ONE minute you are grumbling over cups of Nescafe in the staffroom with your colleagues, the next you find yourself behind the head’s desk trying to come up with the solutions.

Nick Long remembers envying the teachers as they went off to their classrooms on his first day as a headteacher.

“Day one was the scariest day of my teaching career,” he said. “It was strange to see others going off to classes and for the first time in 12 years I didn’t have one.”

Now help is at hand. Trevor Male, director of headteacher development at Lincoln University, is designing a questionnaire for the estimated 2,000 first-time heads each year so he can build up a profile of the typical “rookie” head for the National College for School Leadership.

“The transition from being everyone’s friend to suddenly being the answer to everyone’s problems is very difficult,” he said.

“The issue is professional socialisation. When someone steps into the job, they have to come to terms with the demands of a new role. And it does not matter what their experience of a school is, they are still treated differently by the people they meet.

“It’s like walking into a garden and stepping on a rake - it hits new heads in the face. They need more help in making that adjustment.”

While training for heads tends to focus on technical issues, such as budget management and the law, too little is done to help them cope with the change in relationships with colleagues.

Mr Male suggests that an internship in another school would be a good training for aspiring heads so they could gain understanding of what it really feels like.

After 18 months at Rawcliffe infant and nursery school, York, Nick Long feels at home and plans to study for an MBA degree with Mr Male, who supported him in his new role.

Mr Long’s hot tip for new heads is not to try to do everything at once. “Things have to evolve and people need to learn to trust you. But if anyone went in trying to change everything in a month, they would be in for a shock.

“Build those relationships and try to almost filter changes through to your staff. You might have a lot of ideas but you don’t want to scare them with all of them at once.

“There’s no point becoming a new head in September and being burnt out by December.”

* A pilot support programme involving 130 new heads in England will look at management issues, problem-solving and peer support. The “new visions” induction to headship scheme has been developed for the NCSL and will be independently evaluated by Reading University.

SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR ROOKIES

Trevor Male’s tips:

* Talk to experienced colleagues and those who know the area - they’ve been through what you are facing.

* Listen. Remember, you have two ears and one mouth - that proportion is about right.

* Think before you act - if you act in haste you will repent at leisure.

* Check the budget at the school - make sure that you are not spending too much.

* Aim to spend quality time with your governors, especially the chair, from the outset. Their support is vital.

* Be visible - to children, teachers and parents.

* Be polite - enemies are easy to make, friends are harder to find.

* Walk the talk - your every word and move counts. Colleagues and others will gain a lasting impression from your behaviour in the first week.

* Remain positive - every threat is an opportunity, every weakness a challenge.

* Remember why you came into teaching - your primary focus is children’s learning. Don’t let power go to your head.

* Keep your nerve- they did appoint the right person!

* Don’t forget that you are a person too - take some time for yourself.