of head is being sought?
What are the steps governors should take in the selection process?
What is an appropriate timescale for the process?
How long will each part of the procedure take?
How many governors should be involved?
How should the new headteacher’s salary be calculated?
What should the advertisement for the post cover?
Where should the advertisement be placed?
What information should be sent to interested candidates?
What will be the criteria for selection?
How many candidates should be shortlisted?
How will the interview days be run?
What tasks and questions will the interview days involve?
How will a final decision to appoint or not to appoint, be taken?
What feedback should successful and unsuccessful candidates be offered?

The ASCL service
The ASCL MAPS consultancy service will provide governors with a consultant who is able to provide comprehensive support throughout the vital process of appointing a new headteacher. All our consultants have the following characteristics:

They have been carefully selected and fully trained in the process of headteacher appointment
They have access to and are familiar with a robust, comprehensive pack of ASCL’s own headteacher appointment materials which support the appointment process, at all stages
They will have spent many years working in schools as headteachers, have extensive experience of making senior appointments and so know schools and what they need
They are backed by ASCL legal services, so if additional advice or guidance is needed at any stage, it can be sourced from ASCL.

More specifically, an ASCL consultant will offer to:

Make an initial presentation to the governing body
Provide procedural and legal advice
Assist with the advertising process
Help to prepare the application form
Assist with the drafting of the job and person specification
Help to identify the criteria for appointment
Give advice on referencing techniques
Assist with the scrutiny and assessment of applications
Offer advice on long listing and short listing
Make recommendations for assessment procedures
Help to prepare a programme for the interview and selection process
Provide a comprehensive set of interview questions
Advise governors on the final selection process

Governors who have used our service in the past have told us that the support of one of our consultants has made the whole task of selecting a headteacher a smooth yet robust professional process in which stress placed on them was minimised and all candidates were given a good impression of the school.

To date, our ASCL consultant team has supported the appointment of over 450 new headteachers.

Interested?
If you are interested in the possibility of using our service, why not invite one of our consultants to a governors’ meeting to give you a presentation showing what we provide?

Our service is available to all schools: community, independent, foundation, trust and colleges, on a nationwide basis. The consultancy can operate in partnership with local authorities or the diocese, where appropriate.

The cost
The service is offered at a cost of £6,000 plus expenses and VAT. If no appointment is made and the process is rerun, an additional cost of £3,000 will be incurred each time this is carried out. To put this cost in a helpful perspective, the following points are relevant:

It represents around 0.2 per cent of a typical secondary school’s annual budget
It is a very small proportion of the money which will be invested in a new headteacher
It is very competitive when compared with other, similar services.

Further information
More details can be obtained without obligation by emailing consultancy@ascl.org.uk or contact the MAPS office on 0116 299 1122.