English Education System

http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/d...teachers-and-senior-leaders-full-guidance.pdf

A guide to recruiting head teachers and senior leadership roles at schools in England.

These people invariably come through the teaching system and start out as ordinary teachers. They will have a degree and probably a teaching qualification (although not always). In the old days, they were fearsome figures and you did not want to be sent to see one (it would mean a certain beating). Nowadays, they are more like chief executives of companies. Independent schools (confusingly called public schools in Britain) have their own rules and state schools are much less flexible. However, I doubt there are any headteachers who have not been a teacher at one time or another.

Yeah, Kenn is right. A councillor wouldn't be headmaster or anything like that. That person doesn't have the right qualifications. A degree in education would most likely be required, as well as experience teaching.

Maxinquaye said:

http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/d...teachers-and-senior-leaders-full-guidance.pdf

A guide to recruiting head teachers and senior leadership roles at schools in England.

Click to expand...

Max - right site but I think it might be the wrong section as the one you give the link to is about recruiting/appointing head teachers and not about mandatory requirements for becoming a head teacher.

See here:
http://www.nationalcollege.org.uk/index/interactiveinfo?id=133570

and click on the link in the box above Resource Information which will download the leaflet about becoming a head teacher.

Well, I linked it because requirements are discussed in that document. I didn't really want to dig much further once I found it.

Hi Nola,

My uncle was a headmaster. He got a degree and then went into teaching, possibly after passing a Teaching Diploma or something.

So, as the other posters state, you basically start off in a classroom, getting bullied by the kids and threatened by the parents, and work your way up the tree.

But, I think that in England there's a species called a Super Headmaster, and I'm not making this up, who go into underperforming schools and... don't really care what happens next because they're earning more money than the Prime Minister. Perhaps these lucky ba... er, fellows, didn't take the conventional route to HM.

Regards

Maxinquaye said:

Well, I linked it because requirements are discussed in that document. I didn't really want to dig much further once I found it.

Click to expand...

I don't blame you for not wanting to dig in that site!

whacko said:

Hi Nola,

My uncle was a headmaster. He got a degree and then went into teaching, possibly after passing a Teaching Diploma or something.

So, as the other posters state, you basically start off in a classroom, getting bullied by the kids and threatened by the parents, and work your way up the tree.

But, I think that in England there's a species called a Super Headmaster, and I'm not making this up, who go into underperforming schools and... don't really care what happens next because they're earning more money than the Prime Minister. Perhaps these lucky ba... er, fellows, didn't take the conventional route to HM.

Regards

Click to expand...

Head teachers - super or other wise - would have to take the same route to the top of the pile. Super Head Teachers do earn their money - I've worked with a few and they are truly awesome. Not only know their stuff but how to apply it and how to work with colleagues without treading on toes. More than can be said for two recent Prime Ministers!

There are some other ways to get into teaching if you have already had a career in business or industry but in general the route for most teachers would be this:

Firstly there are a range of schools for the under 10 or 11 year olds - then there are another range of ones for the over 10 or 11 year olds. (some school areas move their children from one set at 10 others at 11)

Teachers need a degree - for those teaching the over 10 or 11 year olds it will need to be in the subject that will be taught. Then there is a one year course the "postgraduate certificate in education" Some people take the degree and certificate separately - some people take them as a combined course.

Young hopefulls then enter the classrooms and rise through the ranks to head teachers etc.

As a note - counsellors have never been employed by schools in the UK - this is considered a medical position not a teaching one. (Obviously there is going to be an exception somewhere that I don't know about - but don't write about the "school counsellor" in the UK as there isn't one)

Counselling is not as mainstream in the UK as it is in the US - they are seen almost as a course of treatment for something specific. Counsellors would be brought into a school if something particularly traumatic happens to a lot of students and the event is connected to the school - for an individual child the parents would be expected to deal with it in the same way they would be expected to take care of the health of their child.

Further note - most schools in the UK these days don't even have a school nurse.

If you need to get a counsellor into a position of authority in a school then I would suggest a teacher who decided to get a counselling qualification "on the side"

If you can give more infomration about what you need I can give more help

There are Ed Psychs - 'disturbed' children can be referred to them.

Whilst I agree with most of nicolane's post some schools employ non-teaching staff in pastoral roles, e.g. had of year/house - so a counsellor could get a job in a school via that path. Though most non-teachers who get those jobs do so because they are cheaper than teachers.