Primary school head teacher to deputy head teacher
A primary school head teacher already meets 78% of what the deputy head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
25.6/ 100
1 How much of what a deputy head teacher is expected to do is already part of a primary school head teacher’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 deputy head teacher role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A deputy head teacher role treats 14 of its required skills as things a primary school head teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
- curriculum objectives
- curriculum standards
- education law
- guarantee students' safety
What stands in the way is 3 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 33 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A deputy head teacher role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a primary school head teacher background worth leading with.
- already held provide feedback to teachers communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held liaise with board members communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held learning technologies education
- already held apply for government funding information skills
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
All 33 carried skills, including the 14 the deputy head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 4 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 provide education management support required
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- still to learn communicate with youth required
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- still to learn education administration required
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a deputy head teacher role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 provide education management support practise this
- 02 communicate with youth practise this
- 03 education administration study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 33 skills that carry over
- 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 education law knowledge
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held maintain students' discipline skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held pedagogy knowledge
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held supervise educational staff skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held analyse staff capacity skill
- already held apply for government funding skill
- already held assess the development of youth 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 escort students on a field trip skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held funding methods knowledge
- already held labour legislation knowledge
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held learning technologies knowledge
- already held liaise with board members skill
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held manage contracts skill
- already held primary school procedures knowledge
- already held promote education programmes skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
20 held skills the deputy head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer exams skill
- not needed by the target role arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- not needed by the target role assess employees' capability levels skill
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role identify education needs skill
- not needed by the target role instructional strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead board meetings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational support staff skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with shareholders skill
- not needed by the target role manage enrolment skill
- not needed by the target role manage maintenance operations skill
- not needed by the target role manage resources for educational purposes skill
- not needed by the target role manage school budget skill
- not needed by the target role manage space utilisation skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
- not needed by the target role trade union regulations knowledge
3 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 education administration required
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
Other moves recorded from primary school head teacher
Common questions about this move
Can a primary school head teacher become a deputy head teacher?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A primary school head teacher already covers 78% of what a deputy head teacher is expected to do: 33 skills carry over, 14 of which the deputy head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a primary school head teacher need to become a deputy head teacher?
3 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is provide education management support.
How hard is the move from primary school head teacher to deputy head teacher?
Its learning distance is 25.6 out of 100, which is the adjacent 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.