Secondary school department head to deputy head teacher
A secondary school department head already meets 63% of what the deputy head teacher role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.8/ 100
1 How much of what a deputy head teacher is expected to do is already part of a secondary school department head’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 11 of its required skills as things a secondary school department head 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
- guarantee students' safety
- monitor educational developments
What stands in the way is 6 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 27 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 secondary school department head background worth leading with.
- already held provide education management support management skills
- 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 curriculum standards education
All 27 carried skills, including the 11 the deputy head teacher role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 17 missing skills fall into 5 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 supervise educational staff required
- still to learn maintain students' discipline required
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held analyse staff capacity optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- still to learn education administration required
- still to learn education law required
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- still to learn communicate with youth required
- optional, not held liaise with board members optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- still to learn pedagogy required
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held apply for government funding 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 supervise educational staff 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 27 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 guarantee students' safety skill
- already held monitor educational developments skill
- already held present reports skill
- already held project management knowledge
- already held provide education management support skill
- already held provide feedback to teachers skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
- already held advise on lesson plans skill
- already held advise on teaching methods skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assessment processes 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 lead inspections skill
- already held learning technologies knowledge
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held prepare youths for adulthood skill
- already held promote education programmes skill
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held liaise with board members optional
- optional, not held manage student admissions optional
- optional, not held analyse staff capacity optional
- optional, not held apply for government funding optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held manage government-funded programmes optional
- optional, not held monitor student's behaviour optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
17 held skills the deputy head teacher role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adolescent socialisation behaviour knowledge
- 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 develop course outline 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 identify process improvements skill
- not needed by the target role instructional strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role learning difficulties knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with educational staff skill
- not needed by the target role maintain contract administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage secondary school department skill
- not needed by the target role plan shifts of employees skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role teach secondary education class content skill
- not needed by the target role use office systems skill
- not needed by the target role work with virtual learning environments skill
7 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
- still to learn education law required
- still to learn pedagogy required
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held labour legislation optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
Other moves recorded from secondary school department head
Common questions about this move
Can a secondary school department head become a deputy head teacher?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A secondary school department head already covers 63% of what a deputy head teacher is expected to do: 27 skills carry over, 11 of which the deputy head teacher role treats as required.
What skills does a secondary school department head need to become a deputy head teacher?
6 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is supervise educational staff.
How hard is the move from secondary school department head to deputy head teacher?
Its learning distance is 40.8 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.