In their 2025 Headrest Annual Headteacher Wellbeing Report, the fantastic team at Headrest have stated, once again, that a common theme that has emerged from the year is the receipt of an abundance of calls from small school Headteachers reaching out to them in times of desperation and need. 

For over seven years, and across three different settings, I have experienced the joyous privilege of being a small school Headteacher. By small, I mean less than 100 pupils in total. I have also experienced the challenges that the role inevitably entails.

Since my late teens I had harvested an ambition to be a small village school Headteacher. Growing up in Cheshire, I attended a small village primary school and I look back fondly on the personalised education experience this provided. What I most recall from my own primary education was that I was very much seen as an individual. All the teachers and staff knew me incredibly well – my strengths and interests, my quirks and foibles. It was this experience that inspired me to become a primary school teacher and lead a small school of my own as a Headteacher.

In January 2017 that dream came true. I remember the overwhelming feeling of pride when I was offered the position and the continued pride that I felt leading my assembly on my first day in post. Having previously worked in larger schools in my teaching career, I remember thinking how small my assembly audience looked, congregated together like a large family photo with the Year 5 and 6 pupils sitting on chairs at the back. I felt immensely privileged to be their Headteacher. This feeling of pride and privilege never left me in each of the small schools I served.

The rewards of leading a small school are immense. You genuinely get to know every single child and their respective families. You are seen as a figurehead of the community. You are ‘hands on’ and maintain that personal connection with the children, not least because a small school Head will usually have a timetabled teaching commitment.

However, as the Headrest team can no doubt affirm, there are a number of significant challenges. No Headship is easy, but to have the responsibility for a whole school as a small school Head often comes with a myriad of responsibilities that, if not kept in check, can leave leaders feeling overwhelmed and broken. 

Firstly, there is usually no one else in the senior leadership team. It is on you. Admittedly, I was blessed to work with some fantastic teachers and staff in my small school Headships who would go ‘above and beyond’, but I was always mindful that they were not paid as Senior Leaders and they were not accountable in the same way an SLT were. This can mean that when tough decisions have to be made, as inevitably they will, Headship can seem like a very lonely place. 

Then we have the sheer breadth of responsibility that a small school Head bears. They are spinning many plates, wearing lots of hats. On top of Headship, I would lead half a dozen curriculum subjects, teach, cover staff absence (whether that is lunch time duty, teaching, covering the office or, as was often the case in Covid, finding the mop and bucket and cleaning the school). With such a small budget and a limited number of staff, it is inevitably left to the Headteacher to bear the burden when there are wider staffing issues. Supply cover is rarely an option.

On the subject of budgets, it is invariably extremely tight in a small school with less than 100 pupils. The build up to the October census day is usually fraught with tension as the small school Headteacher waits to see how many pupils will be on roll, thus indicating funds for the next school financial year. One pupil leaving, or joining, can have enormous implications for a small school budget. This is where the ‘extra hat’ of marketing comes into play as small school Heads often dedicate time to promoting the school in the local and wider area in the hope of attracting more pupils to join.

It is easy to forget that, despite being responsible for fewer pupils, small school Headteachers have the same responsibilities and accountabilities as a large school Headteacher. They just have less staff in which to delegate those responsibilities too. 

The forthcoming changes of the Ofsted inspection framework have given reason for small school Heads to be cautiously optimistic; under the previous framework, with its emphasis on year-on-year progression and curriculum sequencing, it was notoriously difficult to obtain a judgement of ‘Good’ and nigh on impossible to be judged ‘Outstanding’ in a small school. Curriculum sequencing and progression gets tricky if you have three or four year groups in the same class along with limited Teaching Assistant support, if any at all. The challenge of Ofsted inspections for small schools was highlighted in this TES article (Ofsted: Small primaries 5 times more likely to be inadequate |Tes) from 2022. 

It comes as no surprise to me to hear that small school Heads are reaching out for help. It is a difficult role and one that does not seem to have any easy answers. Obviously, forming a strong network with other small school Heads is a powerful starting point and even Heads in larger schools can support through sharing resources and, where permitting, staffing resources. It is imperative that the small school Headteacher has the unwavering support of their Governing Body.  However, it is clear that a more strategic approach needs to be taken to tackle this widespread problem. In my view, Local Authorities should have a designated education officer whose duties include providing support and guidance whilst also ensuring appropriate coaching and mentoring is in place for small school Headteachers from the moment they are appointed, especially if there are no other Senior Leadership Team members in their school. But, as we know, this will require funding, time and resources.

In the meantime, here is how I can help:

If you are a small school Headteacher (with less than 100 pupils on roll), or you know a small school Headteacher in need of support, then I am here to help. Please contact me through the form on my website and I will arrange a free support call with you. I may not have all the answers to your situation, but I will listen and, having been there myself, will empathise with the challenges you face and offer ideas, pointers and the unwavering support that you need. I look forward to speaking with you.