Sharing the load:

When two heads are better than one

Journalist Nic Paton examines how co-headship offers a collaborative leadership model that can enhance decision-making and alleviate some of the pressures typically faced by head teachers in their traditionally solitary roles.

When you think of the term ‘head teacher’, what springs to mind? A strong leader, perhaps? Someone who sets and sustains the vision and direction of a school or school body? A community champion who is passionate about improving the lives and life outcomes of ‘their’ children? Someone with whom the buck stops; who takes ultimate accountability? All of the above?

Within these mental images, however, there is probably one constant: that the super-human outlined above is one person. Given that even the nomenclature ‘head teacher’ conjures up the notion of a single leader or figurehead, this is perhaps not surprising.

Yet NAHT has long recognised some of the problems with this: the heavy workload burden and risk of burnout that can ensue when leadership falls solely on one set of shoulders; the isolation; the high-stakes accountability pressure that can result; the potential damage to health and well-being; and the deterrent message all this can then send to middle and senior leaders looking up from below and thinking: “Is this really for me?”

For the majority of head teachers, headship is – and remains – something you step up to and take on by yourself. Yet the idea of sharing both the reward and ‘burden’ of headship is gathering ground. Co-headship – whether divvying up or sharing leadership – is still the exception to the norm, yet, in a world where work and leadership have changed profoundly in recent years, the idea that school headship has to be the conventional one-person, buck-stops-with-me model is beginning to be questioned.

JAMES BOWEN,
NAHT ASSISTANT GENERAL SECRETARY

“In my experience, headship can be an incredibly lonely job,” agrees NAHT assistant general secretary James Bowen. “Even when you have a good relationship with your deputy, your governors or trustees, ultimately the buck does stop with you. And, as an individual, that role can feel very, very lonely at times.

“Therefore, I think the ability to share some of that mental load could be incredibly positive. It’s not going to be a model that works for everyone or all schools, but for some, I can see it being really helpful.

“I also think the wider world is changing. Our working patterns and our approaches to work across all sectors and industries are changing rapidly. You have co-chief executive officers (co-CEOs) and joint CEOs now in many organisations, where the leader isn’t in every day; teaching probably needs to adjust to that changing world.

“Certainly, as a head teacher, I would have valued having someone to bounce ideas off, to test my thinking with. Yes, I could do that to an extent with my deputy, but ultimately, I was their line manager, so there were limits. With a co-headship, you are in it together,” he adds.

Unexpected path to leadership

For Rosie Handford and Sam Walker, co-head teachers at The Hall School in Leicester, becoming joint head teachers was definitely not something they had expected or anticipated.

“We both joined 10 years ago – on the same day – and came in as middle leaders; Sam was the year one and two phase leader, and I was year three and four,” recalls Rosie. The Hall School is a two-form entry, local authority primary school in an East Midlands city, with some 400 pupils.

Three years later, when the then-head teacher retired, they both stepped up into deputy roles. Then, in 2020, with the covid-19 pandemic raging, out of the blue, their head teacher was diagnosed with a terminal illness and, very sadly, had to step down with almost immediate effect.

Rosie Handford (left) and Sam Walker (right), co-head teachers at The Hall School in Leicester

Rosie Handford (left) and Sam Walker (right), co-head teachers at The Hall School in Leicester

“There was no warning whatsoever; we had no handover. It hadn’t been our intention to be head teachers at that point. We had only been deputies for three years, and neither of us felt ready. But we did it. It was during the covid-19 pandemic, which was, of course, a massively challenging time for everybody anyway,” Rosie says.

It might have been something of an emergency response to a desperate situation, but having two head teachers has definitely worked – and now neither would have it any other way. “I honestly think the reason we survived is precisely because we were in it together. Because we were co-head teachers, we were able to support each other; each of us could deal with different things, and I think that was a big part of our survival during that period,” Rosie tells Leadership Focus.

The two are full-time head teachers rather than a split role. “In terms of contract, we’re technically half a head teacher and half a deputy head teacher each. But, realistically, we’re both head teachers all the time,” Rosie explains.

“At the top, ultimately, you have to make that final decision. With a co-headship, you sit together alongside one another, equally responsible; that decision is sitting with the both of you,” she adds.

What, however, if there is a fundamental disagreement, perhaps over a point of principle or school direction? “I’d argue that’s when it works even better,” answers Rosie, perhaps surprisingly. “Because then you’re able to challenge each other and probably come to a better decision. You can say, ‘I think this because of this reason,’ and look at the reasoning on both sides. Hopefully, you will end up with a better decision.

