Call for more women head teachers

Published: 14 October, 2008

Women are taking too few of the top jobs in teaching in England and Wales, an annual recruitment survey says.

Among head teachers appointed to secondary schools in the last year, only 32% were women, compared to 40% in the previous year. The survey commissioned by head teachers' unions also found that adverts for primary heads drew fewer than five applicants on average.

This meant that many schools had to readvertise to try to fill vacancies.

The recruitment survey found that when headships were filled, it was usually to candidates living in the local area.