Only 20% of senior leaders say they want to become a headteacher because the mental health toll of the job has simply become too much.
Retention crisis: Only 20% of senior leaders want to become a headteacher, the lowest level ever recorded by the NAHT's annual research - Adobe Stock

A survey of more than 1,500 school leaders published by the National Association of Head Teachers finds that 45% have needed mental health support in the past year, while 65% say their mental health has been harmed by the job.

The NAHT is set to debate the issue when it convenes for its annual conference this weekend in Harrogate.

The survey findings reveal that of the 45% of leaders who say they needed mental health support in the previous 12 months, only a third managed to access help.

Previous research from the union in 2023 found that only 21% of senior leaders aspired to headship. This has now fallen to 20% – the lowest level ever recorded since NAHT began asking the question in 2016.

The union points to Department for Education data showing that 31% of primary and secondary senior leaders left their post within five years for reasons other than retirement, with 53% of these quitting teaching in state-funded schools for good (DfE, 2022).

Headteacher Hilary Mitchell is one of those who has finally been forced to quit, aged 55, after the pressure simply became too much.

She left her job as principal at Caldmore Primary Academy in Walsall at Easter after five years in the role and has now quit the profession for good.

She said: “You end up doing all sorts – cleaning, admin when you are short-staffed, supervising breaks and lunchtimes – the list is endless. You get phone calls and messages at all hours and it was causing arguments between me and my partner.

“At one point I wasn’t getting to sleep until 2am every night because I was worrying about work, at another point I was waking up at 4am.”

After Covid, Hilary was off with stress for almost a month and accessed phone counselling through her trust: “At the end of last summer I was feeling quite poorly again and had spent the first two weeks of the holiday working, and most of the rest of the holidays thinking and worrying about work.”

Hilary paid out of her own pocket to do some stress relief training and returned in September “feeling really positive” – but sadly it wasn’t enough.

“By the third week the tell-tale signs were returning and I finally handed my notice in. I was 55 and I thought, life’s too short, even though I live and breathe that school. I feel huge relief, but also massive guilt for my children and staff.

“I’m part of a headteachers’ group and it’s full of people saying how overwhelmed they are and that they are leaving the profession.”

A motion due to be discussed on Saturday (May 3) by NAHT delegates in Harrogate calls on the union to lobby the DfE for a fully funded “on-going entitlement to professional supervision” for school leaders.

DfE-funded wellbeing support is currently restricted to 840 people a year, is only available for some roles, and is limited to six hourly online sessions. The motion would like to see this kind of support offered to all school leaders.

The NAHT survey findings show that 88% of school leaders reported problems sleeping due to their role, 77% reported increased worry and stress, 76% said it negatively affected their family or personal life, and 59% reported a negative impact on physical health.

When asked what would encourage them to stay in or aspire to other leadership roles, 60% cited greater professional recognition, 47% action to reduce workload, and 47% further above-inflation pay rises.

When asked what the government could do to immediately reduce workload, 66% said ending the high-stakes nature of Ofsted inspection, 86% said fully funding and resourcing sufficient provision for pupils with SEN, and 44% cited improving the availability of health and social care services to better support schools.

The conference motion states: “Leading schools has become more and more pressurised with leaders’ responsibilities extended to provide unsustainable social services – pushing some staff to crisis point and crucially leaving the profession. We need an urgent focus on supporting the mental health and wellbeing of school leaders.”

It also calls on NAHT to explore the “legal and industrial options available to protect the mental and physical health and wellbeing of school leaders and staff”.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “It is deeply concerning that so many dedicated school leaders are struggling and that some are even quitting the profession they love due to the toll on their mental health.

“From crippling workload, fuelled by picking up the slack after years of under-investment in public services, to the pressure of inhumane, unreliable high-stakes inspections, it feels like school leadership increasingly comes with a health warning.

“With the best will in the world, school leaders feeling this way may struggle to bring their A-game to the job and there is clearly a risk that ultimately children’s education will suffer.

“These findings demonstrate far more must be done to restore school leadership and teaching as an attractive proposition and show real ambition on pay, funding, inspection and workload to turn this ship around.”