The Recruitment and Retention of Headteachers in Scotland Technical Report

1. Initial Descriptive Analysis: Headteacher Questionnaire

There were 1137 respondents: 717 paper and 420 web. Where table numbers tally to less than 1137, this is due to missing data ( i.e., the question was not answered by respondents). Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number throughout this report.

Table 1: Type of Head Post

Status	Number	Percentage
Permanent Post	1067	94
Acting Post	63	6
Missing	7	< 1

Table 2: Time in Post in Current School

Years	Number	Percentage
< 1 Year	158	14
1-2 Years	165	15
3-5 Years	263	23
6-10 Years	217	19
11-15 Years	171	15
16+ Years	157	14

Table 3: Career Expectations (%)

Expectation	In 2 Years	In 5 Years	In 10 Years
Head in current school	70	36	8
Head in another school in this LA	6	11	6
Head in another school in another LA	2	3	2
Head but not in Scotland	< 1	1	0
Another education role in Scotland	1	4	4
Another education role but not in Scotland	2	5	7
Another role, not in education	1	2	2
Unsure	5	8	7
Retired	12	31	64

Table 4: Likelihood of Change in Future Employment Expectations

Likelihood	Number	Percentage
Highly unlikely to change	442	39
Unlikely to change	416	37
Likely to change	222	20
Highly likely to change	53	5

Table 5: Sources of Influence on Views about Future in Headship (%)

Influence Source	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Always
My fellow heads	10	17	64	10
My depute	37	19	37	7
My professional reading	6	13	65	17
My professional association	21	32	41	6
Media reporting of education	24	40	34	3
My parent council/board of governors chair	24	33	37	6
The Scottish Government	11	24	51	14
My school's parents	13	22	48	18
The local authority	6	11	53	29
Teacher colleagues	8	18	59	15
My family	4	8	37	51

Table 6: Sources of Advice on Views about Future in Headship (%)

Advice Source	Never	Rarely	Occasionally	Always
My friends	12	23	49	15
A headteacher colleague	8	14	57	22
My depute headteacher	38	26	30	6
Teacher(s) in my school	39	35	24	3
My spouse/partner	9	5	19	67
Other family members	14	16	47	24
My mentor	56	12	23	10
My coach	73	10	12	4
My professional association	52	29	17	2
My secretary/ personal assistant	61	20	17	2

Table 7: Extent of Autonomy Experienced in Performing Head Role

Extent of Autonomy	Number	Percentage
Complete autonomy	6	1
Considerable autonomy	226	20
Some autonomy	500	45
Very little autonomy	368	33
No autonomy	8	1

Table 8: Heads' Confidence in Abilities (%)

Ability	Not at all Confident	Not Very Confident	Quite Confident	Very Confident
Provide strategic focus and direction to colleagues	< 1	3	53	44
Lead the development of teaching and learning	< 1	2	45	53
Manage teaching staff	< 1	1	36	63
Manage other staff	< 1	1	38	60
Manage school budgets	< 1	9	46	44
Build relationships with community agencies	0	3	45	52
Deal with stress and pressure	3	15	61	21
Work with parents	< 1	2	38	60
Problem solve	< 1	2	49	50
Manage myself and time	4	20	55	21

Table 9: Average Hours Worked per Week

Hours	Number	Percentage
35 Hours	1	< 1
36-40 Hours	19	2
41-45 Hours	117	11
46-50 Hours	232	21
51-55 Hours	277	25
56-60 Hours	223	20
61-65 Hours	131	12
66-70 Hours	65	6
70+ Hours	51	5

Table 10: Time Commitment to Activities in a Typical Week (%)

Activity	None	< 3 Hours	3 - 5 Hours	6 - 10 Hours	> 10 Hours
Curriculum management	1	24	41	26	8
Development of teaching and learning	< 1	20	38	30	11
Strategic planning	1	33	39	21	6
Budgeting and finance	1	58	33	8	1
The school building and fabric	4	67	23	5	1
Absence cover	23	49	22	6	1
Providing RCCT for teaching staff	39	40	16	4	1
Classroom teaching	24	41	16	5	14
Staffing matters	1	35	38	21	6
Matters for parent council/ Board of Governors	4	72	18	4	1
Relations with external agencies	1	42	37	16	5
Dealing with challenging pupils	3	37	28	21	11
Other	3	10	20	28	38

