The proportion of primary school head teachers leaving their post within five years has soared to nearly a third – with many being lost to teaching, a school leaders’ union has warned.

New data analysis by NAHT found 30% of primary heads appointed aged under 50 in 2019 had quit by 2024 - a big jump from the 21% who left in the five years to 2016.

Of those heads who left, 71% were no longer working in primary schools, and are most likely lost to the profession. Their age on appointment means they will not be eligible for early retirement.

The findings come as schools continue to grapple with a severe recruitment and retention crisis.

The situation is even worse for secondary schools, although the increase - from 35% to 38% - is smaller, with 80% of those no longer teaching in secondaries.

Issues with retention also affect other leadership roles. More than a quarter (26%) of primary deputy heads, and a third (33%) of secondary deputies appointed in 2019 left within five years, the same proportions as those recruited in 2011. For assistant heads the figure jumped from 27% to 31% in primaries and fell from 36% to 35% in secondaries.

In a new survey of more than 1,500 NAHT members, a record two-thirds (65%) of school leaders said they would be very unlikely (35%) or unlikely (30%) to recommend school leadership, up from 53% last year.

Nearly the same proportion (64%) of senior leaders said they did not aspire to headship – as recently as 2016 this figure stood at just 40%.

NAHT says the situation is a legacy of a decade in which school leaders were left feeling undervalued and mistrusted, suffering real-terms pay cuts which mean that salaries are worth 16% less in real terms than in 2010.

At the same time, the union says the mental health and wellbeing of leaders and their staff suffered harm as expectations and workload increased, exacerbated by the impact of damaging high-stakes Ofsted inspections.

It also asked its members what would improve the attractiveness of leadership. More than four fifths (82%) cited greater professional recognition. 

Over eight in ten (81%) identified the need for a fundamentally different approach to inspection – underlining an earlier NAHT survey finding that more than nine in 10 (91%) school leaders opposed Ofsted’s new approach to inspection.

More than two-thirds (67%) pinpointed the need for action to reduce workload, and 47% protected leadership time.

Six in ten (60%) cited fully-funded above inflation pay rises, with 59% strongly disagreeing or disagreeing that their pay fairly reflected their role and responsibilities.

These findings are reflected in the union’s calls for urgent government action to restore the status of school leadership as an attractive and sustainable long-term career.

Paul Whiteman, NAHT’s general secretary, said: “Leaders play an absolutely vital role in the direction and ethos of their schools, and in creating the conditions which allow their talented staff to flourish - and leadership can be and should always be a hugely rewarding undertaking.

“But when we have even seasoned head teachers and leaders quitting because the demands of the job are simply too much, it’s little wonder that other senior teachers are thinking twice about climbing the leadership ladder.

“When schools are struggling to find the leaders they need, that can create enormous instability for teachers and pupils, and with the best will in the world, this may impact children’s learning.

“We can’t just rely on people wanting to do the job as a labour of love because the challenges facing school leaders from so many angles are too overwhelming and pervasive – and they are increasingly harming people’s health and wellbeing.

“We need proper recognition and respect for the crucial role leaders play, for them to feel valued, and for their concerns to be addressed.

“That means government action to ease unsustainable levels of workload, further encourage flexible working, restore the real-terms value of pay to 2010 levels, and truly mitigate the harm caused by high-stakes inspection which will continue under the new Ofsted framework.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The retention data analysed by NAHT is part of the School Workforce Census and can be seen here. This data does not cover leaders centrally employed by trusts. Those moving to these roles would count as not ‘retained’.

NAHT surveyed 1,517 school leaders in England between 15 and 29 September 2025, including head teachers, deputy heads, assistant heads, school business managers, CEOs and executive heads.

The survey referred to on Ofsted’s new inspection framework was a snap poll of more than 1,400 NAHT members carried out from September 9-10.