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    • About succession planning
      • Why succession planning matters
      • The case for action
      • What we know about succession planning
      • Framework for action
      • Building collaboration in schools
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Why succession planning matters

Planning for the recruitment, development and retention of headteachers is essential and must involve all parts of the education system, including headteachers, governors, local authorities, dioceses and partners. This will ensure that an increasing number of candidates will be available to take up a headship role; and that those leaders who emerge are of high quality and equipped with the skills necessary for modern headship.

The succession planning challenge

Significant numbers of heads are retiring each year and this is expected to continue. In addition, about one-quarter of assistant and deputy heads are aged 55 or over. There is a risk that the supply of younger leaders from which the future replacements for senior leaders will be drawn may not be great enough.

Some areas are struggling to recruit new heads. These difficulties are particularly acute for primary and faith schools. While headship is a great job, and morale and ambition in the profession are high, issues of workload and stress are a concern. These trends taken together point to the risk of a possible shortfall in headteachers over the next five years.

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is about identifying and developing the leaders of tomorrow. We have been working with local authorities, governors and school leaders to provide support and advice around identifying and developing talent, but also to provide advice and a range of materials for those aspiring to leadership.

The succession planning programme specifically aims to:

• maintain the supply of high-quality headship candidates to ensure pupils can learn in schools with stable senior leadership teams; in particular, helping to deploy leaders into those hard-to-fill areas that have the most acute challenges (primary, faith, special and some geographical areas)
• establish local ownership of leadership development pipelines so that local authorities, dioceses, governors and schools can identify and bring on talent earlier and in greater numbers, to help them fill school leadership roles at all levels
• address under-representation to support the diversification of senior leadership teams in schools to help lead 21st century schools and their changing pupil populations

Planning for succession

This is not a problem that can be handled by government or any single agency acting alone. It is a system-wide challenge and the National College, heads, governors, schools, local authorities, diocesan bodies, professional associations and other national agencies all have a part to play in addressing it.

The succession planning programme has been working with all local authorities since 2007 to put strategies in place to help meet our aim of finding, developing and keeping great headteachers. We have produced a wide variety of materials and resources and have organised these under the following topics:

• preparing for and applying for headship
• identifying and developing talent
• retaining and sustaining headteachers
• recruiting headteachers and senior leaders.

Related publications and resources

• Leadership succession: an overview
• Framework for action web pages
• Career moves
• What's good about leading schools in challenging circumstances?
• Identify and grow your own leaders
• What are we learning about... identifying talent?
• Retaining school leaders: a guide to keeping talented leaders engaged
• What are we learning about... retaining headteachers?
• Recruiting headteachers and senior leaders: seven steps to success
• Turning heads: taking a marketing approach to leadership recruitment
• Succession-planning: key themes for school governors

Further information

For further information, email the succession planning team at successionplanning@nationalcollege.org.uk.