«Schools also want the best for the child»

Mr Gertsch, what characterises a good school?
Vibrancy. A school is good when the pupils* say "we go to a good school", when teachers* and parents speak with pride about "our good school".

And what makes a good headteacher*?
He fits in with his team and his school. They listen well. He is attentive and recognises what is going on at his school. A good headteacher knows how to initiate things and where to intervene. And when to leave things as they are because they cannot be changed with reasonable effort.

Headteachers have power. A head teacher is effectively the managing director of the school. Are headteachers power people?

A headteacher must be happy to take on responsibility. If they only strive for power and want to realise themselves, it won't work. They have to be present. And they need a vision that they want to develop and realise with everyone involved.

Does the job of head teacher make you lonely?

Yes, unfortunately it often does. It particularly affects those who were previously teachers and became headteachers from within the team. You have to get used to a lot in this role. For example, that a conversation is cancelled when you come into the staff room. Not because of the person, but because of the role you have. The feeling of not really being part of the team makes you lonely. As a headteacher, you also have to make uncomfortable decisions time and again, sometimes against the opinion of the teaching team. That's why it's important to have a line, to be transparent and reliable. This also makes the loneliness easier to bear.

You have been working as a headteacher in Egnach TG for six years. What do you do to combat loneliness in your job?

I've been in management positions myself for a very long time. So this feeling of loneliness is nothing new for me. I try to fulfil my need for closeness in the team in my free time or in the management of the headteachers' association. You can reduce loneliness by building a core team. As a headteacher, you don't have to do everything on your own. I have an excellent and very committed deputy at my school. Another teacher plans very well. So I use him as a timetable planner. However, I still make the decisions in the comprehensive school area as headteacher.

«A good teacher is not automatically a good headteacher.»

Bernd Gertsch

What were your most important decisions as headmaster?

We had the task of realising the permeable secondary school in Thurgau. With two school buildings, one down in the village and one up on the hill. The previous rigid division into secondary and middle school was to disappear. In the new secondary school, we have introduced two types, the basic class G with basic requirements for lower-achieving pupils and the basic class E with extended requirements for higher-achieving pupils. This means that pupils are no longer permanently in the same class but attend lessons according to their competences. To avoid pupils having to move between school buildings all the time, we decided that the first two years of secondary school would be completed at the top of Hühel and the third year down in the village. This ultimately meant quite a big change, especially for the teachers.

Can you think of another example?

I introduced a class representative round. The aim was to give the pupils a say. The teachers were initially sceptical about this. They wondered what they could discuss without us. Now I meet with the class representatives once a quarter, together with a teacher. I'm interested in finding out how they experience the school as a whole and what ideas they have for improvement.

The job of head teacher was introduced 20 years ago. Were all the teachers actually happy about it?

Well, in the beginning the new superiors met with some resistance because the teachers had always been used to acting independently. Now everyone realises that the headteacher is there for the teachers. He supports and qualifies them and ensures their further training. But they also have to take care of strategic management and annual targets on behalf of the school authorities. As a headteacher, you are caught between the authorities, teachers, parents and pupils. Headteachers have to be able to deal with a wide range of interests and demands.

In one in four schools, teachers are dissatisfied with the headteacher, according to the 2014 Job Satisfaction Study. What do you attribute this poor result to?

As in any profession, there are good and less good employees. There are also excellent head teachers and those who do their job less well. A teacher sometimes feels more, sometimes less supported by their boss. Of course, our aim is for even more teachers to be satisfied with our work. To this end, our association also offers networking opportunities and targeted training.

The lack of leadership skills and the training of head teachers is criticised in particular.

I think the training is basically good. Since it is now possible to become a headteacher without a teaching licence, these students need additional pedagogical foundations. This part can and must be improved. And we need to differentiate better in school leadership training. If someone is part of a team as a headteacher and teaches at the same time, they have different needs to the headteacher of a school who is the head of several headteachers. At the moment, everyone is doing the same training. I can well imagine that in future, optional and supplementary modules will be offered for the different functions.

Why can career changers also become headteachers today?

The market has pretty much dried up. We would be happy to have more choice. A good teacher is not automatically a good headteacher. It's fatal to appoint a good teacher as a headteacher just to show appreciation. Conversely, there are people who don't have a teaching licence but have a great affinity for schools. They realise that teachers have to be managed differently to bankers or sales staff, for example. A teacher has a high degree of organisational competence in the classroom. A good headteacher would do well to give the teacher this freedom.

We are looking for a teacher with managerial skills - or a manager with pedagogical and cultural skills. Which do you prefer?

Basically, we are looking for people who are interested in the school, who are prepared to get involved in the school. Headteachers are experts in managing, organising and developing their school. They are responsible for quality management. Fortunately, people who already have these skills come forward. I know a headteacher who was previously a school social worker. He knows the school from the perspective of school social work. This is a good starting point. In the past, someone like that couldn't have become a headteacher.

How many lateral entrants fail in their new role?

