Lessons From an Accidental Head of English

Four years into my English HoD role, I’ve skirted enough pitfalls to know exactly what I’d pretend was intentional if I were starting again.

I took over a fully functioning and high-performing Secondary English department four years ago. What had originally been an interview for a second-in-department role turned into a HoD position because of last minute internal promotions. The department was well resourced and the team were thoroughly adept in their roles. I put my presentation together, prepped my vision and gave acceptable answers on the day.

There were mixed feelings about stepping up. I’d only been at the school a year and the imposter syndrome was immediate. My colleagues, I thought, could all do the job better than I ever could. Half the team were already in SLT roles, which spoke for itself. The other candidates were external and an unknown quantity.

But I was hugely motivated by my predecessor and the vision that he and the 2iC had already set in motion. There was real coherence around values and some thoughtful text changes that brought a welcome refresh to choices that had been in place for years. My application went in with the intent to build on what had been started. My priorities haven’t really changed since then:

• Building the best English experience for students through curriculum design

• Ensuring workload is manageable and colleagues feel supported, with clear accountability

• Protecting department time for CPD and evidence-informed practice

A lot has shifted in KL (and elsewhere) in the years since. International school demographics have changed, reading habits have changed, reliance on tech has grown. The stumbles and relative successes along the way have given me a clearer idea of what not to do if I were starting again, either in a new HoD role or taking the next daunting step into leadership.

The next few posts in this series explore some early forays into leadership and the lessons learned along the way.