Ian Andain headteacher of Broadgreen Community Comprehensive School 300
MERSEYSIDE schools are facing a headteacher recruitment crisis because of a reluctance to take on what was last night branded an “impossible job”.
That was the damning verdict of the region’s academics as a Daily Post investigation revealed Merseyside headteacher vacancies are having to be re-advertised up to four times, despite the profession now paying in some cases six-figure salaries.
And in a scathing attack on the government, Ian Andain, headteacher at Broadgreen International School and chairman of city headteachers’ group Liverpool Schools Forum, said the nature of the job was a large factor in teachers shunning headships, particularly in challenging urban areas like Liverpool. Mr Andain said: “The Government seems determined to make headship as difficult as possible. The pressure on headteachers is now enormous, not only are we judged on attainment and achievement but safeguarding, managing a budget and offering enough extended schools services.
He said: “More and more initiatives are being piled on us and any inner-city area has more difficulties to manage.
These range from social deprivation to falling rolls and the increased competition that it brings between schools. “I do think we are facing a recruitment crisis.”
His comments comes as it is revealed that Merseyside schools are being forced to re-advertise headship posts to fill vacancies.
Figures supplied by Education Data Surveys show that between September 1, 2008 and the end of August last year there were 53 headship vacancies advertised.
In Halton three, of its five vacancies had to be re-advertised – and one school re-advertised its vacancy three times.
In Liverpool, six of its 16 vacancies were re-advertised; in Sefton five out of 12 were; St Helens saw four out of 10 posts re-advertised; in Wirral out of 10 advertised posts, one school had to re-advertise twice.
There were no figures for Knowsley, which has undergone a major reorganisation including the replacement of 10 secondaries with seven new centres for learning.
But, the previous year, Education Data Surveys statistics show that, out of eight adverts, there were seven rounds of re-adverts.
And figures between 2005 and 2008 show one Knowsley school had to advertise its headteacher vacancy four times.
Professor John Howson, managing director of Education Data Surveys said headteachers, particular in tough areas, faced the “football managers’ syndrome” and knew they faced “being kicked out or relegated”.