“The way you manage disagreement is, first of all, you have to take your ego out of it completely. This is not about who’s right or wrong; this is about what is in the best interests of the school, children and staff. We’ve never been in a situation where it’s been difficult; we’ve just had a professional, normal conversation, and we’ve found a way through it,” she adds.

Leadership amid growth and challenges

Lisa Needham and Maria Burrows are co-head teachers at Springwell School in Southampton, a special school that has expanded from 64 pupils to now more than 270. As with Rosie and Sam, the searing experience of the covid-19 pandemic provides a backdrop to their transition into leadership even if, again like Rosie and Sam, it was not directly the catalyst for it.

“Maria started first, in 2003, as a class teacher, and I joined in 2007 as deputy head teacher,” recalls Lisa. “We both became, under our executive head teacher, heads of school. When the executive head teacher retired, she proposed the co-headship model to the governors because, of course, we were already both heads of school.”

“We interviewed in February 2020, our appointment was announced, and then, of course, we all went into lockdown,” says Maria, adding that, like with Sam and Rosie, they are full-time head teachers rather than one split role. “We then came back that autumn, hoping, thinking, it was over, but then, the first term of our co-headship, things slipped back; more children and staff were off sick. And then, of course, we went into the second lockdown.

“It works because our values align and we believe the same thing. Even if we have different ideas on something, we know we are still heading for the same outcome. We discuss things, of course, and sometimes we use our deputy head teacher as a sounding board. But, at the end of the day, it is about ‘What’s right for the children?’” Maria says.

“That ability to bounce ideas off of each other, to check in on each other and the well-being element, that is a massive part of it,” agrees Lisa. “That lying awake at night worrying about ‘Have I done this? What about that?’ But we can text each other or whatever, so you’re never worrying about something on your own.

“Monday afternoon is protected co-head teachers’ time. We always have that time when we can look at our agendas for the week, meetings and all that. We may have different things on our lists but that, for me, is one of the benefits – you’re not just having to think about things in your own head; you’ve got someone to bounce ideas off. I can honestly say that, in five years, there has been very little we have disagreed on.

“We have to make sure those conversations are in that room with nobody else. In public we, of course, don't disagree on anything. At the start of the co-headship, we worked hard on the same messages and communication,” Lisa continues.

“My two favourite phrases are, ‘I need to just consider and think about that’ or ‘I need to talk to Maria about that, and then I’ll come back to you.’ That’s so that people don’t come and ask me something and get one response, and then go to Maria and get a different answer. You do have to work hard on that,” she adds.

Lisa Needham, co-head teacher at Springwell School, Southampton

Maria Burrows, co-head teacher at Springwell School, Southampton

Leadership amid growth and challenges

Lisa Needham (left) and Maria Burrows (right), co-head teachers at Springwell School, Southampton

Lisa Needham (left) and Maria Burrows (right), co-head teachers at Springwell School, Southampton

“It works because our values align and we believe the same thing. Even if we have different ideas on something, we know we are still heading for the same outcome. We discuss things, of course, and sometimes we use our deputy head teacher as a sounding board. But, at the end of the day, it is about ‘What’s right for the children?’” Maria says.

Defining roles and responsibilities

For both sets of co-head teachers, clearly defining and delineating your responsibilities is key, as has been setting out and communicating reporting lines for colleagues and parents.

“For example, Sam is the designated safeguarding lead, and I’m the senior mental health lead,” explains Rosie. “Sam looks at pupil premium, and I deal with curricular enrichment.

“But, also, there is that flexibility. We work together on everything; we always back each other up. Sometimes, it’ll be, ‘Oh, Sam is probably best placed to deal with that,’ or I will be. We have different strengths and experiences. Sam has more experience in the younger years, and I have more with the older children, for example,” she adds.

“There were a few staff members who were initially concerned about ‘Who do I go to?’ and ‘How is this going to work?’ – particularly the more experienced members who were perhaps more used to the traditional model. We said, ‘Come talk to us about whatever it is you’re worried about. The door is open.’ After showing them how it could work, they’re all now very supportive,” Rosie continues.

“The parents of the children at our school did not bat an eyelid; it has never, ever been an issue. A lot of our parents say, ‘Can I speak to either Mr Walker or Mrs Handford?’; they’re not bothered. It also gives parents different options of who to speak to, perhaps if they will feel more comfortable talking to a woman or a man about whatever the issue is, for example. So that’s another positive aspect of it,” she adds.

“We set up the structure at the start to have shared responsibilities between the two of us,” agrees Lisa Needham. “There are non-negotiables – quality of teaching, pupil learning, outcomes and so on – that are shared between us. But we’ve tried to separate other strategic parts. For example, Maria does all of the admissions because she already oversees that end of the school and knows all the reception children anyway. I take on all the more financial or business management aspects.