Table 11: Time Committed to People in a Typical Week (%)

People	None	< 3 Hours	3 - 5 Hours	6 - 10 Hours	10+ Hours
Classroom teachers	< 1	22	45	24	9
Principal teachers	22	32	32	12	2
Parents	< 1	37	45	15	4
Children and Family Services	8	57	25	8	3
Visitors	< 1	60	33	6	1
Local authority staff	5	65	25	5	< 1
My Depute(s)	24	10	29	28	9
Senior management/ leadership team	17	25	31	22	6
Administrative staff	< 1	26	46	22	6
Learning support staff	5	68	23	3	1
Pupils	0	9	26	30	34

Table 12: Role Played in Leadership Activities (%)

Activity	None	Small Role	Moderate Role	Large Role
Developing and providing continuous professional development	< 1	9	38	53
Supporting new staff	2	17	41	41
Hiring new teachers	9	12	12	67
Evaluating teachers	< 1	4	20	76
Developing the school timetable	1	13	22	64
Establishing and planning the school budget	1	6	16	77
School improvement planning	< 1	1	4	95
Establishing school priorities	< 1	1	5	94
Reviewing and/or developing teaching practices and curriculum	< 1	3	17	80
Review student performance data	2	14	25	59
Other	10	5	11	74

Table 13: Satisfaction with Elements of Headship Role (%)

Element	Very Dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very Satisfied
The amount of support provided by school's parents	3	16	56	25
Ability to make a difference to the school	< 1	10	56	34
Amount of class teaching time	7	28	55	10
Accountability demands of local authority	15	39	44	2
Opportunity to mentor teachers	4	36	57	3
The esteem in which head teachers are regarded	12	31	51	6
The amount of support provided to me by my employer	16	32	46	6
The sense of fulfillment that I experience	6	19	51	24
Salary and benefits	10	27	53	10
Current government policies	11	46	41	2
The opportunities I have to work closely with students	4	33	55	7
CPD opportunities	2	23	66	9
Accountability demands of national inspections	25	35	37	2
Support from my senior management team/ depute head	5	9	38	47
The scope that I have for strategic decision-making	2	13	57	28
Ability to make a difference to children's learning	1	11	56	32
The space I have to pursue personal interests and hobbies in my own time	38	38	22	3
The autonomy I have over my SIP	7	23	55	14
Within budgetary constraints, the autonomy I have over staffing	19	34	42	6
The protected management time I have to do the job of head teacher	34	35	27	4

Table 14: Concern with Aspects of the Headship Role (%)

Aspect	Not Concerned	Somewhat Concerned	Concerned	Very Concerned
The demanding nature of the job	4	18	33	45
Overall accountability for learning quality	13	26	36	25
Public grading of school performance	9	20	27	45
The impact of the job on my personal health and wellbeing	9	24	29	38
Possibility that I might be exposed to litigation	9	31	32	28
The emotionally demanding nature of the job	6	23	30	40
The impact of the job on my life outside of work	7	22	27	45
My ability to manage my working time	11	30	36	24
The loneliness of the job	25	29	26	20

Table 15: Role Recommendation to Junior Colleagues

Recommendation	Number	Percentage
No	262	24
Yes	505	46
Not Sure	341	31

Table 16: Satisfaction with Professional Development Opportunities (%)

Opportunity	Very Dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Satisfied	Very Satisfied
The funds and resources available to allow me to take advantage of professional development opportunities	15	34	47	5
Opportunities to learn from other educators	7	38	51	4
The time that is available for professional development	12	50	36	2
The match between my professional needs and the opportunities available	9	43	46	2

Table 17: Sufficiency of Resources (%)

