A significant leadership crisis is gripping England's schools, with a quarter failing to appoint a new headteacher by the Christmas break after advertising the role at the start of the academic year.
Widespread Recruitment Difficulties
Research conducted by Professor John Howson of Oxford Teacher Services has uncovered the scale of the problem. The study tracked vacancies between August and December 2025, finding that over 400 state schools in England advertised for a headteacher during this period.
Of the state schools that began their search in September, a striking 27 per cent were forced to re-advertise the position by the festive period, indicating a failure to secure suitable candidates.
Special Schools and Catholic Schools Hit Hardest
The report highlights that specialist settings educating children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are encountering particular hardship. One in five (20 per cent) headteacher vacancies in special schools required re-advertisement after the initial recruitment round.
Professor Howson emphasised that this specific struggle is often sidelined in broader discussions about the SEND system. “The problems recruiting staff for special schools are often overlooked when the Send crisis is discussed, and deserves more attention from policymakers,” he concluded.
Roman Catholic schools were also identified as being more likely than average to have to readvertise for leadership posts.
Broader Context of Instability and Shortage
The recruitment crisis sits within a wider landscape of challenges for school leaders. The majority of the 436 recorded vacancies were in primary schools, accounting for 299 posts.
In a bid to attract candidates, half of the 91 secondary schools that advertised a salary offered packages exceeding £100,000.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders' union NAHT, warned that when schools cannot find a head, it generates “enormous instability” for both staff and pupils. His union also reported that primary headteachers are increasingly leaving their posts within five years due to unsustainable demands.
Further pressure is anticipated from the new Ofsted inspection framework introduced in November, which the Association of School and College Leaders warns will negatively impact headteacher wellbeing.
This leadership shortfall compounds a pre-existing classroom teacher shortage that has persisted since the pandemic. In response, the Government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers by the end of the current parliament, a goal supported by a more than 10% increase in teacher training starters this past September.
The findings emerge as the government prepares to publish its long-delayed schools white paper in 2026, which is expected to outline reforms for the SEND system.
