School leader numbers decreasing

Released 07/03/2010

ASCL claim the number of school leaders losing their jobs is growing

The number of school leaders losing their jobs has continued to grow, the Association of School and College Leaders says at its Annual Conference today. ASCL general secretary Dr John Dunford reports that the number of ASCL members who lost their jobs in the past year is 163, up from 150 in 2008 and 93 in 2007.

ASCL believes the increase in sackings is due to schools closing, federating or becoming academies; and pressure from local authorities and central government to raise raw exam results at GCSE.

Dunford tells the conference that the new complaints procedures put in place recently - including complaints to the local government ombudsman (LGO) - will increase headteachers' vulnerability and discourage more teachers from applying for senior positions and headships.

In reference to the new complaints procedures, Dunford says: "Listen to how pleased the LGO is, giddy as a toddler running amok in the Early Learning Centre: This is an important and exciting extension of our functions. We are setting up new teams to handle these complaints. Excitement for the LGO; more accountability, more bureaucracy and more unnecessary work for school leaders."

"This is one of no less than four new complaints mechanisms introduced by the government in the last couple of years - complaints to Ofsted, complaints to the LGO - and two of them announced personally by the prime minister - year 6 surveys and the latest manifestation, parents voting to get rid of school leaders."

"Our challenge is to over-ride this negative approach to parent/school relations and engage parents positively in the education of their children."

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