In April 2021 I carried out a survey to develop a better awareness of the success rate of teachers who have applied for senior leadership roles. The aim was to find out whether the level of support that was made available to candidates enabled them to be more successful at securing a leadership role.
This was not an academic survey and neither was it meant to be; it was just something I was curious about. So please don’t expect any deep analysis at the end. It would be great to hear your thoughts on the results though so please feel free to leave a comment at the end.
A total of 122 people responded to the survey.
What is the total number of senior leadership roles you have applied for throughout the course of your career?
The answer ‘n/a’ was provided by respondents who were offered all the roles they had applied for.
26% of respondents who received some type of support with their application were offered more than half the number of roles they applied for.
43% of respondents who received no support with their application were offered more than half the number of roles they applied for.
This question was optional to answer. 94 out of 122 respondents chose to answer the question. Asian mixed race, black African Caribbean, white European, Caribbean Indian, black and British Asian are also represented on the chart.
52% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as non-white had been teaching for 15 years or more. 58% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as white had been teaching for 15 years or more.
25% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as non-white had been offered more than half of the roles they applied for. 43% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as white had been offered more than half of the roles they applied for
37% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as non-white received some type of support with their applications. 39% of respondents who identified their ethnicity as white received some type of support with their application
Additional Support
Respondents were also asked to think about what additional support they would have benefitted from when applying for the senior leadership roles. Below is a selection of the responses that were given.
Interview Practice – this was a common response and included aspects such as presentation skills, data analysis, running through the interview process with someone more experienced, tips on how to prepare.
Advice on how best to select a school
Help with supporting statements
Mentoring and Coaching – this included having a mentor or coach who was the same ethnicity of gender.
Guidance from other senior leaders – this included support reading through supporting statements, providing adequate information in relation to internal roles.
CPD – opportunities for development whilst in the current role to support career progression, shadowing someone in a similar role, being able to have additional responsibilities, time given for more research and personal development.
Feedback following an interview – another common comment.
More openness during school visits – this included opportunities to discuss the role being applied for, what the prospective school is actually looking for in a candidate, knowledge of internal candidates.
On the basis of the information collated it appears that although the majority of respondents said they received no support with their applications, they were still able to secure more than 50% of the roles they applied for. However, those individuals still felt they would have benefit greatly from a range of support. If you would like to find out more about how I can support you with the application process, books a free 30 minute chat with me.