Into Headship

Leadership development is a key area on the national policy agenda in Scottish education and while there is a clear commitment to the development of leadership at all levels within schools, the specialist role of Head Teachers must also be recognised. A consistent finding from school effectiveness and school improvement literature is the significance of headship in the development and performance of a school.

To ensure aspirant and new Head Teachers are supported to develop and continue to build the necessary knowledge, skills and understandings required of senior leaders, in the long term, there will be a comprehensive Masters qualification which comprises three stages:

  • middle leadership and management
  • initial preparation for headship (Into Headship)
  • post appointment support for new Head Teachers (Extended Induction).

This is shown diagrammatically below:

Into Headship diagram

Middle Leadership (accredited programme available from 2017) → Into Headship (available from 2015) → Extended Induction (available from 2016)

From 2018, all new Head Teachers in Scotland will require to have successfully completed the Into Headship qualification. This qualification has been established in collaboration between the Scottish College for Educational Leadership and partner universities. Further details regarding the qualification can be found on the SCEL Website (Opens in a new window or downloads a file). The process for applying is explained, below.

  1. Candidates complete the SCEL Into Headship Application Form and submit to their Head Teacher
  2. Head Teachers complete the Into Headship Reference Form and send both forms to Donna Campbell, EDC, 6 Kenneth Street, Stornoway, HS1 2DR
  3. A selection panel will be convened and it will consider the evidence presented in the application and reference forms.
  4. Suitable candidates will be called for interview.

Successful candidates will be endorsed by the authority and applications forwarded to the selected course provider and SCEL notified.

It is likely that the cost for the course in total will be £3000, with one third being met by the candidates themselves.