Heads of schools and institutions for small children are responsible for the everyday administrative and pedagogical management. The heads answer to school or institutional boards as well as the municipalities for the activities and functioning of the school/institution.

Requirements for Appointment

There is no automatic promotion to management functions. School heads are chosen on the basis of their qualifications. School heads at these levels of education are recruited by the municipal council after being evaluated and recommended by the current school’s advisory board comprising both teachers and parents. Satisfactory completion of a 2-year probationary period leads to a permanent contract – sometimes with civil-servant status, however, the tendency is not to contract school heads as civil servants. The municipal council may evaluate the school head at its own discretion.

Conditions of Service

Conditions of service are regulated in the collective agreements between KL (Local Government Denmark) and LC (The Confederation of Teachers Unions). The latest legislation is the Circular on Collective Agreement for Academics in the State from 20 December 2021.

School heads can be employed having public servant status, on limited tenure, or on contract. School head salary consists of a basic salary, functional pay, performance-related pay and payment by results. The appointing authority establishes a pension scheme in Lærernes Pension (Teachers’ Pension and Life Insurance Company) on employment. The public pension contribution amounts to approximately 17 % of the pension-enabling salary parts.

School heads are employed without a limit on working hours. School heads should be dismissed according to the Consolidation Act on the Legal Relationship between Employers and Salaried Employees. Continuing professional development should be an integral part of the appointing authority's personnel policy.

Upper Secondary Education

The head of the upper secondary education institution answers to a board reflecting the school's specific profile. The teachers and pupils of the school appoint representatives to the board. The school board appoints and dismisses the head teacher and has overall responsibility for running the school. School heads at this level are employed according to the Circular on Collective Agreement for Academics in the State and the Circular on Agreement on Salary and Employment Conditions for School Heads in Upper Secondary Education.