Responsibility in a High-Accountability System: Leading Schools in England

The English school system is characterized by high levels of school autonomy coupled with high levels of accountability and a great frequency of change following policies instigated in the late-1980s but strengthened over time. School leaders play a very strong role in their schools and are therefore subject to significant pressures. This is leading to a systemic problem in terms of the capacities of the headteacher to take on these tasks in an effective way and to a crisis of recruitment where even those leaders who have completed the National Professional Qualification for Headteachers often fail to move into headteacher jobs. Some creative solutions are being developed to alleviate these issues, however. These include increased training and professional development for school leaders, the encouragement of distributed forms of leadership in schools, the development of the role of the School Business Manager, a non-educator charged with factors such as administrative and financial management and the development of school-to-school collaboration and networking. While all these developments have potential, they do themselves pose leadership challenges that require careful management and the development of localized professional development strategies.