This article was originally published on 17 February 2023

What makes for an effective headteacher and deputy headteacher partnership?

It’s an important question, because how well that relationship works is widely thought to be crucial to a school’s success. 

“It is the most important relationship in schools because it impacts upon everything else,” argues Kulvarn Atwal, headteacher at Highlands Primary School in Ilford, Essex.

Rob Ford, director of Heritage International School in Chisinau, Moldova and formerly a head and deputy in several schools in England, agrees: “It is the crucial relationship for the success or failure of any school organisation.”

How far is that assumption backed up by research, though? Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), says they are confident that “for education settings to run effectively, strong working relationships among the senior leadership team are crucial”.

She says the problem, however, is that “despite the importance of these dynamics, there is very little rigorous research around how to approach building and maintaining them”.

The prospect of a golden thread of research emerging is also not likely, she concedes, due to the “complexity that studying these relationships - which look very different from school to school - would involve”.

It’s certainly true that the number of senior leaders in a school has grown overall in schools, as recent Department for Education data shows.

In secondary schools in England, for example, the proportion of teachers with a deputy, assistant or headteacher role rose over the past decade, from 9.7 per cent in 2010 to a peak of 11.3 per cent in 2018 - although it fell slightly to 11.2 per cent in 2020.

Meanwhile, the proportion of teachers in primary schools who were assistant heads increased from 3.5 per cent in 2010 to 5.5 per cent in 2018, remaining at 5.5 per cent up to 2020; in secondary schools, it increased from 5.6 per cent in 2010 to 6.9 per cent in 2018, then remained at 6.9 per cent.

The nature of these relationships is also more complex: there are more teachers sharing the deputy role, and more complexity in the types of duties assigned to the deputy. The rise of executive heads running more than one school - and deputies having to step up more frequently - is also changing the nature of the relationships.

What does the research say?

That’s not to say no one has ever tried to drill down into what makes for a successful partnership at the top of a school. Chris James, emeritus professor of educational leadership and management at the University of Bath, is the author of one of the few specific headteacher-deputy head studies that we could track down - a 1999 paper in School Leadership & Management.

That paper - entitled The relationship between the head and the deputy head in primary schools - asked heads and deputies from 10 primary schools in South Wales about how they made their relationship work.

They were “remarkably unanimous in the views” the paper notes, allowing the authors to distil down a list of factors upon which their relationship depended (see box, below).

James concedes that this work is difficult owing to the nuances of individual school situations, but says these issues should simply be seen as “challenges” to further research - not “excuses” to stop doing more.

To this point, Francis says the EEF hopes to do just that with future research: “In the near future, the EEF will be exploring the factors that influence teacher retention and quality in our education system. We hope to learn more about productive leadership structures through this research.”

In the meantime, though, we can look for evidence of how the head-deputy dynamic should work by asking successful teams to share what works for them.

Here’s what a diverse selection of leaders told Tes are the essential components of a successful partnership at the top of schools.

1. Shared values, shared beliefs

For most teams, what matters most is not processes and management structures or decision-making matrices, but something more nebulous - the “fit” between the two individuals.

“The values of the head and the deputy need to be aligned because it’s your values that inform your actions,” is how Atwal puts it. “If your values are aligned, the deputy is able to make decisions in the headteacher’s absence.”

Laura Pritchard, deputy principal at Rudheath Primary Academy and Nursery in Cheshire, agrees: “Fit is really critical with heads and deputies. You’ve got to have the same outlook or vision.”

This is something that can’t be a surface-level agreement, but a connection that needs to be deeply held, according to Geraint Jones, the founding executive director and associate pro vice-chancellor of the National Institute of Teaching and Education at Coventry University and a former head, and someone who has hired many heads himself.

“In order to be effective leaders, both the deputy and the head need to do what they say they’ll do, in a way that embodies the culture they want to create in the school,” he explains. “[This means] the school community see a consistent, authentic narrative from those at the top, followed by the same action.”

