headteacher
Headteachers manage the day-to-day activities of an educational institution. They make decisions concerning admissions and are responsible for meeting curriculum standards, which facilitate academic development for the students. They manage staff, working closely with the different department heads, and evaluate the subject teachers in a timely manner in order to secure optimal class performance. They also ensure the school meets the national education requirements set by law and cooperate with local communities and governments.
headteacher headteachers manage the day-to-day activities of an educational institution. They make decisions concerning admissions and are responsible for meeting curriculum standards, which facilitate academic development for the students. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include curriculum standards, financial management, education law, project management, budgetary principles.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £72,192 a year for Head teachers and principals (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £59,307 to £83,623 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2321). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Managers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only headteacher, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 1. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- English Language
- Administrative
- Mathematics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Computers and Electronics
What you'd actually do
- Counsel and provide guidance to students regarding personal, academic, vocational, or behavioral issues.
- Confer with parents and staff to discuss educational activities, policies, and student behavior or learning problems.
- Determine the scope of educational program offerings, and prepare drafts of course schedules and descriptions to estimate staffing and facility requirements.
- Observe teaching methods and examine learning materials to evaluate and standardize curricula and teaching techniques and to determine areas for improvement.
- Collaborate with teachers to develop and maintain curriculum standards, develop mission statements, and set performance goals and objectives.
- Enforce discipline and attendance rules.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does headteacher do?
Headteachers manage the day-to-day activities of an educational institution. They make decisions concerning admissions and are responsible for meeting curriculum standards, which facilitate academic development for the students. They manage staff, working closely with the different department heads, and evaluate the subject teachers in a timely manner in order to secure optimal class performance.
What skills does headteacher need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include curriculum standards, financial management, education law, project management, budgetary principles, accounting techniques. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace headteacher?
Our AI-durability model gives headteacher a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.