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Overview
Primary school head teachers run the daily work of a primary or elementary school. They lead staff, decide on admissions, follow curriculum standards and keep teaching organised around younger pupils' social and academic development.
In job descriptions, look for school leadership, staff supervision, student safety, curriculum planning, school budget, parent meetings, education programme evaluation and cooperation with teaching and support staff.
Explore this occupation
Open in Job ExplorerWork context
The work is centred on the daily rhythm of a primary school: classrooms, staff meetings, parent contact, admissions and safety routines. The head teacher keeps younger pupils' learning, welfare and school organisation moving in the same direction.
Skills and specializations
Strong roles mention curriculum standards, supervision of educational staff, school budget, student safety and parent-teacher meetings. Practical judgement matters because decisions about staffing, support and school events affect pupils, teachers and families quickly.
Salary context
Salary context is tied to the size of the school, staff responsibility, budget ownership and the complexity of pupil support. A head teacher leading several teams and admissions decisions carries a different scope from a smaller single-site role.
Career paths
Experience may build from teaching, year leadership, curriculum coordination, deputy head work or education programme evaluation. Later steps can include wider school leadership, multi-site management, education administration or specialist work on school quality.
Good to know
Check whether a vacancy is for a single primary school, a larger school group or a role with heavy admissions and budget duties. Also note how much direct work with parents, support staff and education authorities is expected.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial career context. It is not official labour-market statistics or role-specific salary data.
Map overview
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 2
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare
11-9031.00
Close relationship
The occupations are closely related, but the official mapping does not treat them as exact equivalents.
Open in O*NETEducation Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary
11-9032.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
Alternative labels
head teacher of primary school
primary school principal
headteacher of primary school
headmaster of primary school
primary school headteacher
director of primary school
elementary school principal
primary education headteacher
primary education head teacher
primary school director
primary school headmaster
Occupation group
headteacher (1345.1)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/c9d89e09-d57f-4980-9164-880e60711e97 |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 1345.1.6 |
| ISCO group | 1345 |
| Concept type | Occupation |