That said, Jones says the idea is not to find a “perfect yin to your yang” but to spot “complementary skills” and universal values - like “honesty, respect, trustworthiness, work ethic, humour” - and consider if they will work in a leadership capacity in your setting.

How difficult is that to achieve in a new relationship, though? Caroline Spalding moved to a new school to be a deputy head in September and says you need to have the values conversation right from the application process.

“I didn’t know the headteacher at all - it’s a brand-new relationship I’ve had to forge and this school is very different from where I worked before so there’s been a really steep learning curve for me around that,” she says.

But she explains this has been made easier because she felt confident there was “a shared connection around values” because she had prioritised this when looking for a role. At another school, which “looked perfect on paper”, she did not proceed with the application as she did not sense that she and the head were aligned.

“I just couldn’t imagine myself forging that working relationship,” she says.

2. Trust and talking

Successful teams are clear, though, that alignment on values should not mean a lack of challenge.

The research from 1999 outlined that “the more inclined both parties were to discuss problems and differences of opinion, as opposed to avoiding, ignoring or denying them, the better the relationship”.

Atwal concurs and says this is the real test of the deputy and headteacher relationship: “What you don’t want is acolytes: people who just agree with the leader. The relationship has to be built on real honesty, trust and mutual respect.”

Patrick Cozier, headteacher at Highgate Wood School in Haringey, puts it more bluntly: “I ask my deputies to tell me if they think that I’m talking rubbish.”

He says such a challenge is easy to accept and respond to if you are already “in tune” with one another, and it means decisions are made that have the best for the school at their heart.

“I‘ve had deputies who I’ve felt very much in tune with - they knew my approach, my boundaries and when things were likely to be contentious,” he explains.

‘It’s absolutely fine to have a respectful ding-dong’

Jones doesn’t believe that such challenge should be common, though, or deliberately sought out. 

“It’s absolutely fine to have a respectful ding-dong but where your principles are aligned, ding-dongs are actually quite rare,” he argues.

Of course, a head saying they want honest feedback and a deputy actually giving it are two different things and learning if and when your head is truly open to robust debate is something that takes time to learn, as Pritchard outlines from a deputy perspective.

“My current head and I work in really different ways and it’s not always easy in the beginning when you work differently,” she says.

Spalding agrees that it is a learning process - but goes back to the points above that if you can spot a fit at interview, you should feel confident that a difficult conversation can be had.

“It means when you have a difficult conversation later on, you understand where you’re both coming from and that, [if what you’re debating] is based on those things that you both deeply care about, then actually, you’re moving in the same direction.”

Liz Free, CEO and director at International School Rheintal, an IB international school in Switzerland, says a robust discussion right from the start of the relationship about professional boundaries is key to productive challenge.

“In our very first meeting, we agreed how we were going to work together. What do we value? What do we not value? What do we agree on?” she says.

3. Autonomy and action

There is a danger here that the lines of responsibility can become blurred, or that a belief emerges of leading by consensus, says Ford. Speaking from experience as both deputy and head, he says there also has to be a recognition that the head has the authority to make the final decision.

“Both should be able to speak regularly, informally and formally, but a good deputy also knows the buck ultimately stops with the head,” he says.

This is a polite way of saying that, sometimes, the head will simply overrule the deputy. That is of course true of any professional dynamic and is something that can be tough for some people to accept.

But Mark Steed, principal and chief executive of Kellett School, the British International School in Hong Kong, and formerly a principal in England, says the deputy needs clarity on their decision-making powers, too.

Deputies need autonomy to get on with their jobs, rather than being micromanaged, he believes: “I’d much rather that people get on with doing things.”

Free notes that trusting your deputies to carry out jobs on your behalf is vital - not just to manage workload but to act as a bridge between leadership and wider staff.

“It would be much easier for me to do or say ‘it’s going to be this’, but then you don’t get cohesion,” she says.

As an example, she explains how major timetable changes were introduced after asking deputies to source feedback from staff and use this to help guide the changes.

She says: “Now everybody is clear about what we’re trying to do and we’re all taking the school with us on that journey. If you didn’t have your deputies, you couldn’t do that.”

