Handing over the reins to a new incumbent always entails a mix of emotions. For most, this will include a thought along the lines of ‘This is my baby, don’t drop it’, and it’s for that reason that a healthy handover process is critical, since your community will be thinking much the same.
Here, I’ll explore what this ‘ideal’ handover period should look like – and what a less than ideal handover period might look like if you’re not careful…
A year to adjust
In general, every head will be acutely aware of the need for a smooth transition between one leader and the next. It’s essential that the new leader is able to establish themselves during what will be a very high stakes process for the school, and there’s a duty on the incumbent to ensure that this process be conducted as smoothly as possible. Simply put, the head is the focus of the school and the only person that every single child and parent will know the name of.
Headship interviews typically take place in spring, leaving the summer free for fact-finding. As an incoming headteacher, during this period you’ll need to familiarise yourself with three distinct groups – the school’s leaders and governors; the staff; families and pupils – as well as the school’s budget and most recently pursued leadership initiatives.
There’s a great deal that needs to be grasped and understood, particularly if this is your first headship. You’ll not only be trying to assimilate a socially dynamic range of people, but also adjusting internally so that you’re ready to take on what’s going to be a big job. Some say it takes at least a year to adjust, which I wouldn’t argue with. Know that during that first year you’re going to have a ‘fake it’ a lot, whilst settling in to your new role.
If time allows, arrange a series of meetings scheduled at fortnightly intervals. This will give you time to strategically cover a range of subjects whilst preventing overload and providing personal opportunities to reflect on each meeting. Once you’ve had your initial meeting with the incumbent, arrange to meet the SLT and your deputy as soon as possible. The principle aim here is to break the ice – they’ll be both curious and anxious, particularly the deputy. The relationship between HT and DHT is a mix of professional challenge and comradeship. Remember that they inhabit the role you may well have just left, and could potentially be a head-in-waiting as you’ve been.
Establishing a positive working relationship is essential to any school, and at the heart of this should be trust.
It may be uncomfortable, but if you feel that trust has at any point been complicated, particularly during those early days, you must challenge it. Ultimately, you’re the head and it’s your name on the door.
High risk situation
As previously noted, this process is for most a positive experience. However, what do you do if the outgoing head has already left? In most cases this should be a significant warning sign, and as such, you may well need money to dig your way out of some issues.
Don’t delay in asking to see the budget. In a high risk situation where you have little point of reference within the school, the financial situation of the school may well dictate your first moves. Even when the school is over-subscribed, if your predecessor has over-staffed the site you could find yourself limited in being able execute your own goals due to the budget being stretched.
The school’s existing deputy or an external head may have been appointed as acting headteacher in the interim, and might therefore be able to advise you on teaching practice, standards and school culture. I’ve recently come across instances where new arrivals have had to immediately grapple with a staff capability issue, or deal with multiple cases of long-term illness, both of which would likely be costly for the school in the short term.
While my own advice would previously have been to take a short-term financial hit for a long-term gain, nowadays you need to give serious consideration as to what impact a £10,000 to £25,000 spend on ‘pay-offs’ will actually have and whether your budget can sustain it.
Having to meet this type of cost in a small school could easily create a long-term deficit, and may well result in you having to restructure quickly in order to save money. That said, it’s better to try and address both issues at once – it won’t be the ideal start, but it will at least mean that you’re able to begin shaping the type of school you want to be leading in future.
You might equally find yourself in a situation where the incumbent is reluctant to meet. In many cases, this should be seen as more of a reflection on them than anything particularly concerning about the school. If an incumbent has been in post for many years, it’s reasonable to conclude that they’ve invested a great deal of their life into the school and may be finding it harder to let go than they’d initially thought.
You may find this to be the situation where you’re able to find out some ‘soft’ issues about the school (general ethos, staff strengths and weaknesses, which families require additional support), but much of your work will take place once you start.
Because the future is what it’s all about. Leading a school centres on the securing of long-term goals; there are few organisations that need to contemplate the years ahead in the same way that schools do. We consider our youngest students first as the benchmark for the future, and trust me – you’ll find yourself wishing those ‘youngest’ students well as they graduate and embark on their next ventures before you know it.
When that happens, take a moment to consider your early days as a novice head. Could it be that you’re at that stage where it’s time to move on and hand over to a new leader…?
Stress warning
Moving into headship creates two types of stress – one for the community, for whom it will be an anxious time, and a different type of stress for you if this is your first headship.
You may feel internally that you can take on the role, but there’s a world of difference between ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’. Projecting the image of a smooth transition is therefore essential. Your staff, pupils and families will want to feel that you’re in control, even if your circumstances and/or personal confidence might suggest otherwise…
Anthony David is an executive headteacher of two North London schools
