Why should we use Propelo to recruit our next headteacher?

We work only in education and only at senior level. Your search is led by a named specialist who stays with you from the first conversation to appointment, and we approach proven leaders directly rather than relying on an advert alone. The result is an 87% first-time appointment rate, and a partner who stays involved after your new headteacher starts.

How long does it take to recruit a headteacher?

A full headteacher search typically takes around three months from commission to appointment. Because headteachers give three months' notice in the autumn and spring terms and four months in the summer term, the timing of your search affects when your new headteacher can start. The earlier you talk to us, the more options your board will have.

What happens when a headteacher resigns?

The board should first confirm the notice period and leaving date, then decide whether interim leadership is needed and agree who will lead the appointment. In LA maintained schools the governing board makes the appointment, with the local authority able to offer advice. In academies, the trust's scheme of delegation sets out who appoints. We can advise on each of these steps and, where needed, provide an interim headteacher while the permanent search runs.

We have struggled to appoint a headteacher. What can we do?

An unsuccessful round is usually a sign that something in the brief, the salary range, the timing or the approach needs to change. We start by reviewing what happened and testing the brief against the market. A direct search then reaches leaders who would not have seen or responded to the original advert. If the school needs stable leadership in the meantime, an interim headteacher can buy the board time to get the appointment right.

How much does headteacher recruitment cost?

The fee depends on the role and the scope of the search. It is agreed with you at the outset and set out in a written proposal before any work begins, so your board knows the full cost before committing. Get in touch and we will prepare a proposal for your school or trust.

Do you recruit for academies as well as maintained schools?

Yes. We work with LA maintained schools and federations, standalone academies and multi-academy trusts of every size across England. For trust-level roles, see our executive recruitment service.

Can you provide an interim headteacher while we search for a permanent one?

Yes. Running a permanent search alongside an interim headteacher is one of the most common ways we support schools. The interim leads the school with confidence and continuity while the board takes the time it needs to appoint well.

Does our board stay in control of the appointment?

Always. The appointment is your board's decision. We manage the process, give honest advice and provide the evidence your panel needs, but every key decision, from the brief to the final appointment, rests with you.

Headteacher Recruitment for Schools and Trusts

Your search is led by Corrina O'Beirne

Corrina O'Beirne leads headteacher and executive recruitment at Propelo from our Brighton office. When you commission a search, Corrina is your lead from the first conversation to the day your new headteacher is appointed. Your board will always know who is running the search, what has happened so far and what comes next.

"Our work is characterised by the focus we bring, our sector-specific reach and our ability to connect directly with the very best leaders."

Corrina O’Beirne
Head of Headteacher & Leadership Recruitment

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Specialist headteacher recruitment for LA maintained schools and academy trusts

The right headteacher, appointed with confidence.

Propelo helps governing boards and trust leaders appoint headteachers for LA maintained schools, multi-academy trusts and federations across England. We work only in education and only at senior level, so every search is led by people who understand how schools are led, governed and held to account.

Our headteacher searches have an 87% first-time appointment rate, which means most boards appoint from the first field we bring them rather than going back out to advert.

Appointing a headteacher is one of the most consequential decisions a governing board or trust will make. It is a high-scrutiny, high-risk appointment, and the leader you choose will shape the experience of pupils, staff and families for years to come.

Schools rarely come to us simply because a post has fallen vacant. Usually something has changed. A long-serving head is retiring, a recent appointment has not worked out, a trust is reshaping its leadership, or a resignation has arrived at the worst possible moment. We start by understanding what needs to be different, and then build the search around it.

When schools and trusts come to us

Succession after a long-serving headteacher

Following a headteacher who has led a school for ten or fifteen years is one of the most demanding briefs in the sector. The school's identity is often closely tied to its outgoing leader, and staff, parents and governors can hold quite different views about what should come next.

We help the board separate what must continue from what needs to change, agree what the next phase of the school requires, and appoint a leader with the credibility to take it forward.

Replacing a headteacher after a short tenure

When a headteacher leaves after eighteen months or two years, the board needs an honest conversation about why, and about what the next appointment must be resilient against. That experience lets us test the brief properly, so the school appoints for the challenges it actually faces rather than repeating the last search.

Executive and first-time headteacher appointments

Executive headteachers, heads of school and leaders working across a federation or multi-academy trust carry a different brief from a single-school headship. Lines of accountability, line management and the balance between strategic and operational leadership all need to be clear before the role goes to market. We help trusts and federations define these roles and find leaders who have already worked successfully at that scale.

Mid-year and urgent appointments

A resignation does not always arrive at a convenient point in the year. Because headteacher notice periods are tied to term dates, a board can find itself with a vacancy and too little time to run a full search. In these situations we often run the permanent search alongside an interim headteacher from the Propelo Associate Network, so the school is led with confidence while the right permanent appointment is made.

Who we work with

We work exclusively with state-funded schools and trusts in England, including:

Mainstream primary and secondary schools
Special schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision
All-through schools
Multi-academy trusts of every size, from two-school trusts to national groups
LA maintained schools and federations

We recruit headteachers and principals, executive headteachers and heads of school. For trust-level appointments, our executive recruitment team leads searches for MAT CEOs, CFOs and COOs.

How a Propelo headteacher search works

1. Understand what your school needs

We begin with a proper briefing conversation with your chair and selection panel, in person or online, and a visit to the school wherever possible. We want to understand the context, the challenges ahead and what success will look like in three years' time. Getting this stage right is what makes the rest of the process work.

2. Agree the brief and plan the campaign

Together we agree the role profile, the timetable and the review points at which we will report back to the board. We test our thinking with the market before going further, then produce a professional recruitment pack with the job description, person specification and a compelling picture of your school.

3. Search directly for proven leaders

The strongest headteachers are rarely browsing job adverts. Alongside advertising, we approach high-performing leaders across your region and beyond directly and discreetly, drawing on long-standing relationships across the sector. Every applicant has a professional experience of your school, and your board receives written and verbal updates at each agreed review point.

4. Shortlisting and selection

We provide a clear, evidence-based overview of every application so your panel can shortlist rigorously and with confidence. We work in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education and support the board's safer recruitment responsibilities throughout and we help you design a selection programme that tests what matters for your school, including tasks, presentations and the involvement of staff, pupils and other stakeholders, and we manage the arrangements on the day.

5. Appointment and beyond

We support the board through the final decision and the offer, and we make sure every unsuccessful applicant is treated with care, because reputations in this sector travel. Our involvement does not end at appointment. We stay in touch with the board and the new headteacher through the handover and the first months in post.

What makes a Propelo search different

Education specialists, not generalists

Propelo works only in education. We understand how schools and trusts are governed, inspected and funded, and we judge leadership the way your board will: by its impact on pupils, staff and the wider school community.

A direct search, not an advert and a wait

Rather than placing an advert and hoping the right person applies, we go and find the leaders your school needs. That is why 87% of our headteacher searches end in an appointment at the first attempt.

Honest advice, not a specification match

Part of our value is helping a board work out what it genuinely needs, rather than simply matching the last job description. If the brief, the salary range or the timing is likely to hold the search back, we will tell you before the role goes to market.

Backed by the Propelo Associate Network

Propelo is also home to the Propelo Associate Network, the largest network of education experts in the country. If your school needs an interim headteacher, additional improvement capacity or specialist support while a permanent appointment is made, we can mobilise quality-assured expertise quickly.

We stay involved

We do not simply make an introduction and move on. Most of our work comes from schools and trusts that have worked with us before, or from leaders who have recommended us to their colleagues. We build long-term relationships and remain a source of advice and support as your school's needs change.

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