Head Cases: Exploring Complex Headteacher Challenges

Are you an aspiring or serving headteacher looking for professional learning that will help you deal thoughtfully with the toughest challenges?

Would you like to become part of a community of school leaders debating those practical dilemmas which don’t neatly fall into ‘right versus wrong’?

The Head Cases programme of case conference webinars helps current and future headteachers to explore the complexity of the role through carefully constructed case studies.

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Why join the Head Cases programme?

SSAT’s innovative Head Cases programme offers a ‘signature pedagogy’ (Shulman, 2005) to help you develop wisdom of practice in responding to the wicked problems faced on a daily basis.

Research-based insights

The programme is based on recent research into headteacher retention and the findings of SSAT’s Rethinking Headship survey, which captured the views of 236 heads with almost 2000 years of experience. Of these:

• 91% believed that professional learning needed to better address the complexity of the role.
• 86% who mentioned their NPQH said it did not prepare them for the realities of headship.
• 66% felt training programmes should address practical and operational issues facing heads.

Benefits of joining the programme

Participants in the Head Cases programme will join a trusted community of inquiry where alternative views of the good can be discussed, explored, and argued over.

Working with other current and future heads, you will wrestle with the thorniest cases concerning parental complaints, human resources, budgets and finances, permanent exclusions and accountability.

By participating in the programme you will gain:

• Knowledge that you are not alone in responding to the challenges of headship.
• Insight into the kinds of challenges you might expect in the future, and how to respond.
• The collective and cumulative wisdom of those who have faced similar challenges.
• A range of approaches, from the philosophic to the practical, for working with challenge.

How does it work?

Our case methodology across each of the five sessions includes:

• A narrative of the case will be pre-released a week before the case conference, along with key questions.
• At the start of each session, an alternative perspective on the case will be offered by another experienced headteacher to illustrate the importance of context.
• Participants will collaborate to consider the most relevant aspects of the case and engage in lively exchanges about possible ways forward.
• At the end of each case conference, delegates will reflect on the generalisable qualities of the case and the most insightful contributions.

Please note webinars are not recorded to enable participants to speak freely and confidentially. After each session, delegates receive a comprehensive summary of the discussion points and further guidance.

Dates

For cohort 2 of Head Cases, the sessions will start at 4pm on the following dates:

• The parental complaint case: when good stakeholder relations turn sour. Thursday 3 April 2025 
• The human resources case: open doors and/or behind closed doors. Thursday 1 May 2025 
• The budgeting case: navigating competing goods whilst balancing finances. Thursday 22 May 2025 
• The permanent exclusion case: personal ethics amidst tough choices. Thursday 19 June 2025 
• The accountability case: retaining authenticity whilst playing the game. Thursday 10 July 2025 

Who is the programme for?

The Head Cases programme will be most helpful for the following roles in all phases:

• Headteachers, principals and executive leaders
• Aspiring headteachers

If you are a MAT leader interested in developing a bespoke Head Cases offer for the headteachers in your Trust, get in touch using the ‘book a call’ button.

Programme lead

Dr Keven Bartle, Senior Education Lead, SSAT

Keven has been a teacher for almost three decades and was headteacher at a richly diverse secondary school in London for nine years. Through his career, Keven has been committed to the power of education for social justice and transformation, working in schools where staff make a difference to the lives of children, families and communities.

Book a call with Keven