If you decide that you want to develop in your teaching career and become a headteacher or principal, it’s not going to be an easy journey. It’s a competitive field, and you’ll need to be a superb teacher as well as having a number of additional skills, potentially even additional qualifications. However, if you work hard and stay determined, it’s entirely possible for ambitious teachers to become principals.
Being a head of a school is very different to being a classroom teacher and you’ll have numerous additional responsibilities. The running of the school is essentially down to you and you’ll have to deal with plenty of new challenges, managing staff as well as pupils.
The first step towards becoming a headteacher is to move into management positions within your school. You usually won’t need any additional qualifications, though they may help if you did want to study for one. From there, you’ll begin working with the school’s senior leadership and learning more about what it would be like to be the headteacher.
You will probably need to take additional courses to become a headteacher. There are courses which will directly benefit those wanting to move into the position – they will teach you the theory behind the role and prepare you for it. Look at websites and speak to others in your school for further advice.