I want to further my career in education, but I don’t want to follow the deputyhead route. I’d prefer to work in supporting schools and teachers.
How do I find such vacancies?
Most local authority posts are advertised in The TES. Often these posts are linked to specific funding and may be time limited. There is no specific preparation, but several years of successful teaching, leadership experience and a record of professional development are prerequisites. Many posts are recruited from local teachers through informal networks, so knowing who are the movers and shakers is helpful. With the role of local authorities diminishing further after the recent white paper, more of these posts may be in the private sector in the same way that inspections were privatised a decade ago. Once out of the classroom, you will lose the day-to-day contact with pupils and will be working mainly with adults: some teachers enjoy the change, others don’t. Would you? You will also find yourself on a different pay and conditions scale, and you may no longer be eligible to remain in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
