I think a lot of leadership teams really don't understand the role and function of Heads of Department (HoDs).
In many schools, HoDs are purely technocratic. Their job is to deal with things like timetables, set changes, data deadlines, detention systems and cover. Occasionally they venture into the realms of more "curriculum" type issues, but often these are still things like ordering textbooks, setting homework centrally, making sure there are clubs and extra-curricular activities and the like. Come summer, they project manage curriculum improvement work, which again is often bureaucratic and mostly focused around "why haven't my colleagues hit their deadlines?"
Rarely is the HoD considered the driver and champion of Teaching and Learning in their subject. But that's what they should be. A true leader or teaching and curriculum, helping their colleagues develop their practice and skills in the classroom, and coordinating the team to ensure that the curriculum and resources are effective and supportive.
The important bit is that a lot of leaders *tell* me that actually their HoDs do fulfil this vision. Unfortunately, as I've written before, ideality rarely matches reality, and when I speak to the HoD they tell me they have no time to go observe lessons, no autonomy over policies, no meeting time to discuss T&L, and are drowning in the implementation of other people's priorities.
If you want your HoDs to be able to do this job, you need to actively make it happen, rather than just hope it does.
You need to
- Give them free periods to go and observe
- Reduce the number of tasks they need to do that are unrelated
- Allow them the autonomy they need to make disciplinary changes and developments
- Ring fence meeting time for T&L
and, above all, trust them!