| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Education and Teaching |
| Level | Manager |
| Reports to | Principal |
| Direct reports | Primary Teacher, Pre-Primary Teacher, Montessori Teacher, School Attendant |
| Experience | 8 to 12 years of primary teaching, including 2 years as a section coordinator |
Head Mistress job description template
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Job title: Head Mistress
Department: Education and Teaching
Reports to: Principal
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Head Mistress leads the primary or pre-primary section of a school, or heads a small school outright. She plans the section's academics, supervises class teachers and ayahs, deals with parents of young children and keeps the section safe and orderly from arrival to dispersal. She usually reports to the Principal. A good Head Mistress keeps foundational literacy and numeracy on track, knows the concerns of every child and runs a dispersal routine in which no child leaves with anyone outside the approved pickup list.
Key responsibilities
- Plan the section's year with the principal, including foundational literacy and numeracy targets, the activity calendar and assessment dates.
- Check class teachers' weekly lesson plans, worksheets and notebooks, and observe at least two classes every week.
- Allot class teacher duties, arrange substitution for absent teachers and supervise ayahs and attendants.
- Run arrival, lunch and dispersal routines, including pickup authority cards and the handover of young children to bus attendants.
- Meet parents on admissions, settling-in issues, learning concerns and complaints, and keep a note of each meeting.
- Identify children who may need learning support and refer them to the counsellor or special educator with parental consent.
- Organize section events such as new parent orientation, grandparents' day and annual day items.
- Inspect hygiene, first aid readiness and classroom safety, including child-safe furniture and locked storage for cleaning materials.
- Review each child's term report and portfolio before it goes to parents, and correct vague or inaccurate remarks.
- Train new primary teachers in classroom routines, phonics methods and play-based learning.
Requirements
- Graduate with a B.Ed or D.El.Ed; a postgraduate degree is an advantage
- Early childhood or nursery teacher training is an advantage for pre-primary sections
- First aid and child protection training
- 8 to 12 years of primary teaching, including 2 years as a section coordinator
KRAs and KPIs for a Head Mistress
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Foundational learning | At least 90 percent of Class 2 children reading grade-level text fluently by year end |
| Lesson plan review | Every teacher's weekly plan checked, with gaps closed within one week |
| Child safety | Zero cases of a child released to an unlisted adult or left unattended |
| Parent communication | Every parent concern acknowledged within one working day |
| Teacher support | Each teacher observed at least twice a month, with written feedback |
| Admissions support | Nursery and Class 1 seats filled to target by June |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: School ERP, Classroom smart board, MS Office, Parent communication app, CCTV monitoring, Child portfolio templates.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Vice Principal, Principal
Interview questions for a Head Mistress
- A Class 1 child is still waiting 45 minutes after dispersal and the parent's phone is off. What do you do?
- How do you check whether Class 2 children can really read, rather than recite?
- A new teacher cannot settle a class of 35 six-year-olds. How would you help her?
- A parent insists her child be moved to another section because of one classmate. How do you respond?
- Two class teachers are absent on sports day. How do you plan cover?
- What would you look for in a classroom to decide it is safe for young children?
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What is the role of a head mistress in a school?
A head mistress leads the primary or pre-primary section of a school. She plans the section's academics, checks lesson plans, observes teachers, supervises ayahs, handles parents of young children and runs safe arrival and dispersal. In small schools the head mistress may head the whole school.
What is the difference between a head mistress and a principal?
In a large school, the principal heads the whole institution while the head mistress leads one section, usually primary or pre-primary, and reports to the principal. In smaller schools, especially government and aided primary schools, the head mistress is the head of the school and carries the full responsibility a principal would.
What qualification is required for a head mistress?
Schools usually ask for a graduate degree with a B.Ed or D.El.Ed, and many prefer a postgraduate degree. Eight or more years of primary teaching, including time as a coordinator, is common. Early childhood training helps for pre-primary sections, and state rules set the requirements for government schools.