A significant leadership crisis is gripping England's schools, with a quarter struggling to appoint a headteacher at the start of the academic year, a major new report has found.
Widespread Recruitment Failures
The study, conducted by Professor John Howson of Oxford Teacher Services, analysed vacancies advertised between August and December 2025. It found that 27 per cent of state schools that advertised a headteacher role in September had to re-advertise the position by the festive period. In total, over 400 state schools in England advertised for a headteacher during this five-month window.
Special Schools and Catholic Schools Hit Hardest
The crisis is particularly acute in specialist settings. The report revealed that one in five (20 per cent) headteacher vacancies in special schools required re-advertisement after initial recruitment efforts failed. Professor Howson emphasised that this specific challenge is often overlooked in discussions about the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and deserves greater policy attention.
Roman Catholic schools were also identified as being more likely to have to readvertise headteacher posts, indicating sector-specific pressures beyond the mainstream.
Scale of the Vacancies and Pay Pressures
Of the 436 headteacher vacancies recorded in the report between August and Christmas, the vast majority—299—were in primary schools. The data from secondary schools showed a trend towards higher salaries in an attempt to attract candidates; of the 91 secondary schools that advertised, half of those publishing a starting salary offered more than £100,000.
Instability and Systemic Pressures
School leaders' unions have linked the recruitment crisis to unsustainable job pressures. The NAHT warned recently that primary school headteachers are increasingly leaving their posts within five years due to overwhelming demands. Paul Whiteman, the union's general secretary, stated that when a school cannot find a headteacher, it creates "enormous instability" for both staff and pupils.
Further concerns have been raised by the Association of School and College Leaders regarding the new Ofsted inspection framework introduced in November 2025, which it warns will negatively impact headteacher wellbeing.
A Broader Context of Shortage
This leadership crisis unfolds against a persistent backdrop of a classroom teacher shortage that has intensified since the pandemic. In response, the Government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 teachers by the end of the current parliament. There is a slight glimmer of hope in initial training numbers, with a more than 10% increase in people starting teacher training this 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. The report's authors suggest that solving the headteacher recruitment crisis, especially in the most challenging contexts, must be a central part of any effective education strategy.
