Search on for head teachers of future
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Schools must invest in developing a new generation of school leaders to avert a future staffing crisis, according to Toby Salt, strategic director for school leadership development at the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). "By 2012, up to 55 per cent of head teachers may have retired. This has the potential to leave a worrying void," he told the Association of Directors of Children's Services' conference last week.
Newly qualified teachers are unenthusiastic about becoming head teachers because they perceive the role as too stressful, he added. Salt said young people's career aspirations present another challenge, because people born after 1980 often want a portfolio career, working at more than one institution or profession.
Despite this, Salt said that young people who want varied careers are good for the sector because they work hard to be promoted quickly: "Succession planning is an opportunity. We will have the youngest generation of leaders since the 1970s."
