Headship or System Leadership – Which Way to the Future?

Headship in English maintained schools is an occupation that is proving less than attractive for the vast majority of potential applicants, leading to the probability of a recruitment crisis in the near future. Furthermore the school system suffers from over provision of school places and pockets of endemic under achievement, particularly in areas where there are challenging circumstances. High amongst the range of government led responses to these circumstances is the call for system leadership, a process whereby the experience and expertise of successful schools can be utilised more widely across the school system. This article evaluates the concept of system leadership and compares it with the emergent models of headship that have become apparent in effective schools. It is argued that the model of headship described in this article could enhance the attractiveness of the occupation whilst being more effective than system leadership in providing an effective learning environment for all students. The article concludes that whilst system leadership can be demonstrated as having clear advantages in some contexts it should not be considered to be a universal panacea and efforts to sustain and develop models of headship that focus on the unique needs of each should be sustained