The latest issue of Leadership Focus magazine includes a special feature exploring three of the most pressing challenges facing school leaders in today’s hyperconnected world, with one of them being “Under fire online: protecting school leaders.”

In this part of the feature, journalist Nic Paton explores the growing problem of online abuse and the heavy toll it’s taking on school leaders’ well-being and mental health. More than eight in 10 school leaders say parents have abused them in the past year, and nearly half report experiencing it online: from WhatsApp pile-ons and Facebook trolling to coordinated smear campaigns that have sadly driven some to consider leaving the profession they love.

This section brings together:

• First-hand accounts and comments from members, alongside updates from our representatives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
   
• NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman explaining how we’re extending our ‘no excuse for abuse’ campaign to cover the digital sphere as well as physical or face-to-face abuse
   
• Practical strategies from our experts in the specialist advice team, including keeping an evidence trail and when legal steps might be necessary.

At NAHT, we know many of you reading this may have faced abuse yourselves and that this issue won’t disappear overnight. But we are here to help: with advice, resources, campaigning and a community that understands exactly what you’re going through.

If you have faced online abuse or found strategies that helped protect you and your staff, we’d like to hear from you. Your stories and ideas could help fellow leaders feel less alone.

Please explore the rest of this issue of Leadership Focus for more in-depth features and inspiring voices from across our profession.