A leadership crisis is hitting schools in England, with a third of new
leaders quitting within five years, Labour has warned, following
analysis of official data.

More than three in 10 new primary and secondary school leaders, including headteachers and deputies, who took up their posts between 2011 and 2015 have not been retained.

The exodus is more acute in secondary schools where more than a third of
new leaders have quit, the government statistics reveal. As a result, Labour warns that younger teachers are stepping into senior roles in order to fill the vacancies.

The figures show that there were 100 new heads aged 25-29 in 2016, who Labour claims would not have had more than eight years of teaching experience before their promotion.

Labour argues the situation will worsen as the Government has missed its
own teacher recruitment targets five years in a row while teachers
continue to leave the profession in record numbers.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner will raise the issue in her
speech at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) annual
conference in Liverpool later today.

She said: “This Conservative Government is making it impossible for our
schools to keep the leadership they need.

“Despite the incredible work they do across the country, headteachers face rising workloads, falling pay, and a Government that will not give them the support they need to recruit and retain staff.

“Government needs to work with the teaching profession, not against them, if we are to give every child the best possible start in life.

“The next Labour government will support our schools by giving them the
resources they need, increasing per pupil funding in real terms and
providing ring-fenced funding to end the pay cap and give our teachers
the pay rise they deserve.”