Resource	Nowhere near enough	Some	Enough	More than enough
Material resources	18	28	48	7
Support with regard to facilities and maintenance	34	35	27	4
Support from parents and the community	6	26	52	16
A staff that is competent and able to meet the needs of the students	2	19	53	26
The help required in handling students who may be disruptive or need alternative learning environments	35	36	26	3
Clear understanding of what the school is expected to achieve	3	17	61	19
Staffing to fulfill requirements	17	33	44	6
Support and guidance from Local Authority	16	39	41	5

Table 18: Basis of Employment

Basis	Number	Percentage
Full-Time	1111	99
Part-Time	7	1

Table 19: Time as a Headteacher

Years	Number	Percentage
< 1 Year	107	10
1-2 Years	95	9
3-5 Years	202	18
6-10 Years	238	21
11-15 Years	215	19
16-20 Years	150	14
21-25 Years	67	6
25+ Years	38	3

Table 20: Schools Served as a Head

Schools	Number	Percentage
1 school	550	49
2 schools	383	34
3 schools	140	13
4 schools	30	3
5+ schools	10	1

Table 21:Local Authorities Served as a Head

Authorities	Number	Percentage
1 local authority	909	82
2 local authorities	169	15
3 local authorities	20	2
4+ local authorities	5	< 1

Table 22: Highest Qualification obtained

Qualification	Number	Percentage
Bachelors degree	482	51
Masters degree	245	26
Doctorate degree	15	2
Other	201	21

Table 23: Route to Headship

Route	Number	Percentage*
Scottish Qualification for Headship	245	22
Through 'acting' position	379	34
Through depute head role	531	48
Other	286	26

* As respondents could choose multiple routes to headship, these totals are larger than 100

Table 24: Gender of Heads

Gender	Number	Percentage*
Male	161	30
Female	376	70

* Web respondents were not asked this question. Responses represent 717 respondents to the paper questionnaire. Of the paper respondents, however, only 537 provided a gender response.

Table 25: Age of Heads

Years	Number	Percentage*
25-30 years	2	< 1
31-35 years	20	3
36-40 years	48	7
41-45 years	78	11
46-50 years	122	17
51-55 years	255	36
56-60 years	174	24
61+ years	18	3

* Web respondents were not asked this question. Responses represent 717 respondents to the paper questionnaire

Table 26: Heads' Partner Status

Partner	Number	Percentage
Single	157	14
Partnered	902	81
Widowed	29	3
Not disclosed	20	2

Table 27: Heads' Care Responsibilities

Care	Number	Percentage
Sole carer	72	7
Shared carer	411	37
No care responsibilities	627	57

Table 28: Heads with Disabilities

Disability	Number	Percentage
No	1061	97
Yes	32	3

Table 29: Types of Disability *

Disability	Number	Percentage
Deafness or severe hearing impairment	9	28
Blindness or severe vision impairment	1	3
Physical limitations	1	3
Learning disability	0	0
Learning difficulty	0	0
Mental health issue	1	3
Chronic illness	15	47
Other	0	0
Not disclosed	9	9

* A number of respondents ticked multiple boxes, therefore the total numbers are greater than 32 and percentage totals do not equal 100

Table 30: Impact of Disability

Impact	Number	Percentage
Yes	6	18
No	28	82

Table 31: Heads' Ethnicity

Ethnicity	Number	Percentage*
Scottish	612	86
English	32	5
Welsh	3	< 1
Northern Irish	7	1
British	45	6
Irish	4	1
Gypsy/Traveller	1	< 1
Polish	0	0
Other White Ethnic	6	1
Mixed or Multiple Ethnic	0	0
Pakistani	0	0
Indian	0	0
Bangladeshi	0	0
Chinese	0	0
Other Asian	0	0
African	0	0
Caribbean	0	0
Black	0	0
Other African, Caribbean or Black Ethnic	0	0
Arab	0	0
Other Ethnic Group	0	0

* Web respondents were not asked this question. Responses represent 717 respondents to paper questionnaire

Table 32: Intention to Retire (%)

Heads	In 2 Years	In 5 Years	In 10 Years
Primary Heads	12	32	62
Secondary Heads	13	39	81
Combined Heads	33	39	83
Special School Heads	26	26	63
Total Head teachers	12	31	64

Page updated: Thursday, November 05, 2009

Scottish Government