Head teacher exam deemed unfit for Shetland

SHETLAND Islands Council has rejected Scottish government plans to impose a “one size fits all” qualification on new head teachers.

Senior education manager Audrey Edwards told the Scottish Parliament’s education committee this week plans to require all new heads to hold the Into Headship qualification would not work in Shetland.

Edwards said the masters level certificate attainable at several Scottish universities would deter people from applying to posts in Shetland’s varied educational landscape.

Speaking after her appearance before the committee, Edwards said the focus on leadership and strategy did not fit some of Shetland’s more hands-on schools.

Highlighting the difference between the 900 pupil Anderson High School and Skerries primary school’s solitary pupil, she said: “One qualification doesn’t suit the diversity of different schools in Shetland.

“The Into Headship qualification is about leading change and being a strategic leader.

“Our local authority, and others like ours, have lots of small schools and in those there is a requirement for the head teacher to directly teach.

“It’s not the same – the skills aren’t the same balance, when you’ve got a non-teaching post. You don’t have a vast number of staff, huge numbers of families and children.”

Edwards said that some local teachers were already studying for the qualification through Aberdeen University, which will take one year to complete.

“The idea of starting it now is to get a few people though the qualification now so you then have a pool of applicants,” she said.

The Scottish government said the qualification would ensure that head teachers bring the “right leadership” to the country’s schools.

“By introducing a new qualification for headship we are ensuring prospective candidates have a high quality and supportive professional learning opportunity to prepare them for it,” a government spokesperson said.

“We believe a well supported route to becoming a head teacher will make the post more attractive, helping us to get the right leadership in the right place across all our schools.”

The plans will be debated in Holyrood on 7 December.