4. An emotional support

Both heads and deputies stress that the relationship cannot be all business focused - the emotional role is key, too.

A former head of an international school in the Middle East - who is now working as a deputy head at another international school - says deputies should not overlook how important emotional support is and that it is key to making a success of the role.

“I enjoy the role [of deputy head] because leading can be exhausting and lonely. I also know that those feelings can dissipate with a strong second,” they say. “I think that because I’ve been in the top role, I’m more empathetic to the difficulties faced by the top job so I try to be as helpful as possible.”

Emma Turner, formerly both a deputy head and headteacher and now deputy director of education in a multi-academy trust in the West Midlands, agrees this is exactly what the “best deputies” offer because they reduce work for heads and spot and solve problems: “They actively check in and are masters of clear, concise feedback.”

She adds, though, that you need to “recognise that your deputy is not a mind reader and you need to meet regularly”.

In addition, the headteacher needs to be a support for the deputy - and understand fully the stresses of that role.

5. Chances to grow

If heads can get this balance between support and trust right, not only will they have a helping hand with the day-to-day running of the school but they will have a staff member who can step in and lead - either to cover them during a leave of absence, or to replace them if they move on.

“Good heads know they are succession planning all the time, getting the next leaders ready and passing on anything that may be of use from their time,” says Ford.

“I know one of my previous heads has seen around seven of his deputies go on to be heads in their own right, including me, and this is a testament to his support, encouragement to grow and practical advice,” he adds.

‘Leading can be exhausting and lonely. Those feelings can dissipate with a strong second’

Turner notes, too, that being given opportunities to “manage up” as a deputy is crucial - both with specific qualifications but also simply by observing and being given the chance to see what it takes to be the person at the top.

“The great thing about being a deputy is that you get to observe leadership in action while developing your own leadership skills at the same time,” Turner adds.

She admits that part of this process is not just learning how to do something, but also how you want to do it as a leader - something anyone in a deputy role should be conscious of.

“As with any job, there are always aspects about which you think, ‘I’d never have thought of doing it like that’, and equally, ‘I’d not have done it like that’,” she says.

Jones agrees - and puts it a little more bluntly: “If I’m honest, I learned how to be a head by experiencing heads who were not very good, ie, ‘keep it safe at all costs, don’t rock the apple cart and let’s follow what the government tell us to do’.

“The main issue I had with the head or the line manager was they didn’t act on principle, because they didn’t know what their principles were, which resulted in inconsistent, inauthentic leadership.”

6. Loyalty and disloyalty

The final issue underlines another interesting dynamic that can exist between the two roles: the unspoken tension that the deputy may want the head’s job.

This is something another head, speaking anonymously, said they encountered when starting a new role.

“The deputy had been a key part of the previous leadership team that was deemed responsible for the toxic culture of the school I had been brought into to change and improve,” they explain.

“It was also a shock at that time, to come in and find the first few days had all been scheduled by the deputy, to avoid being out to meet staff and students, and it was unfortunately obvious that the deputy saw himself as the ‘real’ head.”

Atwal acknowledges such a situation is unsustainable and that, if it is allowed to linger, it will affect staff across the school.

“A mismatch between them creates tensions. Staff will get different messages from the deputy and the head and that can make it very difficult to create a cohesive team,” he says.

This is something the research picked up on as well by noting that the relationship between deputy and head is one that everyone picks up on: “I think that if the deputy and head present a united front it filters through to the staff” is how one respondent put it.

What’s telling is that, despite being conducted more than 23 years ago, in an era far removed from that in which heads and deputies operate now, the research from 1999 repeatedly chimes with much of what those in the two roles see as crucial to their working.

So, while it’s clear that some more research in this area would be helpful, it seems there are timeless qualities that are vital for any leadership duo to get right if they are to bring educational success to their school.

As James sums up: “Schools must be led properly, and that requires a very secure relationship between the head and the deputy.”
 

Dan Worth is a senior editor at Tes. Keith Cooper is a freelance journalist