Six-figure salaries fail to create more headteachers

29-1-2010

Six-figure salaries fail to create more headteachers

Shortage of candidates forces more schools to readvertise posts and offer perks

Schools cannot fill vacant headteacher posts despite offers of six-figure salaries and perks, a study has revealed.

A dire shortage of applicants has made it far harder for state schools to recruit ­teachers to the top job than it was a ­quarter of a century ago, analysts at Education Data Surveys have found.

Their study of headteacher recruitment reveals that it is rare for academies, the government's quasi-independent schools, to offer a salary below six figures to potential heads – regardless of the school's location or how many pupils it has. At least 60 secondary schools have advertised a six-figure sum to lure potential heads in the last year, the study shows. The average secondary head earns £74,000. Several schools are offering the maximum salary possible – £109,658 for inner London and £102,734 for elsewhere. This sometimes comes with a relocation allowance and private health insurance.

Scores of posts are being filled by temporary and acting heads, the analysts found. Last year, one school in London had to advertise for the same headship six times. In inner London and the east of England, where it is particularly hard for schools to find heads, more than 40% of all headships were readvertised last year. In primaries, more than a third (35%) of all posts for heads had to be readvertised last year, compared with just under 20% in 1993. Over a quarter (27%) of posts for secondary heads had to be readvertised, almost double the 1993 figure.

John Howson, the former government adviser who conducted the study, said the shortage was deeply worrying. "The ease with which schools can recruit a headteacher is a key measure of the health of the profession," he said.

In October last year, Ed Balls, the schools secretary, said: "We know that the most important ingredient in great schools is excellent leadership."

The shortage is partly a result of a high proportion of headteachers reaching retirement age, but many are thought to have delayed departure because of the recession, which means even deeper shortages are likely in coming years.

The analysts said that since the government insisted in April that headteachers have a mandatory qualification – the National Professional Qualification for Headship – schools had found it harder.

Teaching leaders said ministers had been warned of an impending shortage of headteachers, and had to do more to tackle an excessive workload and change the "negative culture of accountability". The analysts found faith schools now found it the hardest to recruit heads, with 37% of posts readvertised in 2008/9, compared to 26% in 1997/8.

London was the region that struggled most to recruit heads, with the east of England close behind. Schools with a declining numbers of pupils, or a high proportion of deprived families, find it hardest to recruit.

Howson said: "The odds of a school finding a new headteacher now are much worse than when I started surveying the market 25 years ago. Despite greater government action, there are seemingly still not enough applicants to fill all available posts. I am surprised that those responsible for running schools haven't overcome the problem in view of the importance of heads in creating successful schools."

A spokesman from the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said: "Heads' vacancy rates have been low, stable, and below 1% for the past 10 years. More teachers than ever before have their sights set on becoming a head. Pay and training is now better than ever before. We've brought in groundbreaking measures to cut workloads, and leadership teams have never been stronger in supporting heads." (Guardian)