Primary school head teacher to secondary school department head
A primary school head teacher already meets 71% of what the secondary school department head role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
35.5/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school department head 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 secondary school department head role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school department head role treats 17 of its required skills as things a primary school head teacher already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on teaching methods
- assess employees' capability levels
- assess the development of youth
- assessment processes
- assist in the organisation of school events
- cooperate with education professionals
What stands in the way is 5 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 29 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school department head 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 learning technologies education
- already held promote education programmes communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on teaching methods communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess employees' capability levels management skills
- already held curriculum standards education
All 29 carried skills, including the 17 the secondary school department head role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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 secondary school department required
- still to learn identify process improvements required
- still to learn provide education management support required
- still to learn use office systems required
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- still to learn secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school department head role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 manage secondary school department practise this
- 02 identify process improvements practise this
- 03 provide education management support 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 29 skills that carry over
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assess employees' capability levels skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assessment processes knowledge
- 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 guarantee students' safety skill
- already held instructional strategies knowledge
- already held lead inspections skill
- already held learning technologies knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held arrange parent teacher meeting skill
- already held create a financial report skill
- already held develop organisational policies 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 identify education needs skill
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held recruit employees skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held teach secondary education class content optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held develop course outline optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
- optional, not held maintain contract administration optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held plan shifts of employees optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
24 held skills the secondary school department head role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role administer exams skill
- not needed by the target role analyse staff capacity skill
- not needed by the target role apply for government funding skill
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role education law knowledge
- not needed by the target role labour legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead board meetings skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with board members 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 maintain students' discipline skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts 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 pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role represent the organisation skill
- not needed by the target role supervise educational staff 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 secondary school procedures required
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held learning difficulties optional
Other moves recorded from primary school head teacher
Common questions about this move
Can a primary school head teacher become a secondary school department head?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A primary school head teacher already covers 71% of what a secondary school department head is expected to do: 29 skills carry over, 17 of which the secondary school department head role treats as required.
What skills does a primary school head teacher need to become a secondary school department head?
5 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 manage secondary school department.
How hard is the move from primary school head teacher to secondary school department head?
Its learning distance is 35.5 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.