What Are The Biggest Challenges For Headteachers In 2025?
13 Nov, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- What the biggest challenges are for Headteachers in 2025.
- Where the latest Headteacher jobs are and how to apply for them.
Following the announcement of the autumn budget, which includes a £2.3 billion increase to the core schools budget along with an additional £1.3 billion for mainstream schools, Headteachers are still facing numerous challenges as they head into 2025.
As the new year approaches, Headteachers are expected to lead schools to success and ensure students and school staff are happy and motivated. It’s never too early for Headteachers to prepare for challenges by implementing effective teaching practices, supporting staff well-being, and ensuring that every student has the resources they need to succeed.
From recruitment and retention, to rising cases of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and poor mental health, discover the 5 biggest challenges facing Headteachers in 2025.
What are the biggest challenges for Headteachers in 2025?
The 5 biggest challenges for Headteachers in 2025 include
- Retention, recruitment and attainment.
- Impact of technology.
- Rising cases of SEND and pressure on SEND services.
- Student wellbeing.
- School staff mental health and wellbeing.
Retention, recruitment and attainment
Headteachers are facing many common challenges including retention and recruitment. With the consistently growing shortage of qualified and experienced Teachers, Teacher recruitment and retention continues to be a crucial challenge in the education sector.
According to GovUK, in 2022/23, 43,500 Teachers left the state-funded sector. This represents 1 in 10 of all qualified Teachers and the majority left to change careers or join other UK education sectors.
According to the 2024 National Foundation for Education Research, primary recruitment is forecast to reach only 83% of target in 2025, a significant deterioration compared to previous years. The 2024/2025 forecast indicates that 10 out of 17 secondary subjects are at risk of under-recruiting.
Impact of technology
The evolution of technology continues to have a direct impact on the world - and the field of education is no exception. As each year passes, more and more schools embrace the latest technology to provide a better learning experience. Headteachers and Teachers can utilise technology in the classroom to save money and provide better access to teaching and wellbeing resources.
Despite the positives that technology can provide, technology can also present significant challenges for Headteachers. Social media, cyberbullying and unfiltered content online present big challenges to Headteachers, particularly as some of these issues cross over into the home life of pupils.
Headteachers and Teachers are faced with the growing impact of social media and need to be aware of how to keep school children safe on the internet. Without proper care or pastoral control, technology can leave pupils open to misinformation and manipulation which can cause new and emerging risks to teaching staff.
Rising cases of SEND and pressure on SEND services
With an increasing demand on SEND services, Headteachers are faced with the challenge of ensuring that all SEND pupils thrive in their environment. As it stands today, the government is being urged to investigate the need for reform in the SEND sector.
As each year passes, more SEND students are attending mainstream schools due to the increasing number of children with SEND, lack of placements available at SEND schools, long waiting lists, lack of funding and a backlog of EHCPs.
According to the Association of School and College Leaders, there has been a 16% increase in the number of children with Education Health Care Plans in mainstream primary schools, and an increase of 14.5% in mainstream secondary schools.
Schools are required to provide support and adjustments for children with SEND; however, mainstream schools need more money to support SEND students, provide additional provision and ensure their needs are met. A lack of funding is critically hindering some schools' ability to provide the right support.
In the current system, too many children are in educational environments that don’t meet their needs or give them the opportunity to thrive socially, emotionally, mentally and academically.
The support and wellbeing of children with SEND is urgent and schools must rely on support from external professionals to ensure all pupils have the opportunity to thrive, learn and feel safe.
Student wellbeing
Cases of poor mental health in children are at an all time high and continue to rise and affect children's emotional, social and academic development. The decline in youth mental health puts severe strain on schools and teaching professionals, who play a central role in identifying mental health issues in children. Headteachers are expected to be positive leaders and influencers in the fight to tackle poor mental health.
According to NHS statistics, 1 in 5 children and young people aged 8 to 16 years in England had a probable mental disorder in 2023. This a huge rise from 2017, when one in 8 had a probable mental health disorder.
Schools can play a key role in supporting mental health in schools by giving pupils with mental health issues access to the best possible support and ensuring the school is a safe place to learn.
According to charity Just Like Us, young people who are LGBTQIA+ are more likely to develop mental ill-health, and the risk is even greater for black LGBTQIA+ young people.
Schools have a responsibility to the mental health and wellbeing of their students, and Headteachers can empower teaching staff by providing social media guidance to help them recognise and support students with anxiety.
School staff mental health and wellbeing
As young people face a growing mental health crisis, a record number of Teachers and school staff are also experiencing declining mental health, with many considering leaving the profession altogether. According to the Teacher Wellbeing Survey, 86% of Teachers report that their job has adversely impacted their mental health in the last 12 months.
It’s essential for Headteachers to know how to help mental health in the workplace to protect the wellbeing of their students, staff, and themselves.
However, it’s not just the wellbeing of teaching staff that Headteachers need to be aware of, but their own declining mental health. A survey by Independent found that nearly half of Headteachers sought support for their own mental health in 2022 with many citing burnout, poor mental health and Ofsted results as major stressors.
An annual survey of wellbeing of school staff by charity Education Support, found that 87% of Headteachers experienced poor mental health as a result of their work and 58% said they actively sought to change or leave their jobs in the past year.
Headteacher jobs
If you’re searching for your next Headteacher position, why not take a look at the latest Headteacher jobs, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Discover more about how to get into teaching and how to become a Headteacher fast and the top headteacher interview questions to prepare for.
Struggling to recruit a Headteacher?
As a specialist Headteacher recruitment agency, we support mainstream and SEND schools, Multi Academy Trusts, Alternative Provisions and Pupil Referral Units (PRU) with their recruitment needs.
If you’re struggling to fill a Headteacher vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- North of the UK - Jamie Heath
- South of the UK - Dane Matthews
Meet Jamie Heath
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
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