繁體中文
工作實況：一校之首嘅多重角色
校長嘅一日，往往由巡校、處理突發事件到開會交替進行。佢哋要領導課程發展同教學改進、督導教師團隊同考績、管理財政同資源分配，仲要對外代表學校同家長、辦學團體同教育局溝通。遇到學生危機、投訴或傳媒關注，校長要即時決策同對外回應。呢個職位既要有教育理念，亦要有管理同溝通能力，仲要喺資源有限嘅情況下平衡各方期望。可以話，校長唔止係教師嘅上司，亦係學校文化同方向嘅塑造者。
入職關卡：教師註冊同校長資格認證
校長之職有兩重關卡。首先，根據《教育條例》，任何喺學校任教嘅人都必須係檢定教員或准用教員，而校長人選亦須經教育局批准，確保其為適合出任校長嘅人。其次，公營同直資學校嘅擬任校長，自 2004/05 學年起必須取得校長資格認證（CFP）。申請人須有至少五年教學經驗同認可教師訓練資歷，並喺最長兩年內完成專業發展需要分析、擬任校長課程同專業發展檔案。CFP 由教育局嘅委員會監督評審，有效期五年；未完成者只能以署任方式暫代，並須於兩年內補齊。
出路：由教師到校長嘅階梯
校長唔係一步到位嘅職位。一般而言，入行者先做教師，累積教學同班級管理經驗，再逐步出任科主任、訓導或輔導主任、副校長等中層職位，從中培養課程領導、人事管理同危機處理能力。有意向校長發展嘅教師，會提早部署 CFP：先完成專業發展需要分析，再修讀擬任校長課程同建立專業發展檔案。取得 CFP 後，仍要視乎學校嘅校長空缺同校董會聘任，先可以正式出任，並須持續參與校長持續專業發展。
English
The job: the many roles of a school head
A principal's day alternates between patrolling the school, handling incidents and attending meetings. They lead curriculum development and teaching improvement, supervise and appraise the teaching team, manage finances and resource allocation, and represent the school externally to parents, sponsoring bodies and the Education Bureau. Faced with a student crisis, a complaint or media attention, the principal must decide and respond on the spot. The role requires an educational vision as well as management and communication skills, and the ability to balance competing expectations with limited resources. A principal is not merely the teachers' superior but a shaper of the school's culture and direction.
The gate: teacher registration and Certification for Principalship
The principalship has two gates. First, under the Education Ordinance anyone teaching in a school must be a registered teacher or a permitted teacher, and a principal candidate must be approved by the Education Bureau as a fit and proper person to lead the school. Second, since the 2004/05 school year, aspiring principals in public-sector and DSS schools must attain the Certification for Principalship (CFP). Applicants need at least five years of teaching experience and a recognised teacher training qualification, and must complete, within up to two years, a needs analysis, a Preparation for Principalship course and a professional development portfolio. The CFP is assessed under an Education Bureau committee and is valid for five years; those without it may serve only on an acting basis and must complete it within two years.
Pathways: the ladder from teacher to principal
A principalship is not reached in one step. In general, a person starts as a teacher, builds teaching and class-management experience, then moves through middle-leadership posts such as panel head, discipline or guidance master, or vice-principal, developing curriculum leadership, staff management and crisis-handling ability. Those aiming for headship plan for the CFP early: completing the needs analysis, then the Preparation for Principalship course and a professional development portfolio. Even with the CFP, appointment depends on a principal vacancy and the school management committee's decision, and serving principals must continue with principals' continuing professional development.
