The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted school leaders across the four devolved nations of the United Kingdom (UK) with a period of exceptional crisis. This responsive, small-scale, but UK-wide study focuses on headteacher perspectives on leadership and management in the initial stages of this pandemic, contributing to our understanding of this crucial period. The headteacher respondents met the multiple predicaments and situational ambiguities of the pandemic with a resilience which drew heavily upon the strengths of pre-existing structures and teams. They were required to provide effective emotional and moral leadership in uncharted and rapidly shifting territory. They spoke most eloquently of how they developed pragmatic, versatile and personally reassuring approaches to communication with parents, staff, pupils, and a range of external agencies, all of which were also facing extraordinary circumstances with varying degrees of resilience. The paper concludes by conceptualising the key elements of headteachers’ leadership and management, both inside and outside of school, at in the early stages of societal crisis.

COVID-19大流行使英国（UK）四个受灾国家的学校领导面临特殊时期的危机。这项反应迅速，规模小但在英国范围内的研究集中于大流行初期初期校长对领导和管理的看法，有助于我们理解这一关键时期。校长的受访者在抵御流感大流行的多重困境和处境模棱两可的基础上，灵活应变，这在很大程度上取决于现有机构和团队的实力。他们被要求在未知和迅速变化的领域提供有效的情感和道德领导。他们最雄辩地谈到了他们如何开发务实，多才多艺且令人放心的方法来与父母，教职员工，学生和一系列外部机构进行沟通，所有这些都还面临着不同程度的适应力的特殊情况。本文通过对社会危机早期阶段校长在学校内外的领导和管理的关键要素进行概念化的总结。