Heads ‘face football manager syndrome’

School leaders are falling victim to a “football manager syndrome” which sees them booted out of their role on the basis of one year’s exam results or a critical Ofsted inspection, according to Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

In the autumn of last year alone, the union supported almost 150 school leaders, including heads, deputies and assistant heads, out of their roles, he said.

The situation is also putting people off becoming school leaders, for fear that they may find themselves jobless, Mr Lightman added. In his speech to ASCL’s annual conference in Birmingham, Mr Lightman said a poll for the union had found that 78 per cent of members were less likely to seek posts in challenging schools than they were a year ago.

He added: “The accountability system has a lot to answer for in this respect. We continue to see schools dropping into Ofsted categories on the basis of one year’s examination results, unrealistic expectations of the time it takes to improve and an intensification of the football manager syndrome which destroys careers.

“It is no wonder school leaders think twice when they see these scandalous statistics. It’s a disgraceful waste of professional capital.”

Mr Lightman told the conference that between September and December last year, ASCL had supported 67 heads to leave their jobs.