Your role as a teaching Principal
Meeting the challenge
This section provides additional information for those principals with teaching responsibilities. It should be read in conjunction with the previous section, Role of the Principal.
The teaching principal is primarily a teacher with most time devoted to teaching children.
All teaching principals find the workload a challenge as they must carry out the same set of responsibilities as those of non-teaching colleagues: ‘chief executive officer’ and adviser to the board of trustees, and professional leader of staff, along with the planning, teaching and assessment requirements of a teacher.
The teaching principal's job requires similar high levels of skill in human relations and independent judgment as that of non-teaching colleagues.
Smaller schools may not produce the complexity of relationships characteristic of schools which serve larger communities, but there is often an intensity that demands the highest degree of ability in problem solving and communication skills.
The teaching principal's leadership role in a sole charge position is as significant and important to the school's performance as it would be to the largest primary school in the country. Sixty percent of New Zealand primary schools have a teaching principal. The position itself is an important career development step. The teaching principal's experience of close contact with children and parents within the smaller school develops the high level of human relations skills required of all principals.
The challenge is to manage the workload successfully. If a problem occurs, it needs to be dealt with quickly so it doesn't escalate. NZEI Te Riu Roa field staff, Member Support Personnel and other colleagues can provide advice and assistance.
Managing the Workload
Some hours are allocated for carrying out administrative work. The management component of the school's staffing profile is shown on the staffing advice from the Ministry of Education. Principals can use this time in ways best suited to the responsibilities agreed to and the circumstances in the school.
Work space
The board of trustees should act as good employers in ensuring there is a safe and healthy working environment in which administrative tasks can be carried out efficiently.
Note that each NZEI Te Riu Roa district council has a representative on the local Ministry Property Consultative Committee. Make contact with your representative for help with ideas for improving workspaces.
Work organisation
Establishing and maintaining routines is important for managing the workload.
Are you
- enjoying your work and keeping it interesting?
- looking for new ways to do things and praising achievements, your own as well as others?
- using your creativity and that of your staff?
Can you
- make contact with your NZEI Te Riu Roa field officer? Click here for contact details.
- make contact with neighbouring principals?
- find a mentor with whom you can discuss in confidence issues of concern?
Buying In Expertise
The more a board relies on a teaching principal to deal with property and financial matters, the more the principal can be drawn away from classroom duties. The school will suffer.
Encourage your board to buy in the services of a local education service centre to take care of financial and property matters.
Any financial tasks beyond helping the board write the budget, monitoring expenditure of the parts of the budget you control, and passing on financial information and documents to the treasurer, should have a question mark placed beside them.
Delegation
Your school secretary is your most valuable asset if trained to fulfil the role of a bursar as in a large school. In essence, your secretary will run the school in an administrative sense. If that requires more time than the hours your secretary presently works, then ask your board to increase the hours. It's a good investment - but the right training must be provided and an appropriate salary offered.
Your administration management responsibility then becomes that of oversight. This does not mean you relinquish control.
Working with the Board
Resist the temptation to take on other people's roles and responsibilities. If trustees need skills, facilitate their learning where you can, and suggest the board invests in training through their body, the School Trustees Association.
Principals can be too accommodating, especially if the job is in the 'it's quicker if I do it myself' category. If that's true, remember time is a condition of learning. When people know they are trusted and someone is relying on them, they feel useful and can make an important contribution.
Keep relationships with the board on a professional basis. Social opportunities can help foster friendly relationships but a fine line needs to be drawn so that personal and professional status do not come into conflict.
Job Description
Your job description should be made up of the following components:
Reporting relationships
The principal is accountable to:
- the board of trustees
- the school community.
Limits of authority
The principal must work within legal requirements:
- legislation
- employment agreements
- the school charter.
Responsibilities
The principal is responsible for:
- the day-to-day management of the school
- administration of the school
- all professional decisions
- classroom programmes
- curriculum issues
- teacher activity
- pupil progress.
The principal will work closely with the board on all staffing matters.
Key tasks
- overall responsibility for all classrom teaching including planning, evaluation, counselling and record keeping
- school management and administration
- advising the board on policy development, budget planning, resource organisation, administration and all staffing matters, including staff appraisal
- keeping up-to-date with curriculum issues and educational theory
- developing staff through guidance, selection of courses, appraisal and support
- providing professional leadership to teachers, relievers and support staff
- visiting classrooms, checking school grounds, playground duty to monitor school tone;
- pupil care and progress reporting
- community liaison through newsletters and attandance at school-related meetings.
Key results expected
- an educational programme in accordance with the requirements of the school charter
- administration that achieves good physical and teaching resources
- a positive working relationship with the board of trustees and parents
- close association with local early childhood centres and secondary schools
- close community liaison
- positive relationships fostered with organisations such as NZEI and the School Trustees Association.
Important Relationships
Pupils: own class: teaching, advice, guidance, support and discipline.
School: advice, guidance.
Parents: dealing with concerns, queries, information needs, guidance and support, reporting.
Staff: supervision of all staff, professional leadership of teaching and support staff.
Board of trustees: personal contact with chairperson and treasurer between board meetings; monthly meetings with the whole board or as required to efficiently administer the school.
Community: ongoing contact with the wider community through attendance at community functions. Contribute school news to community newsletters and local newspapers. Respond to invitations from community groups e.g. marae
Education and health agencies: maintain close liaison with early childhood facilities and the local secondary school. Maintain contact on an 'as needs' basis with the Ministry of Education (including the Special Education group), advisers to schools, public health nurse, dental technician.
Adjacent schools: maintain links through sporting and cultural programmes.
Service staff: deal personally with education service centre, tradespeople and sales representatives, referring to chairperson or sub-committee conveners as necessary.
Other principals: meet with colleagues regularly through the local principals' association.
Community agencies: maintain contact on an 'as needs' basis with local police, Department of Social Welfare, Māori Warden.
