EI School Leadership Meeting: Birmingham 15 – 16 May 2007 Current Issues, Trends and Developments in Leadership at Secondary School Level in England Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019 Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR

Advice to Government from the National College for School Leadership in 2006 “Over the next three years we face an increasing challenge in school leader recruitment: The numbers of school leader retirements is likely to rise from 2,250 in 2004 to a peak of nearly 3500 in 2009 This will fall back to around 2500 in 2016 Over recent years only about a third of retirements have been at normal retirement age (60) or above, and a growing number have been early retirements after age 55. We estimate from initial analysis that retirement pressures will require an increase, on 2004 figures, of 15-20 percent in the recruitment of school leaders by 2009.” Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

How Would You Define The Roles And Responsibilities Of The Head Teacher? High quality teaching and learning/ education of children. (38.8%) 2. Strategic leadership/vision/ethos. (33.5%) 3. Lead/develop staff/ensure welfare of staff. (25.4%) Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Manager or Leader? 75% said that a head teacher had to be both an educational leader and organisational manager. “I would like to be an educational leader but part of that is excellent deployment of resources – therefore control of the organisation is vital. However, each school should have a bursar to support the head. Schools are very under-resourced in admin staff.” “The role of organising an effective learning environment demands an understanding of how children learn – and keeping up to date with good practice in teaching and learning.” Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Bureaucracy/paperwork. (33.28% actual) (7.1% desired) The percentage of time spent by head teachers on aspects of headship compared with the amount of time head teachers believe they should spend on those aspects Bureaucracy/paperwork. (33.28% actual) (7.1% desired) Interaction with children. (20.8% actual) (30.0% desired) Strategic educational leadership. (14.1% actual) (36.0% desired) Staff management and development. (12.4% actual (19.7% desired) School premises. (12% actual)) (6.3% desired) Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Changes in Roles and Responsibilities 74% felt they had increased, 22 % felt they had stayed the same. 38 % believed increases were due to Government initiatives, 16 % due to OFSTED. “So many new initiatives – extended schools, performance management, OFSTED and SEF, fire regulations, target setting, sports partnership etc etc.” Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Teachers' Workload Diary Survey March 2006 Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Examples of Government Initiatives During Time as Head Teacher Headship More autonomy Greater accountability Constant initiatives Increased bureaucracy Greater external role SIPs New forms of headship Annual performance review Extra teaching to cover PPA etc Vulnerability to sacking Having to wear numerous hats. School Organisation More independence Separation from local authority Enhanced role for governors Specialist schools Control of admissions Competition with other schools Collaboration with other schools. Staffing Monitoring and appraisal of teachers Workforce remodelling Upper pay scale Teacher recruitment and retention TLRs Teaching assistants CRB checks More involvement in teacher training Personnel regulations. Curriculum and Assessment National Curriculum Constant curriculum changes KS3 Strategy Curriculum 2000 Data management and pupil tracking 14 – 19 reform Vocational diplomas. Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

How Well Prepared are Leaders for National Initiatives? Performance management – (45%) well-prepared; (20%) not well-prepared. New inspection framework – (89%) well or very well- prepared; (3% not well-prepared). Implementing the National Agreement on workload – (71%) well or very well- prepared; (14% not well-prepared). The ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda – (84.% ) well or very well-prepared. Personalised learning – (45%) well or very well-prepared; (29%) not well-prepared. School Federations – (52%) not well-prepared; (24% well-prepared. Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

Extended Schools “Extended schools number 1 (workload driver)! We do offer extended provision but the government drive is forcing us to do things people don’t want!” “I find I do the paperwork aspects of my job every weekend. The school is open 48 weeks a year. I no longer have a term time job. Extended Schools are a wonderful resource for the community but there are no protocols and procedures in place. This can be exciting but there are many nights when I lie awake for hours!” Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

The Top Priorities Which Would Make The Role Of The Head Teacher More Sustainable and Manageable Reduce external pressures/bureaucracy/improve work-life balance, greater autonomy/freedom of heads. (68.2%) Greater general support and greater support from local authorities/ government. (25.9%) More funding for schools. (11.2%) Improved pay. (10.3% ) Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

The Trouble with OFSTED….. “One thing is the new OFSTED framework. It really seems as though they are doing things with you as opposed to you. There was more taken on faith that you were on top of things rather than having to produce all the paper to prove it. It (SEF) was a lot of work though and took from September to Easter.” “If there is an issue or problem (e.g. with OFSTED) it falls on the head and it is the head who goes. It has happened locally with at least six heads after unfavourable OFSTEDs.” Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

NUT Proposals Reduce external pressures on school leaders, particularly those relating to accountability and excessive initiatives. School leaders need support – they cannot do everything themselves! To combat isolation, encourage peer coaching relationships. Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019

For more information “National Union of Teachers Survey: The Roles and Responsibilities of Head Teachers” & “School Headship Present and Future” by Alan Smithers and Pamela Robinson, University of Buckingham, are both available to download from the NUT website www.teachers.org.uk. Karen Robinson, Principal Officer- Primary, National Union of Teachers k.robinson@nut.org.uk. Current Issues for School Leaders in England_KDR 07 April 2019