Headteachers Sound the Alarm: “A Brilliant, Yet Lonely and Stressful Job”

Headship on the Decline? 

The report reveals a steady and worrying trend: fewer educators are willing to step into headship. In 2016, 36% of deputy heads and 39% of principal teachers expressed interest in becoming headteachers. In 2025, those figures have dropped to just 16% and 11%, respectively.

Worse still, 80% of principal teachers now say they are not interested in headship, with 60% strongly disagreeing that they would pursue the role. This sentiment strikes at the heart of succession planning in Scottish education. If those already in leadership roles are turning away, what does the future hold?

Another major issue flagged in the survey is the P1 Scottish National Standardised Assessments. While there’s broad support for assessments at P4 and P7, only 35% of leaders find P1 tests useful.

Many criticise them as inappropriate for play-based learning, time-consuming, and lacking value, leading to AHDS recommending that P1 assessments either be scrapped or left to headteacher discretion.

What’s Driving the Disillusionment?

The survey identifies several key issues fueling dissatisfaction:

• Excessive workload: Leaders report working 17.7 hours beyond their contracts on average.

• Lack of resources for additional support needs: This has emerged as the top concern in both 2024 and 2025.

• Unmanageable expectations: With rising demands, especially around attainment and assessments, school leaders feel they’re being asked to do too much, with too little.

• Mandatory qualifications without time allocation: The Into Headship programme, while valued by some, is seen as an additional burden by many already overwhelmed leaders.

A Roadmap for Change! 

In response to the crisis, AHDS has issued four urgent recommendations:

1. Significant investment in Additional Support for Learning, and a national funding formula to reduce disparities.

2. Increase and protect management capacity in schools to counteract overwork and support wellbeing.

3. Ensure that Into Headship candidates are released from school one day per week to complete their studies.

4. Discontinue or make optional the P1 SNSAs in literacy and numeracy.

These steps are not just about improving job satisfaction they are essential for retaining experienced leaders and attracting future ones.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever? 

Schools do not function in isolation. When headteachers are struggling, it ripples across classrooms, affecting teachers, support staff, pupils, and families. A leadership crisis in primary schools is a crisis for the entire education system.

With nearly half of current heads saying they would not recommend the job to others, and interest from deputies and principal teachers plummeting, there’s an urgent need for systemic change.