I don't have any figures on this. I personally know of one case. This career changer from the insurance industry did not make the step. His downfall was that he had presumed to judge the didactic work of the teachers alone during classroom visits and assessments - without any pedagogical basis of his own. Experienced teachers in particular were unable to accept this.

What is your association doing to recruit the best people for the position of head teacher?

We recently published an attractive "School management job description". With this, we want to strengthen the profile of school management and communicate it better. As an association, we have no direct influence on the selection of headteachers. That is a matter for the school authorities. The teachers do have a say. An election committee, an election or appointment committee is usually set up. All important players should be represented here. As an association, we try to use press work to show how demanding, but also fascinating, the job of head teacher is.

Should a headteacher teach on the side or concentrate exclusively on their work as the school's managing director?

The headteacher should first and foremost be a headteacher. School management is a profession. To be able to practise this profession effectively, you have to do it as your main job. As an association, we recommend an employment of at least 50 per cent. Whether you should teach school on the side or not depends on the individual. There are headteachers who can easily work as a teacher in the same team. However, this is demanding. It is often the case that someone works 60 to 80 per cent as a headteacher and combines their employment with family work or another job.

«Parents want the best teacher for their child. That's understandable»

Bernd Gertsch

What does a head teacher look for when hiring a new teacher?

Enthusiasm for the profession is crucial. It could be someone who comes straight from teacher training college and thinks they have the best job in the world. Or an older colleague who still feels the fire in them to want to help shape children's lives as a teacher. The human aspects are also very important. A sense of humour, being able to laugh with the children, responding to them. Recognising each child as an individual and supporting them individually.

Headteachers also look after the concerns of teachers. Where does the shoe pinch them the most?

The most difficult thing for a teacher is to fulfil the many demands, including their own. There are many expectations in the teaching profession, from parents, the authorities, the school management. And, of course, from the pupils. In combination with the demands placed on them from outside, this can build up pressure and be perceived as a burden.

Do parents put more pressure on teachers today than in the past?

This has definitely increased and is a social phenomenon. Parents today demand what they want. Every mum and dad wants the best teacher for their child. This is understandable, the child only goes to school once at this level. But there are now different teachers in the team, we have very young ones who have just come out of training who are not yet parents themselves. They then feel the pressure from parents who say: I don't want a beginner for my child.

How can a head teacher support a teacher who is under pressure?

By showing presence and talking to each other to try to analyse the problems and find solutions together. It is important that classroom visits are perceived as support, not as control. These visits are announced and you agree in advance what you will pay particular attention to.

And how do you deal with critics, pupils and parents?

I listen carefully. And I make it clear to the pupil or parents that it's important for me to get the teacher's point of view as well. This consultation usually changes the picture. If necessary, I convene a meeting of three or involve the school social worker. Very often, however, I try to encourage pupils or parents to approach the teacher directly.

We've talked about the teachers' worries. How much do difficult pupils bother you?

We realise time and again that the problems vary greatly from class to class. It is often constellations of children that are difficult. Temporary transfers of individual pupils can ease the situation.

An example?

An excellent teacher got into a massive conflict with the parents of his pupils a year ago. It was about the subject matter. The parents found the material too difficult and accused the teacher of not supporting the pupils enough. The teacher is very experienced. But he was shocked by the vehemence with which the parents attacked him. As head teacher, I took on the task of moderating a conflict discussion. It got personal very quickly. The parents argued out of necessity, they saw their children's admission to the gymnasium at risk. The teacher was known for bringing capable pupils to the grammar school, so their concerns were unfounded. Once the Kanti exams had been successfully completed, the issue was immediately off the table.

How often do parents and teachers argue about grading?

Oh, that's a perennial issue. There are always parents who don't want to sign their child's report card. But the signature only means that they have seen it, not that they agree with it. It often takes a lot of persistence and patience to explain this difference. In special cases, the head teacher will take another look at the grades together with the parents and the teacher.

What do you wish for your pupils?

That, looking back, they think they had a good time at school. That they were taught by teachers who were role models for them. I keep realising that the social aspect is extremely important for the pupils. Joint camps and project weeks, exciting new approaches to learning. That remains very much in their memories.

And your wish for parents?

That parents recognise that the school also wants the best for the child. I would like parents to get involved for the good of the school. There are many schools where this works extremely well. However, I am aware that parents today are very involved with their children in many different ways. They have to coordinate leisure activities, take part in parents' evenings and parent-teacher conferences. I therefore understand parents who only have limited time to devote to their children's school.

In your association's new mission statement, you formulate a vision of how the job of head teacher can be carried out profitably for everyone - authorities, parents, pupils - and of course for the head teacher himself.

Leading and organising a school is a challenge. Headteachers act within the framework of a clearly defined remit and utilise creative scope. They have a central role in the development of the primary school. The headteacher must be a supporter and facilitator. If they succeed in this, they are a good and successful headteacher.

*For reasons of better readability, the simultaneous use of male and female language forms is avoided. Both genders are always meant.