DfE support for leaders during Covid was not enough
Less than half (45%) of leaders agreed that they had been well supported in their leadership role throughout the pandemic, while one third (33%) actively disagreed, according to a poll carried out by the universities of Nottingham and Oxford, carried out in partnership with school leaders’ unions the NAHT and the Association of School and College Leaders.
The poll showed that nine out of 10 school leaders disagreed that the DfE’s advice and guidance during the pandemic had been timely and straightforward. And 65 per cent felt unable to trust the guidance.
Asked which description best matched their experience of leading a school during the Covid crisis, 41.9 per cent – chose "mostly surviving", around one in three respondents chose mostly or sometimes "thriving", and more than a fifth said they were mostly or sometimes "sinking".
NAHT deputy general secretary Nick Brook said: "This is a shameful review of the government’s support for schools during the worst crisis they have experienced."
He added: “It is very clear that the government has been the main source of stress for school leaders during the pandemic."
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