The rungs of the Career ladder in teaching are getting further and further apart.  Even more worrying, we are seeing more and more people from outside of teaching stepping straight into senior roles with virtually no experience of education or children.  While it is good to see views from the ‘outside’ world widening visions from the staff room, there can be little more discouraging than working under harsh conditions and at low pay for fifteen years.  Then, when it is time to move forward,  to discover the Deputy Headship for which you would be an ideal candidate has gone to the former financial trader whose only experience of dealing with an unruly mob is on the floor of the market place.

But there is little we can do about that, as teachers.   Other than, that is, to remember when we ourselves achieve the top of the tree how hard it can be to secure promotion.  We must recall that pedagogic acorns need the chance to grow into their own substantial oaks, without being chopped down by the chainsaw of other professions just when they reach maturity.

Common Factors

But let us be positive, for opportunities are there.  Those with the ambition and skills to advance their career will find options within teaching.  There are certain key elements to making progress – not ‘set in concrete’ essentials, but highly advisable credentials:

• Good organisation is a must. It might not always seem so, but middle and senior managers do work very hard, at least the best ones.  They may delegate (a skill in its own right), but their door is always open and managing a big organisation – even a medium sized school has a budget of several millions, and a significant number of staff – is tough.
• A clean disciplinary record is crucial. It is harder being a teacher today than ever.  Accusations are easy to make and difficult to disprove; social media means that even our most private moment are, quite wrongly most would say, subject to scrutiny.  Even highly paid lawyers and doctors have a bit of time off to let their hair down, something that seems to longer apply to teachers.
• Good classroom control is also necessary. Teachers and pupils will expect you to be able to cope with the trickiest of students, and respect will disappear if you cannot.

Options in Education

Given the above, there are different routes that can be taken to advance our career.  One of the first questions is whether to seek promotion in your current school, or to look elsewhere.  For those seeking their first step in promotion, perhaps to number two in a large department, Head of department in mid-sized school, or maybe a pastoral role such as Head of Year, it does not hugely matter whether promotion is internal or at another school.  However, internal opportunities do not often arise, and heads often want the new perspectives they are more likely to find from external candidates.

Once you have an idea of where to look for your next job, a good letter of application to go alongside your career record is worth spending time perfecting.  Interview technique that identifies you as confident without being arrogant, calm without being too laid back, is most likely to lead to success, especially where your interviewer does not know you personally.

Moving from middle to Senior Management is usually best with a change of schools.  From a senior management perspective, there is no doubt that a teacher’s role in an institution changes with this type of promotion.  Old friendships can be put under strain, and discussions held at SLT meetings might leave somebody in an uncomfortable position, where internal appointments are made.

In the old days, moving into senior management was a more straightforward prospect.  There was the head, the deputy, probably somebody on the pastoral side and another to represent the academic.  Nowadays there are a diverse range of positions, from safeguarding to heading up teaching and learning, with sometimes marketing or business interests represented.

The best idea is to decide where you really want to go, arrange a meeting with your Head and have a good heart to heart discussion.  As wrong as it might be, a lot of positions are confirmed because you have become known for success on the school circuit, or your head is prepared to get onto the phone and recommend you.

To sum up:

• Get a good record behind you.
• Decide on the direction you would like your career to take.
• Speak to your head.
• Start applying.
• Listen to feedback and…
• Start your new job.

Leaving The Profession

Sadly, for many, career progression means leaving the profession.  Doing so is much more straightforward than might be feared.  Teaching helps to develop skills that are highly regarded in the market place and many ex teachers find excellent positions in the private sector where there is less stress, better pay and far less political interference, both with a capital and small ‘P’.

Most teachers have excellent soft skills.  Working with people, many of them vulnerable, helps to make teachers great listeners and superb, kindly, problem solvers.  We are good leaders, experienced at managing others – children in particular (most adults are just bigger versions, perhaps a little less open minded!)

Teachers are also usually well organised, good time keepers, excellent at meeting deadlines and with strong subject specific skills.

They make fine writers (trust me, a great job if you like setting your own agenda, and better paid than many would have you believe…); accountants; business managers and entrepreneurs.

Teachers are sought after in recruitment, sales and retail, where their excellent soft skills come into their own.  For those with time and ability to retrain, teachers made good solicitors, with their attention to detail, and fine counsellors with their ability to listen well.

In fact, there are few jobs to which teachers cannot turn their hands if the desire is there.  After all, we have managed difficult classes of thirty something students, each with their own needs, challenges, difficulties and ambitions.  If we can do that, we can do anything.