“It doesn’t mean we don’t know what the other one is doing; it is just about having some split responsibilities. We have discrete responsibilities, but there are shared things, too. We split the governors’ meetings, so I will do the resources committee because it is financial, and Maria will do the school improvement committee. However, we both attend the full governing body meetings,” she adds.

A path to sustainable headship

Again, one of the key positives of sharing leadership for both sets of co-head teachers is that it makes being a head teacher feel like a longer-term career choice, something you can stay in until retirement. “It makes headship sustainable,” says Rosie. “There will always be days where you’re taken down by something; being a head teacher can be such a heavy load.

“But it means the other person can take that load for a bit. Also, we have a very similar sense of humour, and I think that helps. We laugh every day, and that is so important for our well-being. When things are difficult, you can try to find a way through it with laughter.

“I genuinely don’t think I would be able to do this job on my own. For us, it has absolutely been critical to survival and sustainability. We’ve been through the worst of times, and we’re still sitting here,” Rosie adds.

“Well-being is a definite benefit,” agrees Maria. “Especially in the current climate, with special funding deficits, increasing complexity and place pressure. In our particular bit of special educational needs and disabilities – we are heavily focused on children with autism – I think it would be very hard and lonely to be the head teacher by yourself.”

“As a head teacher, it is very easy to burn yourself out,” Lisa echoes. “Last year, we were one of the biggest primary special schools in the south of England. Even with two of us, you can very easily get burnt out with the workload.

“We both know head teachers who have retired early because of the pressures of the job. I wouldn’t look at a headship role anywhere else on my own now, I don’t think,” she adds.

James, however, adds an important caveat here: we need to be working towards making being a head teacher more sustainable in and of itself, whatever model is being put into practice on the ground, whether sole or joint.

“One thing we should be really clear about is that co-headship should never be a reason for headship to stop being a doable job in itself for one person. We still need to work on making headship a job that one person is able to do sustainably and healthily,” he emphasises.

“Yes, co-headship can be a good way of dealing with issues around stress and pressure. But what we need to do is address the root cause there, which is why there is so much stress and pressure. It would be a huge mistake to say, ‘The only way we can make headship more sustainable is to do it three days a week.’

“We have to have a model where co-headship is one part of the leadership eco-system but, equally, where we recognise that sole headship will continue to be, probably, the predominant model – and headship needs to be sustainable on that basis,” James continues.

“With co-headship, you are encouraging diversity of thinking to a certain extent. Having two people, even where they’re well aligned and largely in agreement, will still bring different things to the table: different experiences, skills and perceptions. To have that diversity of thinking and experience at a headship level can be quite powerful. People, too, bring different skill sets into the job,” James adds.

Advice for aspiring leaders

Finally, what do our co-head teachers reckon is the secret to successful co-headship? For members considering whether this might be an option for them or their school or their trust, what do you need to be considering before taking the plunge?

“You have to be professionally compatible,” advises Rosie. “Although you might have different strengths and areas of interest, ultimately, you have to have the same sort of vision – what you want for the school needs to match.

“You need to have a good working relationship, obviously, and work well together on a personal level, too; for example, in the case of Sam and me, that shared sense of humour. You have to be able to respect and listen to one another. And recognise that that might take time. The relationship is the most critical thing; it is likely to be one of the most important partnerships in your life,” she adds.

“You do have to recognise – especially if, like us, you have two head teachers who are both full time – that there will be a budget implication to doing this,” highlights Lisa. “So, you do have to get the agreement of your governors; you have to get them on your side and have good examples of how it works.”

She points out that while the examples in this article have been joint full-time head teachers, more commonly, co-headships tend to be split into single roles, so perhaps contractually 0.8/0.8 or 0.6/0.6.

“The key in that model is there needs to be overlap – not 0.5/0.5 – so there are periods when both head teachers are together in the school. In that model, you also may need to think about the ‘visible leader’ issue if only one or the other head teacher is mostly going to be visible at any one time,” Lisa advises.

“One school we know has a shared email, which helps to get around that. I also think it is important to have dedicated co-head teachers’ time for both of you to sit down and work through the strategic items together. There has to be a time when you liaise.

“You have to work hard on the communication so that staff know who to go to. You also need to consider your structure beneath. How will your deputies or assistant head teachers report, and how is that structured? How will the lines of management work? You need to think carefully about your structure and your roles and responsibilities within that,” Lisa adds.

“I would add honesty,” says Maria in conclusion. “You have to be able to feel secure in putting your point across, your values across. We shut the door and laugh, we shut the door and swear, and we shut the door and are simply really, really honest with each other.”

