The challenges facing school leaders have been encapsulated in the results of our latest state of the nation workload and wellbeing survey (NAHT, 2023).
It paints a bleak picture of the unacceptable toll school leadership is taking on our members and their mental health and wellbeing.
Based upon the responses of nearly 1,900 school leaders during the autumn term, our Crisis Point report highlights real concerns over wellbeing, workload, Ofsted inspection, and pay.
It is little surprise that, taken together, these issues are fuelling a growing recruitment and retention crisis.
Overall, 49% of school leaders said needed professional mental health or wellbeing support, 72% said the job had harmed their mental health in the last year, 79% said it had caused them increased worry, fear, or stress, and 58% said it had affected their physical health.
What have things come to when this is the price of school leadership? It is not normal or acceptable and it is extremely worrying – both on a human level and because these issues are driving the recruitment and retention challenges.
If schools do not have the workforce they need the workload and pressure faced by existing staff may be still more intolerable. It’s a vicious cycle.
Teacher recruitment is a big issue. Analysis of the figures for 2023/24 show that despite the primary school target being cut by 21% this year by the government – a decision that has never been fully explained – recruitment still fell 4% short of target (DfE, 2023).
Our survey also shines a light on retention difficulties and the factors contributing to them.
It found that 51% of school leaders are considering leaving the profession within the next three years for reasons besides retirement.
Of these, 88% identified the impact of the role upon their wellbeing as a factor, with significant numbers citing workload pressures (83%), feeling helpless or overwhelmed in offering pupils pastoral support (61%), pay (53%), and a lack of professional recognition (51%). Similar reasons are identified by 61% of assistant and deputy heads who say they do not aspire to headship, up from 53% in 2021.
Concerns about personal wellbeing were cited as a deterrent to headship by 91% while 81% blame Ofsted inspections.
For the first time, our survey found that a majority of school leaders (57%) would not recommend school leadership as a career goal, an increase of 21% compared to 2021.
Workload pressures emerge as a common thread when looking at the factors which make leadership unsustainable. Meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, Ofsted pressures, and balancing school budgets were the three factors most frequently blamed for contributing to workload.
Some initial measures aimed at alleviating workload pressures were this month agreed between education unions including NAHT and the government through the Workload Reduction Taskforce. Crucially, these included an end to performance related pay, which NAHT has long called for, and which brought with it a significant administrative burden.
These proposals must however be just the beginning of further action to address unsustainable levels of workload.
We also need to see action on Ofsted inspection and funding pressures, which themselves add to workload, as well as on pay.
On Ofsted, there is a growing consensus that fundamental reform of inspection and accountability measures, including an end to single-word inspection grades, is necessary.
This was powerfully reinforced when the inquest into the death of headteacher Ruth Perry concluded that the inspection of her school had likely contributed to her suicide.
The coroner’s report identified a number of areas of concern about Ofsted’s practices, underlining the urgent need for reform.
The new Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver, has acknowledged the need for change, and has already announced some initial steps in response to the coroner’s findings.
Inspections have resumed after being paused to allow mental health training for inspectors to happen, and a hotline is being created so schools can request that an inspection is paused.
While welcome, much more needs to be done to stop Ofsted inspections having such a harmful impact upon school leaders’ in the first place – and this must include an end to high-stakes single-word or phrase judgements.
Our recent report (NAHT, 2024) summarises what NAHT and its members would like to see happen, and we are continuing to fight for a fairer, more proportionate, more reliable system of inspection.
In terms of funding, calls for an additional £1.7bn to cover rising school costs in 2024/25 fell on deaf ears in the Autumn Statement. So too did our appeal for urgent investment to fix the under-funded SEND system, and for long-term investment to ensure all school buildings are fit-for-purpose.
As things stand, schools face having to make more really unpalatable budget decisions this year.
We are also urging government to do more to value staff. We want the government to invest in pay and reform the pay structure – 72% of school leaders said that pay should maintain its value against inflation and the same proportion felt that remuneration should better reflect the responsibilities of leadership.
Valuing our members is also about empowering them. We want fully funded support to be guaranteed whenever staff are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing.
Working in this profession can and should always be a rewarding experience. But without decisive action, I fear more dedicated professionals will be forced to leave schools for their own health, and that replacing them will prove increasingly difficult.
A general election is due this year. This represents an opportunity for all political parties to provide the profession with some real hope.
It is a chance for politicians to show that they will commit to the reforms needed to address the challenges facing schools and their staff and ensure school leaders have the tools they need to do their jobs effectively.
It is also a chance to change how those in power talk about the dedicated professionals who have devoted their lives to teaching.
- Paul Whiteman is general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers. Find his previous articles for Headteacher Update via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/paul-whiteman
Headteacher Update Spring Term Edition 2024
This is an updated version of an article that first appeared in Headteacher Update's Spring Term Edition 2024. This edition was sent free of charge to UK primary schools in January. A free-to-access digital edition is available via www.headteacher-update.com/content/downloads
Further information
- DfE: Academic year 2023/24: Initial Teacher Training Census, 2023: https://tinyurl.com/yfmn7tr6
- NAHT: Crisis Point, 2023: http://tinyurl.com/ymtszcbp
- NAHT: Rethinking school inspection, 2024: http://tinyurl.com/yc6fxw6h