Are Two Heads Better Than One?

Teaching is a stressful profession, and it’s particularly stressful if you are the person at the top of the tree. The responsibilities of a Head Teacher in a modern, urban school can make it one of the loneliest occupations. When your staff and pupils look to you for leadership, where do you go for support and encouragement?

Some schools think they may have found the answer in appointing two heads rather than one. The UK’s National College for School Leadership, established to find new solutions to the problems of modern school headships, thinks this is an example of the sort of flexible approach needed to help teachers cope with the demands of the head teachers role in the 21st century.