Advice for a new deputy headteacher

If you're starting out as a deputy headteacher, understand your responsibilities and get to know your school community.

Last reviewed on 28 September 2022
School types: All · School phases: All
Ref: 1096
Contents
  1. Understand your responsibilities
  2. Prepare for when your headteacher is absent  
  3. Prioritise building effective stakeholder relationships 
  4. See if mentoring schemes could work for you 
  5. CPD and performance objectives 

Understand your responsibilities

You must:

  • Play a major role under the overall direction of your headteacher in:
    • Formulating the aims and objectives of your school
    • Establishing the policies through which they're to be achieved
    • Managing staff and resources to that end
    • Monitoring progress towards their achievement
  • Undertake any professional duties of the headteacher that they reasonably delegate to you 

In addition, you must undertake the professional duties of the headteacher when they’re absent. This is the main difference between a deputy headteacher and an assistant headteacher - see our role comparison for more details.

This is set out in paragraph 48.1 and 48.2 (page 46) of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD).

Identify your areas for development 

Prepare for when