Almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of leaders across primary and secondary schools in England say The Department for Education (DfE) has too much power over decision-making in their school, new research has shown.
In comparison, only one in five (20 per cent) feel their local authority has too much control, according to over 400 school leaders’ responses to questions posed by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) through its recent Teacher Voice Omnibus Survey, on behalf of think and action-tank The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY).
The findings come at a time of prolonged industrial action in the education sector. Meanwhile, the DfE’s own research revealed in April that a quarter (25 per cent) of teachers and leaders were considering leaving the state school sector in the next year, with government initiatives or policy changes cited as a significant driving factor in the decision. When asked about workload in the same survey, school leaders reported spending too much time responding to government policy changes.
