Every so often, an edition of Leadership Focus develops a theme almost by accident. This month, that theme is the growing weight of leadership.

Not because there is one overwhelming new challenge facing schools, but because of the steady accumulation of expectations. Each new initiative, each societal issue and each additional responsibility may appear manageable in isolation. Taken together, however, they create a leadership role that is becoming ever more demanding to sustain.

In this issue, we explore the often-unseen pressures that school leaders carry every day through our feature on invisible workload. We examine whether greater flexibility can help make the profession more sustainable, while recognising the practical limits schools face. We also look at one of the defining debates of our time – smartphones, social media and children’s well-being – and the increasingly complex role schools are expected to play in navigating it.

Running through all of these conversations is a bigger question: how do we create a profession that remains attractive, rewarding and, above all, sustainable? As NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman reflects in his column following Annual Conference, concerns around workload, accountability, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), funding and pay are no longer isolated issues. Together they are shaping the confidence and morale of the profession.

School leaders have never shied away from responsibility. But if we want schools to continue meeting the ever-growing expectations placed upon them, those expectations must be matched by the support, trust and investment leaders need to succeed.

As ever, we’re keen to hear any feedback you have, either about the magazine itself or the issues it covers. So feel free to drop us a line if you’d like to get in touch.

David Gilmore
NAHT head of communications