Deputy Headteacher (DOS) key topics and quick reference

Updated 17 September 2026 · 2 min read

This post is tested on judgement, but that judgement rests on a clear set of ideas about how learning is planned, taught and measured. The reference tables on this page cover the essentials: the levels of thinking that questions and lessons target, and the types of assessment and when each belongs. The notes below show how they connect in the work of leading a school's teaching.

How this guide was made

Written for this site with AI assistance, then checked automatically before publishing. The topic table, sample questions, worked examples and study plan are generated from this site’s question bank: each worked example is recalculated by separate code, and each sample answer says where it came from.

The guide deliberately states no salaries, grades, pass marks or exam dates. Those change, and they could not be checked here, so take them from the advert itself.

This site is independent and is not affiliated with MIFOTRA or any employer.

Where to spend your study time

The suggested emphasis reflects what this position works with day to day. It is a study guide, not a published exam blueprint.

Area	Suggested emphasis	Questions in the bank	Practise
School leadership, curriculum and assessment	100%	50	Deputy Headteacher (DOS)

Levels of thinking in lesson planning

A lesson that only asks learners to recall facts will not build competence. The levels of thinking, from remembering and understanding through applying and analysing to evaluating and creating, give you a practical way to check a lesson plan or a test paper. When you observe a lesson, notice which levels the teacher's questions reach.

Quick reference

Bloom’s taxonomy (revised)

Level	The learner can…	Question verbs
Remember	Recall facts	List, name, define
Understand	Explain ideas in their own words	Describe, summarise, explain
Apply	Use knowledge in a new situation	Calculate, demonstrate, solve
Analyse	Break something into parts and relationships	Compare, classify, examine
Evaluate	Judge against criteria	Justify, assess, recommend
Create	Produce something new	Design, plan, compose

Types of assessment

Type	When	Purpose
Diagnostic	Before teaching	Find what learners already know
Formative	During learning	Adjust teaching; assessment for learning
Summative	At the end of a unit or term	Judge achievement; assessment of learning
Self and peer	Throughout	Build learners’ own judgement; assessment as learning

Choosing the right assessment

Diagnostic assessment starts a unit, formative assessment guides it, and summative assessment closes it. Many school problems come from using one where another is needed, such as relying on end-of-term examinations to discover that a class fell behind in the first month. Balanced assessment catches problems early enough to fix them.

Connecting the two

Assessment and lesson planning belong together. A test should ask at the levels the lessons taught, and lesson planning should respond to what assessment reveals. When you analyse results, ask both whether learners met the standard and whether the assessment measured what was actually taught.

Be ready to explain

The difference between formative and summative assessment, with an example of each.
Why a test can be reliable but not valid.
What you would look for in a scheme of work.
How you would check that a class is on track with the syllabus.
What makes lesson observation feedback useful to a teacher.

Common questions

Do I need to memorise the levels of thinking in order?

Knowing them in order helps, but understanding what each looks like in a classroom question matters more.

How detailed should my knowledge of assessment theory be?

Enough to use the terms precisely and apply them to school situations. The test rewards practical application rather than academic definitions.

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Headteacher key topics and quick reference