Around 3,500 schools across the country are “isolated” in leadership terms and therefore likely to miss out on the most talented leaders, according to a new analysis of headteacher career moves.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has found that school leaders and future leaders tend to operate in connected “communities” where leaders are likely to switch between schools but stay within the same area over a 10-year period.
It found that a headteacher, or future headteacher, in a secondary school is 20 times more likely to move to a school within the same community than to a school in another community.
For primary schools, heads and future heads are nine times more likely to remain within the same community.
Schools ‘isolated’ from leadership networks
EPI research published today warns that this leaves a set of “isolated” schools, which are not connected to others through headteachers’ and future headteachers’ movements.
The EPI warns that these schools “will likely not benefit as much as others from the knowledge, expertise and best practice of the most talented future leaders and leaders”.
Its analysis shows that there are 2,983 isolated primaries and 510 isolated secondary schools.
It identified 521 communities of connected primary schools and 146 communities of connected secondary schools across the country.
The research also identifies regional variations in the proportions of isolated schools.
The North West has the largest proportion of isolated primary schools (20 per cent), while isolated secondary schools are concentrated in the West Midlands, East of England and South East, with each region having around 15 per cent of the isolated schools in England.
The report also notes that highly effective headteachers are not being drawn to low-attaining or disadvantaged schools, which could mean that these schools are not receiving the leadership talent they need most.
Dr Joana Cardim Dias, the EPI’s senior researcher for school workforce, said: “Our research highlights that many schools across the country are often isolated and do not benefit from experience from the most talented leaders and headteachers.
“The government needs to encourage more localised movement across communities of schools, and multi-academy trusts should consider how they grow and deploy their own leaders in order to spread best practice.”
Reacting to the report, headteachers’ leaders have raised concerns about a government decision to end grant funding to support the growth of academy trusts.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “There are highly effective headteachers throughout the country but recruitment can be more difficult in schools which are isolated from professional networks and which most need support, as this report suggests.”
He highlighted the need for the system to “redouble” efforts on school collaboration, adding: “It is therefore unfortunate that the government recently scrapped grants aimed at helping schools join academy trusts and funding for trusts to take on struggling schools.”
The EPI says local areas should create structures to help spread good practice to isolated schools, which it warns “may lack the benefit of shared information from other schools”.
It adds that MATs and local headteacher networks can be vital in this role. And it says that “grow your own” leadership development schemes would support local teachers to become leaders in their local schools.
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