'Getting There'

In this section of the programme, no-one admits to a driving ambition to become a head from the start of their teaching career; but neither does anyone suggest that the progression is totally accidental. There is a general sense that the teaching profession is highly structured, with a momentum of its own which encourages individual teachers to experiment with ideas in new and different contexts.

'I think there's something about the hierarchical nature of schools which pushes you up, and you want the experience of trying a different job, and trying out your ideas and seeing if you can make changes on a wider scale.'

'When you track back I think that you make a decision because of opportunities that arise, but also because you realise that your interests are increasingly coming out of the classroom. You're interested in what's happening in other areas of the school, other groups of children, say, with special educational needs ... and you realise that the aspects of the job you like are all of them.'

Discussion points:

• Consider the stage you have now reached in your career, and note down the different stages of development. What are the factors which have influenced the changes you have made at each stage? How many of these factors relate to personal circumstances and how many to planned professional development?
• What do you think will be your next move in terms of professional development or career change? To what extent are you planning for this change?
• Anne Murray acknowledges that working with headteachers who provided first a negative and then a positive role model was a strong influence in her decision to 'try doing that job and try motivating and enthusing other people'. What has been the impact of both positive and negative role models on your teaching career?

'Being a Headteacher'

The reflections in this section explore different personal perspectives on the head's influence in creating change and developing the culture of the school.

For Janet Lewis, in her first year as head, she is now leading a school with 'a winning formula...I would be crazy to tinker with that in any major way. What I do bring though is a different tone and a different style.' For Keith Ajegbo, 12 years into the role, initial thoughts of 'coming in and grabbing hold and really changing things' gave way to the view that 'you needed to be patient'. Pat Clark sees new and challenging opportunities in a second headship: 'that's when you move from the "why?" to the "why not"'.

Discussion points:

• All the headteachers featured are at different stages in their careers as heads. What do their comments reveal about the differences between the early days of headship and the later stages, and between first and second headships?
• What are the underlying messages about creating change in this section of the programme?
• 'I think the relationship between the teacher and the child is the most crucial relationship in the school. If you got all the relationships between teachers and children right you would probably have the perfect school, you'd have realised your vision, and I think the head has to be involved in that relationship, refining his or her own practice to improve it as the rest of the staff are.' Keith Ajegbo is very clear about the need to be a teaching head. What do you think are the main arguments for and against being a teaching head?
• In this section, there is a comment on the influence exerted by the head and members of the senior management team as role models for relationships within the school and the community. What kind of 'role modelling' is in operation your own school, college or organisation?

Note: Before you watch the next section, brainstorm the qualities and skills you believe a headteacher needs to be truly effective.

'Being Effective'

This section focuses on the particular qualities and skills that make an effective headteacher. In the view of the five heads, these range from passion, vision and a personal value system to analytical thinking and communication skills, and to 'those human things... humour, lightness, understanding'.

Discussion points:

• How does your initial brainstorm of the qualities and skills a headteacher needs to be effective compare with those outlined by the five heads in this section of the programme? Note down what they say, and compare this list with your own.
• How would you prioritise these qualities and skills? Is it possible to say which are essential, and which are only desirable? Individually or in discussion with colleagues, create a revised list.
• Which of the qualities and skills you have selected do you recognise in yourself? Working with a colleague, share your views of the relevant qualities and skills you recognise in each other.
• To what degree do you believe these essential qualities and skills are (a) innate, (b) acquired through experience, or (c) developed through training?

Note: The National Standards for Headteachers may be of interest here. Currently available in print from the DfEE and on the TTA website, the standards are organised into five categories: the core purpose of the headteacher; the key outcomes of headship; professional knowledge and understanding; skills and attributes; and key areas of headship. Within 'skills and attributes', there are five subcategories described as 'essential though not all exclusive to the headteacher's role', which break down into 35 different requirements. See: http://www.teach-tta.gov.uk/nshead.htm.

'Management or Leadership?'

In this section, we look at the question of whether an effective head is a manager, a leader or both. What emerges is that this is perhaps an unhelpful debate, that both leadership and management qualities are required.

Discussion points:

• From your experience, what are the key qualities and skills of (a) an effective leader, and (b) an effective manager?
• 'As a leader you have to develop a range of styles that you use when appropriate. So it's about fitness for purpose.' What ideas of leadership are expressed in this section, either explicitly or implicitly? What distinctive leadership styles do you see in evidence in your school, college and organisation?
• Within the senior management team in your school, college or organisation, what is the balance of leadership and management skills? In your view, is it an effective balance? What do you think would make it more effective?
• 'I don't personally think someone from a bank or Marks and Spencer can come in and run a school. To lead a school, you have to have a personal conviction about children's learning and where that learning is going to take them, and about yourself as a learner.' What do you believe leadership and management practice in business and industry can contribute to the culture and organisation of schools?

Again, you may find it interesting to cross-refer to the National Standards for Headteachers: http://www.teach-tta.gov.uk/nshead.htm.

'A Vision for Learning'

This section looks at the nature of the vision for learning in each school, and touches on the means of developing and implementing this vision.

Discussion points:

• 'You could say the vision for any school in two words. It's about raising achievement.' What key points emerge in the vision for learning expressed by the different headteachers in this section? How does it compare with the vision for learning in your own school?
• What explicit and implicit messages does this section of the programme give about the importance in developing and implementing a vision for learning of (a) research and reflection, (b) collaborative planning and involvement, (c) staff development, and (d) pupil involvement? To what extent is there a focus on these four areas within your own school? Are there opportunities for further development in all or any of these areas?

'Pressures, Challenges and Satisfactions'

'This is a profession I think which is dogged by the search for the perfect model. The problem is, there is no perfect model and even when we find it there are still little things we could put right, that we could still do better ...'

The pressures and challenges outlined in this section are both public and private, long-term and short-term, ranging from the pressures of performance and accountability to the personal demands of a leadership role. The satisfactions span a similar range from 'the autonomy, the power to shape an institution' to relationships with individual children.

Discussion points:

• Gather a list of the pressures and challenges from (a) the headteachers' reflections in the programme, and (b) your own experience or observation. What are the personal qualities and skills you would need to deal effectively with these specific pressures?
• In the postscript to the programme, Anne Murray says 'I'm not sure anything could really prepare you for the variety of unexpected things you meet ... If somebody tried to explain it all to you in advance, you probably would decide not to bother becoming a headteacher at all.' On balance, in the programme, do the satisfactions of the role emerge more strongly than the difficulties, or vice versa?