Role models for aspiring female headteachers
First published on The Future Leaders Trust Insights blog on 1 October 2015 (no longer available).
In the 2014-15 academic year, 62% of Future Leaders securing primary headship were women, as were 50% of those appointed to secondary headship. Overall, 53% of teachers supported to headship by The Future Leaders Trust were women. This is the first time the proportion of female Future Leaders has been above even 40% and bucks a trend which has historically seen few women in headship positions in the UK.
I talked to some of our 2015 Future Leaders female heads to find out how they did it and what advice they would offer to those hoping to follow in their footsteps. Some common themes emerged – around the importance of role models and coaches; adopting explicit confidence-building techniques; drawing on their moral purpose to keep going in the face of setbacks; and the need for a network of family and friends offering practical support with balancing work and family.
Most of those I spoke to talked about the benefits of having attended one of our Future Leaders women into headship days. Delivered with Women into School Headship, the success of these days hinges on two factors. The first is the provision of training in practical strategies that build and/or give the appearance of greater confidence (faking it until you feel it). The second is the power that comes from being part of a network of like-minded women, spurring you on to achieve your goals.
Of the 32 who attended our women into headship day in February, 3 have already gone on to secure headship, as have almost half the women who attended the previous session.
Of course, the journey to headship is rarely smooth and those navigating it need bags of resilience. Some of this might come from the personal and professional network around you. But our women spoke also of drawing on their moral purpose as a way to steel their nerve – both for picking themselves up after a knock-back and dealing with the demands of headship once there. Vicky comments how “spending 20 minutes with the kids and hearing their successes to remember why you’re doing it can cure anything”.
In the 2014-15 academic year, 62% of Future Leaders securing primary headship were women, as were 50% of those appointed to secondary headship. Overall, 53% of teachers supported to headship by The Future Leaders Trust were women. This is the first time the proportion of female Future Leaders has been above even 40% and bucks a trend which has historically seen few women in headship positions in the UK.
I talked to some of our 2015 Future Leaders female heads to find out how they did it and what advice they would offer to those hoping to follow in their footsteps. Some common themes emerged – around the importance of role models and coaches; adopting explicit confidence-building techniques; drawing on their moral purpose to keep going in the face of setbacks; and the need for a network of family and friends offering practical support with balancing work and family.
We often talk about the importance of role models for the children in our schools, but less for the staff who work there. For children, it is often celebrities like footballers and pop stars that the media demand set a good example, but the role models our Future Leaders heads spoke of weren’t to be found on the covers of magazines, but rather closer to home.
The role models who made the most difference were not the perfect, finished article. Our women were inspired by the example and influence of people they could relate to – someone “like me”. Nichola Smith, Acting Head at Meadstead Primary School talked about the arrival of another Future Leader, Wendy Baxter, as head at that school when she was deputy: “Wendy came in and saw my potential. Having someone believe in me made all the difference. Wendy is a very good mentor… A lot of my confidence has come from her mentoring because she has faced the same challenges”.
The role models who made the most difference were not the perfect, finished article. Our women were inspired by the example and influence of people they could relate to – someone “like me”. Nichola Smith, Acting Head at Meadstead Primary School talked about the arrival of another Future Leader, Wendy Baxter, as head at that school when she was deputy: “Wendy came in and saw my potential. Having someone believe in me made all the difference. Wendy is a very good mentor… A lot of my confidence has come from her mentoring because she has faced the same challenges”.
Vicky Woodrow, Headteacher at the Rowan Centre in Rotherham, talks of receiving a much-needed prod from a female deputy to move on from the Assistant Headship she loved: “She reminded me that there’s always more you can do in any role that you’re in, but to progress you need to move on”. And this was another common theme; not waiting for opportunities to come to you, but going out and grabbing them.
Allie Denholm describes her journey to Headteacher of South Shields Community School as “long”. In the end, she says, “I took a really deep breath and stopped waiting for people to tell me I was good enough and thought myself into the role”. Like others I spoke to, Allie found the support of a coach invaluable in giving her the confidence to apply successfully for headship. Some of the feedback her coach gave her (including about her appearance) was difficult to hear. She initially resisted but then decided it would be easier to change perception from the inside – “the mind-set of ‘just walk in as if headteacher in waiting, not vice-principal’ was the biggest gift my coach gave me”.
Allie Denholm describes her journey to Headteacher of South Shields Community School as “long”. In the end, she says, “I took a really deep breath and stopped waiting for people to tell me I was good enough and thought myself into the role”. Like others I spoke to, Allie found the support of a coach invaluable in giving her the confidence to apply successfully for headship. Some of the feedback her coach gave her (including about her appearance) was difficult to hear. She initially resisted but then decided it would be easier to change perception from the inside – “the mind-set of ‘just walk in as if headteacher in waiting, not vice-principal’ was the biggest gift my coach gave me”.
Most of those I spoke to talked about the benefits of having attended one of our Future Leaders women into headship days. Delivered with Women into School Headship, the success of these days hinges on two factors. The first is the provision of training in practical strategies that build and/or give the appearance of greater confidence (faking it until you feel it). The second is the power that comes from being part of a network of like-minded women, spurring you on to achieve your goals.
Of the 32 who attended our women into headship day in February, 3 have already gone on to secure headship, as have almost half the women who attended the previous session.
Of course, the journey to headship is rarely smooth and those navigating it need bags of resilience. Some of this might come from the personal and professional network around you. But our women spoke also of drawing on their moral purpose as a way to steel their nerve – both for picking themselves up after a knock-back and dealing with the demands of headship once there. Vicky comments how “spending 20 minutes with the kids and hearing their successes to remember why you’re doing it can cure anything”.
Another common thread was around the more practical support provided by partners, families and other senior leaders, especially to juggle the demands of work and family. Vicky spoke of having a headteacher who was very supportive of her caring responsibilities (for her child and sick mum) and working “shifts” with another deputy head with children to cover out of hours responsibilities. But she also reflects how “the guilt aspect was awful and did hold me back a little”.
Linda Emmett, Headteacher of All Saints Catholic College in Tameside comments that “this is the biggest challenge for us as female school leaders. We must retain our deep commitment to our schools, with a relentless focus on outcomes for children, with ensuring our own family do not suffer as a result. It is surprising how we can gain this balance with excellent organisation and planning! It is a duty to us to ensure that we reassure young mums who may be thinking of headship, and concerned about the balance of children and commitments to school, that they can do it!!”.
Linda Emmett, Headteacher of All Saints Catholic College in Tameside comments that “this is the biggest challenge for us as female school leaders. We must retain our deep commitment to our schools, with a relentless focus on outcomes for children, with ensuring our own family do not suffer as a result. It is surprising how we can gain this balance with excellent organisation and planning! It is a duty to us to ensure that we reassure young mums who may be thinking of headship, and concerned about the balance of children and commitments to school, that they can do it!!”.
To a woman, all offer the same advice to other women thinking of applying for headship: go for it! And don’t believe you have to have mastered everything before you do – men typically don’t! And make sure you always negotiate your salary – most men do! As these women have proven, “it is a challenge but not impossible to break through the glass ceiling. Your proven track record of results, moral purpose, mission and values will shine through for the right school (and if it doesn’t you wouldn’t want to work there anyway)”. The pay-off is great and all are delighted (if a little daunted) to be in position of ultimate accountability for transforming the life chances of children in their schools.
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