ABSTRACT
The last chapter was concerned with the pressures exerted by heads and deputies on members of staff. In the present chapter I shall be discussing the demands experienced by the senior management team. Teachers may be unaware of these problems and their criticisms of the leadership behaviour of senior management are, in my experience, often based upon a surprising degree of ignorance of the pressures exerted on them. Pressures from the media focus on the head and are increasing. Legal requirements have become more complex recently and the increase in administrative paperwork is described in heads’ reports to me as a major burden. Increased expectations for accountability have already led to the introduction of time-consuming staff review procedures. The tasks of headship, for which heads are often untrained, include elements of negotiating, controlling, directing, punishing, accounting, planning, counselling, healing and reviewing.