Gulcin Sesli, co-CEO at the five-school Spring Partnership Multi-Academy Trust, Bromley

‘The foundation for something like this has to be based on trust’

From a deprived childhood on a housing estate in London’s Elephant and Castle, to now being co-CEO at the five-school Spring Partnership Multi-Academy Trust in Bromley, Gulcin Sesli is intensely proud both of her leadership ‘journey’ and of having made a co-leadership model work.

“My parents were from immigrant backgrounds. I had free school meals, I was an English-as-an-additional-language pupil, and I was a young carer because my mother had a heart condition; King’s College Hospital often felt like my second home. But my father was an educated man, and poor as we were, he instilled in us that education offered the key out of poverty.

“I started as a head teacher at Midfield Primary School in Bromley in 2012. Bromley is always thought of as leafy and middle class, but there are, like many parts of London, pockets of quite deep deprivation, which can be challenging in terms of poor engagement with the education system.

“Bromley was also one of the first London boroughs to go down the academisation route. We initially became a standalone academy but then realised it was probably better to join a trust that aligned with our thinking in terms of vision and values, so we joined the Spring Partnership Trust in 2016. In 2017, Midfield got its ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted judgement, and I moved to become an executive head teacher within the trust, overseeing three schools.

“Then, just over two years ago in 2022, the trust’s CEO stepped down. Both my colleague Corinne (Cori), the chief financial officer (CFO) responsible for finance and HR, and I put our hats in the ring. The trustees then came back and said, ‘We’d like both of you to co-share this role.’

“At the time, we were both, ‘Hmm, how is that going to work?’ because co-headships are not something you hear about that often within education. To be honest, I was quite sceptical! There was the whole thing of ‘Surely you need to have one ultimate decision-maker?’

“From the point of view of the trustees, however, even though originally their thinking was that this would just be an interim solution, they knew Cori and I were key people within the trust. They wanted to steady the ship after the departure of the CEO and ensure the leadership remained as stable as possible.

“Two years on, our co-CEO model has definitely worked and has become our permanent set-up. In fact, we’ve inducted three new head teachers since becoming co-CEOs, and Midfield has retained its ‘Outstanding’ rating, so we feel we’re doing well.

“We are very clear on our values and direction. We love what we do; we’ve got each other and, crucially, know we have each other’s back. Like a headship, the CEO job is intense; we live and breathe it. I didn’t take all my summer holiday this year; I was redesigning the website and writing content for our class brochure. Cori, by comparison, spent the whole summer working on returning the budget forecast.

“The foundation for something like this has to be based on trust. Trust doesn’t come overnight. We knew each other and had worked together for some years, but we weren’t in the same department – I was in a school, and she was on the central team. It is quite easy for a ‘them and us’ culture to exist in a trust, with school colleagues thinking of ‘the trust’ as some sort of ivory tower where people sit around and make decisions.

“But, through our shared leadership, I feel we’ve now been able to bridge that gap at Spring Partnership. We are the trust. There is much more visibility; we can bounce ideas off of each other and bring different approaches and perspectives to bear. It is important, however, that you establish clear roles and responsibilities, which we based on our previous experience and the areas in which we are both more interested.

“Another challenge is ensuring you don’t end up working in silos, especially in terms of the people you manage. For example, someone knows if they’re sending me an email to copy in Cori and vice versa. In the beginning, there was a bit of, ‘Oh, you’re education, so you’ll get all this’ and vice versa, which was something we had to overcome.

“We’ve genuinely never had any conflicting decisions. We communicate well with each other – we have a very open, transparent relationship. We talk a lot. We have daily, informal check-ins; it could even be while we’re driving to work. We have a weekly catch-up that involves our chief operating officer as well.

“We’re both on the same contracts, and we’re both on the same level of pay. That can lead to a misconception of ‘That sounds expensive’, but it’s actually not. Instead of having, say, an expensive CEO and then a CFO and executive head teacher, the fact it’s just the two of us means, if anything, it is much more even.

“Having said that, if one of us were to step back tomorrow, we wouldn’t necessarily go, ‘Right, let’s get another co-CEO.’ What makes it work is Cori’s and my relationship – that shared accountability, mutual learning and, crucially, mutual support.

“If we have a bad Ofsted inspection – and we did in the first months after we started – we know we can support one another. It is not just my problem or her problem; it is our problem. Collaboration is one of our trust values, so we can model that.”

‘The foundation for something like this has to be based on trust’

“We are very clear on our values and direction. We love what we do; we’ve got each other and, crucially, know we have each other’s back. Like a headship, the CEO job is intense; we live and breathe it. I didn’t take all my summer holiday this year; I was redesigning the website and writing content for our class brochure. Cori, by comparison, spent the whole summer working on returning the budget forecast.