The number of senior leaders in schools who aspire to headship is at a record low, a survey has suggested.
Polling by the NAHT school leaders’ union found that the number of senior leaders aspiring to headship is now just 20 per cent, the lowest since the union’s wellbeing surveys began in 2016.
Some 65 per cent of the 1,500 school leader members surveyed said that their mental health has been “harmed” by their work in the previous year, compared with 72 per cent in 2023.
The proportion of leaders saying that they needed mental health support in the past year has remained similar to previous years, at 45 per cent, with a further 33 per cent saying that they are getting support.
Leadership ‘increasingly comes with health warning’
The findings come ahead of the union’s annual conference in Harrogate, which is being held this Friday and Saturday (2-3 May).
The union’s general secretary Paul Whiteman said that 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,” Mr Whiteman continued.
He said that 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”.
Most leaders say role affects sleep
Some 88 per cent of school leaders reported that their role has affected their sleep, with 77 per cent reporting increased worry and stress, 76 per cent said it negatively affected their family or personal life and 59 per cent said it had a negative impact on their physical health.
A further 88 per cent also said the time they spent supporting their staff with mental health issues had increased in the past three years.
When asked what would encourage them to stay in or aspire to other leadership roles, 60 per cent cited greater professional recognition, 47 per cent said action to reduce workload and 47 per cent said further above-inflation pay rises.
The survey comes after it was reported by The Times that the School Teachers’ Review Body has recommended that the government increase teacher pay by 4 per cent.
Of those surveyed, 33 per cent also said that scrapping Ofsted sub-judgements would encourage them to stay in or aspire to other leadership roles. The NAHT warned in its response to the watchdog’s report card consultation that the plans risk worsening the health and wellbeing of the profession.
When asked in the survey what the government could do to immediately reduce workload, which many leaders described as unmanageable, 66 per cent said that ending the high-stakes nature of inspections would help.
The majority (86 per cent) said fully funding and resourcing sufficient provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities would make a difference, while 44 per cent cited improving the availability of health and social care services to better support schools.
Call for funded wellbeing support
The issue is set to be debated at the NAHT annual conference on Saturday 3 May.
The motion calls on the union’s executive to urge the government to “fully fund an ongoing entitlement to professional supervision for school leaders” as part of its mission to improve staff retention.
Motion proposer James Hawkins, NAHT’s Birmingham branch president, said this would involve making funded wellbeing support - currently available for only some roles, restricted to six-hourly online sessions and open to just 840 people each year - available for all leaders.
A Department for Education spokesperson said that “we highly value our incredible school staff - they are vital to our Plan for Change, giving every child the best start in life”.
“We are working together with partners across the education sector to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession - and are already taking action to ease workload pressures and support wellbeing so more teachers stay in the profession,” they added.
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