A week ago today, we held our second webinar of the academic year. Our webinars this year are focused on our vision and priorities, as well as our social entrepreneurship aims. This webinar, entitled ‘Stepping Up to Headship’, was born out of the growing need to respond to the headteacher recruitment and retention crisis, alongside feedback from our community requesting more content focused on securing promotion.

The webinar was split into two panel discussions. Panel one consisted of four headteachers and school leaders, while panel two featured representatives from organisations focused on ensuring headship is more sustainable and diverse.

Panel one kicked off with introductions from Krissi Carter, Mumin Humayun, Shahista Zamir and Kate Owbridge. We purposefully curated a panel representing a mixture of primary, secondary and specialist settings, as well as different points in career journeys (new-to-role, experienced, returning and retired).

We began by discussing how the role of headteacher differs from other leadership roles. This included the well-known reality that the role is unpredictable and around 90% operational (as Mumin stated); however, it also requires leaders to be highly strategic. This conversation naturally led into a later question exploring how headteachers can delegate effectively and empower others to lead — including being comfortable with not knowing everything, having a willingness to research, and recognising that the role should not be managed alone.

Another key element of panel one focused on the development that current and future headteachers should invest in alongside the NPQH. Several important points emerged:

• Invest in support and development that addresses the emotional demands of the role
• Visit other schools — be outward-facing and avoid staying in your own bubble
• Explore coaching, mentoring and supervision
• Invest time in learning about HR and finance, and develop a strong understanding of the school business manager role
• Build and invest in professional networks

There was so much more wisdom shared, so do tune into panel one below.

Following the inspiration of panel one, panel two began (after navigating a few technical issues — but we got there in the end!) with introductions from Nadine Bernard (Founder and CEO of Aspiring Heads and a primary headteacher), Kate Smith (Network Leader of HeadsUp4HTs), and Jonathan Coy (Co-Founder of HeadteacherChat).

Panel two opened with a discussion about what support should be in place for headteachers and, for those seeking their first headship role, what to explore during the recruitment process. This sparked a rich conversation around working environments, culture, and understanding both the value you bring and the value you will receive. It also raised awareness of decision fatigue, imposter syndrome, and the lack of emotional support — linking back to a key message from panel one: don’t try to manage the job alone.

The second main discussion point focused on how we make headship an attractive role. Kate rightly reframed this question as: ‘How do we make headship a sustainable career?’ This prompted a powerful discussion at both system and local levels, with Nadine offering valuable insight into supporting and empowering colleagues from the global majority. Research clearly shows that global majority colleagues aspire to leadership, yet systemic barriers continue to prevent many talented educators from achieving this.

Panel two concluded with a focus on practical wellbeing strategies and the importance of setting and managing boundaries effectively. Catch up on everything panel two shared below.

We are incredibly grateful to our wonderful contributors for volunteering their time to share their experiences and wisdom. A huge thank you for supporting our community.