of Commons public accounts committee, took action as the National Audit Office (NAO) published its report on Improving Poorly Performing Schools in England this week. The report finds that over a quarter of primary schools and a fifth of all secondary schools in England had headteacher vacancies in 2004-05 and it also raises concerns that the large number of headteachers set to retire in five to ten years’ time will be very difficult to replace.

Mr Bacon said today:

“At a time when there is increasing recognition of the importance of the headteacher within a successful school, fewer and fewer qualified candidates seem willing to take the job on. Some education authorities are even offering six-figure salaries to tempt the right candidate, but the issue is not one of money”.

“I believe the issue is the flood of pointless initiatives, constant interference and mindless bureaucracy that headteachers are faced with on a daily basis. I am aware of two excellent headteachers in the Diss area who are retiring early because of disillusionment with the level of bureaucracy and it is little wonder that qualified candidates for headships are thin on the ground”.

“I have asked officials at county hall how they intend to cut bureaucracy, address a potential exodus of headteachers, and make a headship in one of Norfolk’s schools a more attractive prospect”.

11 January 2006

See also:
NAO REPORT: Improving poorly performing schools
PARLIAMENT: Faith schools have lower truancy says MP
SPEECHES: Recruiting more experienced people as teachers