Tony Speakman argues that teachers should welcome heads with no teaching experience because such leaders would take the administrative burden off their staff (TES Inbox, February 16).
How can one person as head take on the administrative burden that all teachers must carry? The initiative he refers to does not recognise the complexity of headship. This lack of awareness of the head’s role is at the root of the current crisis in head recruitment and reflects a mental block on the part of government and society about how schools are run.
If the proposal was that a head be supported by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in finance, human resources and premises so that the head could focus on the core business of educating pupils, such proposals would be treated with more respect by the teaching profession.
Phil Goss Former headteacher, Carnforth, Lancashire