Desperately seeking head teacher

By Hannah Richardson
BBC News education reporter

Pupils were asked to draw what they want new head teacher to look like

A small rural infant school has resorted to desperate measures to recruit a permanent head teacher.

The 35-pupil Ibstone Church of England School in South Buckinghamshire, is to set up class at a major education show in a bid to attract a new head teacher.

The school has had a vacancy for a permanent head teacher since the summer of 2007, despite five different advertising campaigns.

Chair of governors Helen France said a radical approach was now needed.

She said: "Our governing body decided it was time to think 'out of the box' and go and meet teachers who might want to be our new head.

"We hope that we will meet some prospective heads at this show and be able to talk directly to them about our school and why being our head would be a great career move."

Proud history

So pupils and teacher from the school in the Chiltern Hills village of Ibstone, between Oxford and High Wycombe, will be setting up a mini-classroom at the TES Education exhibition this weekend.

Chair of personnel at the school Matt Hearnden said: "We have been asking the pupils this week to write down what they want from a head teacher.

"We've also been asking them to draw picture of their ideal head teacher and of the beautiful place where our school is."

He added that there was a huge lack of potential head teachers coming through the ranks - particularly in rural areas.

"We have experienced a far greater problem than is ever admitted to by officials," he said.

He said that because of the school's size, the local authority seemed to want it to merge or share a head teacher with another school.

But that had not worked well in the past and the school was proud of its 150-year history, he said.

Deciding what the new head teacher should wear

A recent Ofsted report had commended the school for the value for money it provided and its "many outstanding features".

It continued: "The school through its distinctive Christian character is outstanding at meeting the needs of all learners.

"However, since the school's last head retired in 2007 the school has had a succession of excellent temporary heads but on five separate occasions the school has been unable to appoint a permanent head."

Ms France added: "The role is ideal for a teacher looking to gain experience as a head or for a current head looking to ‘downsize' into a role that includes teaching.

"We have an outstanding governing body; very supportive parents; and an experienced and successful staff team."

Ibstone School will be on Stand D60 at the TES exhibition at Olympia, west London, on Friday October 10 and Saturday October 11.