# Update on a Headteachers position



## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

A few months ago i joined this forum and talked about our plans for moving to Spain.
My OH is a Deputy Head in the UK and we have been looking for a Head position in Spain, well so far nothing, in fact there has been nothing higher than a Teacher position, which i find strange. 

Im sure that a School does find a replacement Head before the pupils parents hear anything about it, but just in case, if anyone does hear of a English speaking school needing a new Head please let me know.

Were keeping positive but have started looking in the Uk and also have applied recently for a Head job in Qatar, which we thought would be good experience in an International Schhol.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

Captain Leaky said:


> A few months ago i joined this forum and talked about our plans for moving to Spain.
> My OH is a Deputy Head in the UK and we have been looking for a Head position in Spain, well so far nothing, in fact there has been nothing higher than a Teacher position, which i find strange.
> 
> Im sure that a School does find a replacement Head before the pupils parents hear anything about it, but just in case, if anyone does hear of a English speaking school needing a new Head please let me know.
> ...


I was a head teacher in the UK for over 20 years until I took early retirement and moved to Spain. I earn more money now than I ever did as a head teacher in the UK, you just have to persevere, and BE SELECTIVE. Good Luck


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

Captain Leaky said:


> A few months ago i joined this forum and talked about our plans for moving to Spain.
> My OH is a Deputy Head in the UK and we have been looking for a Head position in Spain, well so far nothing, in fact there has been nothing higher than a Teacher position, which i find strange.


This is not strange at all. Compared to the UK there are not many British schools in Spain, so the overall number of head teachers is limited already! Those positions are well sought after and don't often become available. And if a position becomes available you can bet those schools will first of all try to fill it internally. So no - I am not surprised at all, I could have told you that months ago


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

Trubrit said:


> I was a head teacher in the UK for over 20 years until I took early retirement and moved to Spain. I earn more money now than I ever did as a head teacher in the UK, you just have to persevere, and BE SELECTIVE. Good Luck


Thanks for the reply Trubrit, could you expand on what your doing now?.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

Seb* said:


> This is not strange at all. Compared to the UK there are not many British schools in Spain, so the overall number of head teachers is limited already! Those positions are well sought after and don't often become available. And if a position becomes available you can bet those schools will first of all try to fill it internally. So no - I am not surprised at all, I could have told you that months ago


Thanks too you Seb for your wonderful reply, though in the famous words of Basil Fawlty "talking about stating the beep obvious" :clap2:

There are approx 23 schools in Spain that would fit the bill.
I dont have enough fingers and toes to count all the schools in the UK, but take it as fact there is more than in Spain, but at a guess i bet there is not more than 23 in some countys, and Headteacher jobs come up all the time.

My Oh didnt just fall in to her Deputy role, she got down to the last 2 at 3 schools only to be beaten by the internal and then landed Deputy at the biggest School in Cheshire (1700 kids, more kids more money), so we have always had the view that what is meant to be will be.

So its chin up and stay positive. 
Your views wether they be yesterday or 3 months ago were pointless but thanks anyway.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Captain Leaky said:


> Thanks too you Seb for your wonderful reply, though in the famous words of Basil Fawlty "talking about stating the beep obvious" :clap2:
> 
> There are approx 23 schools in Spain that would fit the bill.
> I dont have enough fingers and toes to count all the schools in the UK, but take it as fact there is more than in Spain, but at a guess i bet there is not more than 23 in some countys, and Headteacher jobs come up all the time.
> ...


Sorry but I can't resist asking whether by any chance your OH teaches English?
(I'm a former Head too, and yes, there *are* more than twenty-three in some _*counties*_.
Seb's views were meant to be helpful, *whether* yesterday or three months ago....


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## Seb* (Mar 22, 2009)

Captain Leaky said:


> There are approx 23 schools in Spain that would fit the bill.
> I dont have enough fingers and toes to count all the schools in the UK, but take it as fact there is more than in Spain, but at a guess i bet there is not more than 23 in some countys, and Headteacher jobs come up all the time.


With a bit of thought one might come to the conclusion, that a job as a head teacher in one of 23 schools in the whole of the *country* (third-largest country in Europe), is a very popular position. So it's highly doubtful that these positions come available "all the time". I cannot understand how you can even consider to compare the situation of 23 british schools in Spain with the 3941 secondary schools in the UK, while having a go at me :confused2:

To make clear what I mean. If you are a head teacher in a school in Spain, living the dream with sun, decent hours and lots of holidays - would you just give it up and move on? Probably not, so you rely on opening positions due to health issues or retirement, which brings us back to the 23 schools in Spain you are considering ...

A positions as a normal teacher is ofc doable, but a job as a head teacher is rare - alone down to the numbers.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> Sorry but I can't resist asking whether by any chance your OH teaches English?
> (I'm a former Head too, and yes, there *are* more than twenty-three in some _*counties*_.
> Seb's views were meant to be helpful, *whether* yesterday or three months ago....


Its okay Mrypg9 i dont mind you asking if my OH used to teach English, but you know the answer. Me plumber she teacher, of Business studies. I was good at English Lit though.

