Headteachers left with 'far harder job' running schools due to Tory failings

02 May 2024 , 23:01

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A union leader accused the Government of failing to understand the value of school leadership (Image: PA)

Headteachers have been left with a "far harder" job running schools due to Tory failings, a senior union leader will say today.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak will accuse the Government of presiding over more than a decade of real terms pay cuts, leaving heads battling to retain teachers. Schools are also struggling to maintain with crumbling buildings, he will say, following a survey of more than 1,000 school leaders found more than four fifths (83%) lack the funds for upkeep, leaving pupils in damp and mouldy classrooms.

In a speech to the NAHT union conference in Newport, Wales, Mr Nowak will say: "Every child deserves a good education. This takes leadership, and we are all grateful to headteachers, assistants, deputies and school business leaders for the incredible job they have done leading schools through difficult times.

"But their job has been made far harder by this Conservative government. School buildings are falling apart, pay has been driven down and teachers are being driven out."

He will add: "The Tories just don't understand the value of school leadership. Since 2010, pay for headteachers has been slashed by 20%, and that is pushing good leaders out of the profession. We can't go on like this. We need a government that respects school leaders and that invests more in our schools so that every child can flourish."

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Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: "We've been clear in calling for a series of restorative pay rises for school leaders after more than a decade of real terms pay cuts. We have evidenced beyond doubt that a real recruitment and retention crisis exists. Teacher pay is too low and workload too high - it is beyond reproach."

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Headteachers across the country are doing an excellent job day in day out ensuring pupils have a world class education, and on average they are rightly among the highest 10% of earners in the country. At secondary school, heads can receive a total package of well over £130,000 including pension contributions."

Lizzy Buchan