The qualification that all new head teachers in England must have is being made tougher.
The change by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) to try to ensure that only those set on headship apply.
Of the 30,000 people who have obtained the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) only around one third have taken up their first headship.
The NCSL's chief executive Steve Munby said there was concern that the NPQH was being viewed as a general leadership development programme and that it was too inflexible.
The director leading the process, Jane Doughty, said: "We want to maintain and improve the flow of high quality graduates into headship, so our re-designed programme focuses on ensuring that graduates will have the competence and confidence to apply for headship as soon as they have finished the qualification.
"We anticipate individuals will take between four to 12 months to graduate depending on their personalised needs."
The tightening of the NPQH rules comes at a time when there is a flow of school leaders out of the profession.
Some fear that making the qualification harder to obtain might restrict the pool of available talent at the wrong time.
Prof John Howson of Education Data Surveys said the college had a dangerous balancing act to perform.
"They could actually end up with a shortage of people with NPQH," he told the Times Educational Supplement.
"What they must not do with this relaunch is to make the recruitment situation worse."
The change by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) to try to ensure that only those set on headship apply.
Of the 30,000 people who have obtained the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) only around one third have taken up their first headship.
The NCSL's chief executive Steve Munby said there was concern that the NPQH was being viewed as a general leadership development programme and that it was too inflexible.
The director leading the process, Jane Doughty, said: "We want to maintain and improve the flow of high quality graduates into headship, so our re-designed programme focuses on ensuring that graduates will have the competence and confidence to apply for headship as soon as they have finished the qualification.
"We anticipate individuals will take between four to 12 months to graduate depending on their personalised needs."
The tightening of the NPQH rules comes at a time when there is a flow of school leaders out of the profession.
Some fear that making the qualification harder to obtain might restrict the pool of available talent at the wrong time.
Prof John Howson of Education Data Surveys said the college had a dangerous balancing act to perform.
"They could actually end up with a shortage of people with NPQH," he told the Times Educational Supplement.
"What they must not do with this relaunch is to make the recruitment situation worse."
