Preparing for headship: headteacher interview questions

How headship interviews differ

Headship interviews are different from interviews for other positions because:

• They are led by the governing board, not the headteacher
• They are likely to involve a multi-stage process

The stages will involve a combination of tasks and an interview. Get more information about both of these below.

How to prepare for your headteacher interview

David New, an education consultant and former headteacher, gave us some advice on preparing for headship interviews. Read his top tips below...

Reflect on your experience

• How can you demonstrate your experience of a wide range of school leadership challenges? If your leadership experience has been primarily academic (subject leadership or department leadership), how can you demonstrate leadership and understanding of pastoral issues (or vice versa)?
• Headship involves working much more closely with governors. How can you demonstrate experience of working with a governing board/local governing body?
• Be honest with yourself about what you don't know, and understand the support you'll need to develop in these areas

Get to know the school

If you're an external candidate, get to know the school. Use:

• The information and policies published on the school's website (including minutes of governors' meetings)
• Ofsted reports
• Performance data
• Basic information about the school (including size, demographics and pupil characteristics), which you can find via the link above
• Financial reports or data
• Your local heads' or school leaders' network

Use all of this data to compare the school to national standards and the other schools in the local area.

The headteacher interview process

Headteacher interviews are usually much more than just an interview. Schools will likely expect you to take part in at least one task during the interview process.

Common interview tasks include:

• Budget analysis
• Performance data analysis
• Presentations on a set topic
• Leading a school assembly
• Lesson observations (or delivering lessons, if the post includes a teaching commitment)
• Meeting with pupils, staff or parents
• In-tray exercises (these are designed to test your ability to prioritise, perform under pressure, think strategically and creatively, and pay attention to detail)
• Group discussions
• Role play scenarios

Sample headteacher interview questions

Download our list of sample headteacher interview questions. It includes guidance on what the recruitment panel will be looking for in your answer. 

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