Teacher jobs 'can offer fast-track to headship'

Education staff keen to advance to leadership positions have been advised that the route from teacher jobs to headteacher positions may not be as long as they think.

Anne Byrne, headteacher of Lady Katherine Leveson Church of England primary school in Solihull, West Midlands, says that with hard work and ambition she was able to move from teaching jobs to school leadership by the time she was 30.

She tells the Guardian: "I went into teaching because I wanted to have a positive impact on children.

"I knew as a teacher I would have that with the children in my class, but that as a head I could have an impact on all the children in my school."

Ms Byrne attributes her rapid rise to her willingness to move through teaching jobs at five different schools, allowing her to pick up a wide range of experience.

The school offers Care and Play, and Nursery and Reception classes in addition to years one to six.

Published On 22/02/2010