Further education principal to secondary school head teacher
A further education principal already meets 70% of what the secondary school head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
38.2/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school head teacher is expected to do is already part of a further education principal’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the secondary school head teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school head teacher role treats 18 of its required skills as things a further education principal already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse staff capacity
- apply for government funding
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 36 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school head teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a further education principal background worth leading with.
- already held administer exams communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held lead board meetings management skills
- already held manage school budget management skills
- already held manage space utilisation management skills
- already held trade union regulations services
- already held liaise with board members communication, collaboration and creativity
All 36 carried skills, including the 18 the secondary school head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn manage enrolment required
- still to learn supervise educational staff required
- still to learn assess students required
- still to learn maintain students' discipline required
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- optional, not held learning technologies optional
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held advise on teaching methods optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held provide feedback to teachers optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school head teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 instructional strategies study this
- 02 manage enrolment practise this
- 03 supervise educational staff practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 36 skills that carry over
- already held analyse staff capacity skill
- already held apply for government funding skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held cooperate with education professionals skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held curriculum standards knowledge
- already held develop organisational policies skill
- already held education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held liaise with board members skill
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held manage school budget skill
- already held manage staff skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held represent the organisation skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held administer exams skill
- already held assess employees' capability levels skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held identify education needs skill
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held lead board meetings skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held manage government-funded programmes skill
- already held manage space utilisation skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held trade union regulations knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held learning technologies optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held advise on teaching methods optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held lead inspections optional
- optional, not held maintain relations with children's parents optional
- optional, not held manage maintenance operations optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held provide feedback to teachers optional
5 held skills the secondary school head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adult education knowledge
- not needed by the target role education administration knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage student admissions skill
- not needed by the target role post-secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role university procedures knowledge
5 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn instructional strategies required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held learning technologies optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
Other moves recorded from further education principal
Common questions about this move
Can a further education principal become a secondary school head teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A further education principal already covers 70% of what a secondary school head teacher is expected to do: 36 skills carry over, 18 of which the secondary school head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a further education principal need to become a secondary school head teacher?
7 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is instructional strategies.
How hard is the move from further education principal to secondary school head teacher?
Its learning distance is 38.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.