ASCL: Pressure on heads comes from punitive accountability system

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has today (Friday 28 April 2017) published a report Keeping Your Head: NFER Analysis of Headteacher Retention.

Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “It’s worth reminding ourselves that 90% of headteachers are retained within the system from one year to the next – a sign of how rewarding the role is for many leaders.

“This report makes sensible and practical recommendations about how to improve the retention of heads. We fully support these. We also note that the real pressure on those who leave headship often comes from outside the school – from judgements made within an overly punitive accountability system. We need to be quicker to celebrate the successes of school leaders in challenging contexts and slower to criticise.

“With our membership of more than 18,000 school and college leaders, ASCL is pleased to play an important role in developing the next generation of school leaders through advice, coaching and mentoring.”