Within this subject we explore the different hats of headship and ask delegates what type of hat best represents their headship, with varied results, including vibrant hats that stand out from the crowd, comfortable bobble hats and hard hats.

Executive Principal Trish Stringer, whose hat of choice is a hard hat said ‘My hat shows my headship brilliantly and the reason it does is because for me the level of resilience you need as a head teacher is incredible, no two days are ever the same, you need to know that you are safe, no matter what bangs you get.' 

‘I also have a high visibility jacket because as a head teacher you have to be highly visible in your own school. You can’t leave anything to chance, you are the leader in your school and you set the pace of everything that happens. Your school will be whatever you want your school to be. Your teachers, children, non-teaching staff and parents will all take their lead from you, it’s a highly visible job of which there is no hiding place.’

One delegate brought a warm fur lines trapper hat, he said ‘I’ve only got one hat and it’s a comfort zone for me. It takes me back to my roots because if id stayed in my roots, I’d never be where I am today.’

Another brought an air warden hat from the war, she said ‘My hat is of significance to me because it’s a family hat, it was my granddads air warden hat and also serves as a metaphor because sometimes you do need a hard exterior within school’.

What type of hat would you choose to be your hat of headship?

Leadership Development

Brooke Weston Teaching school is very proud to be able to offer The National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) course in our school. This should be the first choice qualification for anyone aspiring to be a headteacher or principal. Designed in collaboration with some of the country’s leading headteachers and academics, NPQH will develop talented leaders from all backgrounds who can deliver educational excellence in a self-improving system, and high quality outcomes for pupils and students.

Trish said ‘This course is for teachers who are aspiring to be head teachers or teachers that are heads already. It is a time to let the candidates reflect on the type of heads they are going to be or the type they already are. This particular course is about leading an effective school they do leading and improving teaching module of work and we work with them. They start an induction at the national college and then they have 8 face to face sessions over the two years and its our job to facilitate and grow in their vision for their own schools the practices, the structures they will put in to be effective head teachers.