Headteacher shortage 'the worst in five years'

The shortage of headteachers in schools in England and Wales has reached its highest level since 1997, the year Labour came to power, according to a survey published yesterday.

Between January and May this year, a total of 1,578 headteachers' jobs were advertised, an increase of 5 per cent on the same period in 2001, said Professor John Howson, a teacher recruitment expert and managing director of Education Data Surveys.

This is the highest number since 1997, when more than 2,000 headteachers resigned to avoid a rule change that tightened the restrictions on early retirement.

Apart from the anomaly of 1997, this year has so far seen the highest number of vacancies since Professor Howson began his annual analysis 18 years ago. Professor Howson said his survey showed why the Government had to reduce the pressures on headteachers and deputies.

London schools faced the most severe difficulties finding suitable senior managers – one quarter were forced to re-advertise after failing to attract any satisfactory candidates in response to their first advertisement.

Professor Howson said: "This shows that the high cost of living in London is not just a problem for teachers at the bottom of the career ladder. It is also affecting those at the top. Senior staff will not be prepared to give up a higher standard of living elsewhere in the country to become a headteacher in London."

Primary school headteachers are under the most pressure because they are responsible for teaching classes as well as juggling administration responsibilities.

Professor Howson said: "This group needs progress on solving the workload burden more than any other group of teachers."

John Dunford, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, confirmed that governing bodies were having increasing difficulty in finding headteachers.

He said: "More heads are leaving and fewer deputies are willing to make the step up to headship, perceiving that the over-accountability of heads for everything that happens in school makes the job more difficult year by year."

He added: "It remains the case, however, that leading a school is a wonderful opportunity to influence the lives of young people and we must ensure that accountability and bureaucracy don't affect the willingness of people to take up this challenge."