SENIOR teachers in Bolton are going back to school to take lessons in becoming a head. Twenty deputy heads in the town are already studying for the new qualification in headship and about ten more are expected to sign up soon. Education chiefs are pleased by the take up rate which they hope will help stave off a recruitment crisis predicted elsewhere in the country.

This week MPs warned the Government that plans to make the National Qualification in Headship compulsory could put senior teachers off applying for the top jobs.

But senior staff in Bolton seem undeterred by fears that they will find it difficult to fit in their studies around demanding jobs.

Vital

Staff from about one fifth of Bolton schools will soon be taking lessons in management -- which the government sees as vital to successfully run a modern school.

This means Bolton should have enough qualified applicants to fill the eight to ten headteacher vacancies which arise in the town every year.

Nationally, only 4,500 of the expected 5,000 applicants have signed up for the new course and there is a growing concern about the lack of potential primary heads coming forward.

But more are expected to sign up now the Government has pledged to give schools money to buy in supply cover for deputies on study leave.

A spokesman for Bolton LEA said fewer candidates are coming forward to apply for primary head vacancies but this does not mean local schools are having difficulty recruiting suitable staff.

He said: "The North West has the largest group of people studying for the NVQH in the country so the region will be particularly well served.

"I do not think the qualification will cause a recruitment crisis -- it seems to be a good qualification and people get a great deal out of it."

Deputy heads and senior teachers spend one to three years studying for the new part-time qualification and the Government aim to make it compulsory for all new, but not existing heads, within four years.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.