Job vacancies for some school leadership posts in England have risen by as much as 85 per cent in three years, Schools Week reports.
Secondary assistant head vacancies rose from 451 in the first quarter of 2019 to 835 over the same period this year, an analysis of job adverts by TeachVac shows.
The data, published this week in a new report by the Universities of Nottingham and Oxford also shows secondary deputy head vacancies increased by 62 per cent over the same period, from 344 to 558.
This trend is also reflected in the rising number of job adverts for teaching roles.
The dispiriting figures for employers come after the pandemic and financial crisis prompted many staff to stay in their jobs rather than move.
But the new figures show these improvements have now reversed.
The report comes after an Independent School Management Plus expert panel met to discuss the issues around staff recruitment, and the challenge of retaining staff.
The report, Leading after Lockdown, is the latest in a series of papers by academies Toby Greany, Pat Thomson, Susan Cousin and Nick Martindale.
Greany said the research “shows that the pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges for leaders, with the current academic year proving anything but ‘normal’”.
He said: “We need a national conversation about succession planning, backed by concerted local action, to avoid a crisis.”
“Although the two surveys cannot be compared directly, they indicate that the proportion of senior leaders planning to leave the profession may have reduced since 2021,” the report said.
“Nevertheless, it remains concerning that almost a third of headteachers plan to leave early, while a further 10 per cent is not definitely committed to staying.”