Starting out in Headship: What you need to know, do and prepare for.

Starting out in Headship is a checklist for newly appointed headteachers and school leaders, covering relationships, safeguarding, finances and which jobs come first. A few simple strategies for the first few weeks make a big difference to how you feel.

This checklist gives you a starting point for the areas that matter early on: getting to know colleagues, building relationships and understanding the culture of the school, alongside priority checks such as safeguarding procedures and health and safety policies. Use it to stay focused and decide which jobs come first.

What's inside

• Building relationships
• Policies and procedures
• Safeguarding and the single central record
• Finances
• Culture and community
• Academic performance and attendance
• Working with governors
• Health and safety
• Goals, priorities and time management

The official sources behind its checks (current editions)

• Safeguarding and the single central record: Keeping children safe in education 2026, in force from 1 September 2026. The single central record is paragraphs 347 to 354. Governing bodies should make sure staff who work directly with children read at least Part one, and now also staff who do not.
• Finances: the Academy trust handbook 2026 for academies, or the Schools financial value standard for maintained schools.
• Health and safety: DfE's Health and safety: advice for schools, last updated April 2022.
• Your own role: the Headteachers' standards 2020.

The checklist dates from February 2024, so check its safeguarding items against KCSIE 2026.

When to use it

In the weeks before you start and through your first term in post.

Suitable for newly appointed headteachers and school leaders.

Format: editable Word document, 5 pages.

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