Cllr Ian Auckland – Chair of Governors
Cllr Ian Auckland is Chair of Governors at Norton Free Church of England Primary School. As a councillor, he already knew about the partnership between the Inclusion and Learning Service and Navigate, and of the support available to governing bodies in Sheffield to attract a wider field of headteacher candidates. Earlier this year, he had an opportunity to see how it worked for himself when his school’s longstanding headteacher announced his retirement.
“We had time to prepare for the succession and we were aware of the assistance the Local Authority and Navigate could offer us,” he says. "We felt it would be an opportunity to perhaps get a few more candidates – but to be honest, we weren’t entirely sure how many high quality people who wouldn’t otherwise have considered our school, would come as a result of going down this route .So we were absolutely delighted we got not just one or two good applicants – but ten.”
Right from the start of the process, Cllr Auckland and the other governors received good, professional advice. “We were encouraged to think very hard about what we wanted in a head – to be professional about it.” The governors decided that the school valued and wished to maintain its Christian ethos and historic tradition, but wanted to strengthen its links with the community, particularly through the Extended Schools Agenda. “We are a voluntary controlled school but as far as admissions policy and in all other respects we are like a community school. We wanted someone who would understand that.”
Navigate created an advert that reflected the school’s position. It also helped devise a recruitment website and assisted in the final shortlisting. ”Everything was done to the highest professional standard,” says Cllr Auckland,"but I must admit we did have to think twice when it was suggested that we hold the interviews in a hotel. Our first thought was, ‘Can we afford this – shouldn’t we just use the church hall?’"
Cllr Auckland agrees, however, that the decision to assess the candidates in that kind of environment was the right one. “Not only did it create a favourable impression of our school, but it also created a good impression of Sheffield as a city.”
The interview process itself was “well-handled” he adds. This involved the governors assessing candidates against a variety of exercises and presentations devised and delivered by the Authority’s Recruitment Team, as well as the final face-to-face interview. “Despite all the professional support and advice we received, the governors were always aware that the final decision rested with them,” says Cllr Auckland. ”All of the advice came down to enabling us to make a decision, and we were very fortunate to have such a good list of people to choose from.”
Cllr Auckland would recommend using the support of the Local Authority and Navigate when choosing a new head. “It was very worthwhile in terms of the time and effort involved. If it increases the quantity and quality of people coming and thus the choice for schools, so much the better. It gives Sheffield an advantage.”
For more information about the recruitment support available to the governing bodies of Sheffield schools, please call Trudy Searle at Navigate on 0844 800 5300, Wendy Key in the Local Authority Recruitment Team on 0114 293 0907 or Eric Pye in Governor Support Services on 0114 250 6889.
