Today (Weds 2 Feb), at a parliamentary briefing event organised
by school leaders’ union NAHT, MPs will be hearing from school
leaders about their experiences during the pandemic, and how
issues of pay, workload and wellbeing are causing a crisis in the
supply of head teachers.
Diana Ohene-Darko, assistant head teacher and acting deputy head
teacher at two London primary schools, and NAHT national
committee member, will tell MPs: “My colleagues and I are working
against a backdrop of a lack of professional agency, autonomy and
independence. Instead of being hailed as heroes for working on
the frontline in recent times we have been unfairly criticised to
hide government failure.
“Until recently, I would have confidently called myself an
‘aspiring Head,’ one who wanted to make a difference more widely
for the benefit of pupils, staff and the wider community, to take
on that role of responsibility and accountability in leadership.
However, in this regard, I now have to reflect.
“A decade-long, real-terms pay freeze, along with Headteachers
becoming scapegoats for government failures during the pandemic,
has meant that school leaders are thinking twice about
progressing all the way to Headship (never mind staying in the
profession at all), not least because when all is said and done,
it is their ‘head’ on the line.”
MPs attending the event (including Labour, Lib Dem and
Conservative) will receive a briefing on the findings of reports
published by NAHT last year into the pay, workload and wellbeing
of school leaders in England, which revealed that fewer school
leaders aspire to headship than ever before.
More than half (53%) of school leaders who are not currently a
head teacher indicated that they do not aspire to headship (up
about a third since 2016, from 40%.)
Concerns about personal well-being were recorded as the single
biggest deterrent to school leadership, with almost nine in ten
assistant and deputy heads (87%) and middle leaders (86%)
identifying this as being a deterrent to headship or a leadership
role.
An overwhelming majority of school leaders (93%) said that the
government had failed to support their well-being during the
covid-19 pandemic. When asked to summarise their experience of
being a leader over the last year in a single word, the top
answers were ‘stressful’, ‘challenging’ and ‘exhausting’, closely
followed by ‘relentless’, ‘overwhelming’, ‘demoralising’, and
‘undervalued’.
Ms Ohene-Darko continued: “Throughout the pandemic, vocational
commitment has been tested to breaking point. Workload has soared
to the point that our leaders are suffering with their own
physical and mental wellbeing; many have had to seek wider
support and there is no shame in that.
“It is time that our profession was given back the credibility it
deserves, in line with other countries who have education on a
pedestal. It is time that we were paid in line with inflation,
year on year to reflect the continued and sustained hard work of
our profession. It is time that we are remunerated for our
tireless efforts in keeping education going for the last two
years, despite several lockdowns, late guidance and the strain of
doing our own track and trace.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, who will lead the event,
said: “When we said school leadership supply is teetering on the
brink of collapse, we meant it, and the response that we have had
to this report suggests many within the profession agree.
“Experienced teachers and leaders with decades of classroom and
management experience do not view headship as an attractive,
viable and sustainable career choice. Awareness of the spiralling
mental health and well-being crisis amongst leaders, and failure
to address falling real-terms pay has failed to provide incentive
to step up and take on the responsibility of school leadership.
“The government urgently needs to listen to school leaders’
experiences and concerns, which is why we are here in Westminster
today. We thank those MPs who have attended our briefing event
and urge them to use this information to push for change.”
