Role Overview

A deputy head teacher is a school teacher who is second only to the head teacher or school principal in terms of authority. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom and nations that were formerly part of the British Empire. Deputy head teachers primarily focus on classroom teaching, but they also handle some of the head teacher's responsibilities if the head teacher is absent. Many schools entrust this teacher to handle disciplinary matters, as well as coordinating staffing and overseeing school examinations.

Primary and elementary schools normally employ deputies who have a broad knowledge of educational topics, rather than teachers with a specialized focus on one area of the curriculum. These schools usually assign one particular class of students to the teacher and, with few exceptions, all of the students' classes are led by that person. At high schools and secondary schools, teachers with this title normally teach classes on one sp...