I was not meaning to be rude i thought a bit of humour was needed after Seb's bleak look on the situation, and yes less Skools mean less chances blah blah blah.Which bit of that is helpful?.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

Seb* said:


> With a bit of thought one might come to the conclusion, that a job as a head teacher in one of 23 schools in the whole of the *country* (third-largest country in Europe), is a very popular position. So it's highly doubtful that these positions come available "all the time". I cannot understand how you can even consider to compare the situation of 23 british schools in Spain with the 3941 secondary schools in the UK, while having a go at me :confused2:
> 
> To make clear what I mean. If you are a head teacher in a school in Spain, living the dream with sun, decent hours and lots of holidays - would you just give it up and move on? Probably not, so you rely on opening positions due to health issues or retirement, which brings us back to the 23 schools in Spain you are considering ...
> 
> A positions as a normal teacher is ofc doable, but a job as a head teacher is rare - alone down to the numbers.


Im sorry if i came over abit harsh Seb, i was actually trying to inject some humour, i will have to work on that. 

Yes i understand that the positions became vacant due to retirement etc but i have been looking for over year and a half and i am surprised that there has not been any mangement jobs, they cant all be of the same age, maybe in the next 6 months there will be 23 headteachers jobs up for grabs  Thats my humour again.

My point was your message was bleak, verging in fact on why bother. 
It took Sharon nearly 18 months to get the right Deputy job in cheshire, we didnt want to move at that time, but we got there in the end.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

P.S why is there so many retired heads in Spain, well two so far.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Teacher recruitment, esp for management positions, at international schools differs significantly from the UK situation. In UK, because of extra pressures put on SMT, there is often a shortage of qualified candidates, and staff turnover can be high, except in good, high-achieving schools.

In Spain, and in much of desirable expat destinations (not Saudi Arabia or Sub-Saharan Africa), people stay in their post for a long time, often until retirement (you see a similar pattern in popular retirement areas like South West England). They are often married to a national of the country and are permanent residents. Also all international and British schools are fee-paying private schools, and like their counterparts in UK, pay and condition can be significantly better than in the maintained sector, often with housing provided. So SMT posts are generally highly sought after, with significant interest from existing staff, and not all vacancies are advertised.
Plus, of course, the economic downturn has affected all schools, with varying degrees of pupil withdrawals and subsequent redundancies and restructuring. Financial crisis has devastating effect on the viability of schools dependent on steady fees income, and can lead to a sudden closure.


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

I'd wonder whether it's entirely realistic to expect to "step up," straight away, to a Head position, with no experience on the "International Circuit."

There is a Business Studies teacher position, in Barcelona, being advertised now.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

Joppa said:


> Teacher recruitment, esp for management positions, at international schools differ significantly from the UK situation. In UK, because of extra pressures put on SMT, there is often a shortage of qualified candidates, and staff turnover can be high, except in good, high-achieving schools.
> 
> In Spain, and in much of desirable expat destinations (not Saudi Arabia or Sub-Saharan Africa), people stay in their post for a long time, often until retirement (you see a similar pattern in popular retirement areas like South West England). They are often married to a national of the country and are permanent residents. Also all international and British schools are fee-paying private schools, and like their counterparts in UK, pay and condition can be significantly better than in the maintained sector, often with housing provided. So SMT posts are generally highly sought after, with significant interest from existing staff, and not all vacancies are advertised.
> Plus, of course, the economic downturn has affected all schools, with varying degrees of pupil withdrawals and subsequent redundancies and restructuring. Financial crisis has devastating effect on the viability of schools dependent on steady fees income, and can lead to a sudden closure.



That all makes alot of sense Joppa,thank you for the input.


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

brocher said:


> I'd wonder whether it's entirely realistic to expect to "step up," straight away, to a Head position, with no experience on the "International Circuit."
> 
> There is a Business Studies teacher position, in Barcelona, being advertised now.


I hear what your saying Brocher and i told her about that job.She said no on account of going quite a bit backwards and i dont think we could afford that pay cut.

She is an ambious women.
Yes she has not any experience in an international school and she has only been in teaching for 11yrs. She has had 15 yrs experience in high mangement with British Rail before becoming a teacher,she then only spent a year as a teacher before middle mangement and then so forth.She wanted to become a Head by the time she is 50 which is next Jan.

She is going for the Head job in Qatar which would give her that international experience and then we have (if she gets it) a few yrs to wait for a Spanish job to come up.


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## brocher (Mar 21, 2011)

Good luck for Qatar, then! Might be a sensible move to take something elsewhere to get the experience at that level. Should be good money there, too - you can save for the dream move later!


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## Captain Leaky (Jun 22, 2011)

Yes it sounds good on paper but i dream so much about moving to Spain,im sure it doesnt help visiting this forum as i get very envious.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Qatar will be an eye-opener for you. Currently perhaps the most desirable Middle Eastern destination for a Western relocator, with calm, riot-free society, tolerant and friendly. The summer heat - 50C or over - is something you will have to get used to in spite of ubiquitous air-conditioning (you will probably spend the summer back in UK as school will be out, with paid-for passage), and rather limited opportunities for trips and exploration in a small country. Not a place to settle permanently, but a couple of years will be a good experience for you both. Most pupils at international school have their fees paid as part of their parents' ex-pat package, plus increasing number of well-to-do Qataris and other foreigners want English education for their offsprings, so very cosmopolitan.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Captain Leaky said:


> Yes it sounds good on paper but i dream so much about moving to Spain,im sure it doesnt help visiting this forum as i get very envious.


The Qatar Foundation are now sponsoring FC Barcelona so maybe you could get a job writing match reports, with your own pad in Camp Nou?


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