Towards the end of 2023, the Social Market Foundation (SMF), in partnership with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) published a report into the state of leadership and management within the education sector. The research provides a fascinating insight into the role effective leadership can play in creating strong organisational cultures, driving up employee morale and tackling the recruitment and retention crisis.
The document can be downloaded here - CMI Top of the class report - State of leadership and management in education
Key findings:
- Leadership quality matters: 39% of respondents identified it as a top factor for organisational success.
- The main obstacles to good leadership and management are issues around HR, workload and culture (interestingly budgets and funding are 4th on the list).
- Motivation is crucial with 29% listing workforce motivation/morale as a key factor.
- Leadership struggles with motivation: Significant minorities of leaders were rated poorly at motivating staff, with managers and leaders at trust and college levels particularly criticised.
- Only half the leaders surveyed felt their school or MAT performs well at attracting talent.
- Widespread underperformance: 30% of schools and colleges received "inadequate" or "require improvement" ratings for leadership and management from Ofsted between 2017-2023.
- Autonomy vs. reality: Despite apparent autonomy, many participants (52%) identified organisational rules and interference from superiors as barriers to implementing solutions, suggesting limited practical autonomy (Figure 13, Page 46).
- Workload concerns: The report highlights significant workload concerns, with 72% experiencing excessive workload and 58% reporting workload as a barrier to performance.
Positive examples exist and the report also highlights success stories, suggesting possible solutions.
The report concludes by calling for:
- A focus on trust and empowerment: Building genuine trust and empowering staff to make decisions can address the gap between perceived and actual autonomy.
- Strengthening leadership: Investing in leadership development to improve staff motivation and effectively manage workload pressures.