Britain's Best Leaders Are Headteachers

Friday 28 March 2003

A survey commissioned by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) finds that headteachers are viewed as better leaders than any other group in Britain.

The MORI survey shows that over half (52%) of British adults think headteachers provide particularly good examples of leadership.

And headteachers top the poll by a long way. The next best leaders according to the survey are officers in the armed forces — 37% say they provide a good leadership example, closely followed by doctors and the police with 33% each.

Amongst the lowest scoring are local politicians (four per cent), health service managers (four per cent) and civil servants (three per cent).

But despite ranking heads as the country's best leaders, ironically the survey reveals respect for heads and the job they do is not as high as for doctors. Fifty-eight per cent say they have a great deal of respect for doctors while only 38% say the same of headteachers.

Among the lowest scoring are politicians, journalists and council officials.

The survey also shows considerable confidence in the way schools are run today with seven in ten parents (71%) saying they think that school leadership is good and nearly half (46%) saying school leadership has improved in the last three years.

Six out of ten people (59%) also say they think NCSL will help heads to do their job more effectively.

Technical details

A nationally representative quota sample of 2,001 adults (aged 15 and over) was interviewed throughout Great Britain using the MORI general public Omnibus. Interviews were conducted face-to-face in respondents' homes, using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) between 20 and 25 February 2003.

NCSL was launched by the Prime Minister in November 2000. It aims to:

• provide a single national focus for school leadership development, research and innovation
• be a driving force for world class leadership in our schools and the wider community
• provide support to and be a major resource for school leaders
• stimulate national and international debate on leadership issues

Topline Results

Q1 Which, if any, of the following professions do you think provide particularly good examples of leadership? You may choose up to three.

Q2 Please could you tell me, for each of the professions I am going to read out, how much respect, if any, would you say you have in them and the job they do?

Q3 What leaders inspire you, from any walk of life, past or present? Who are they?

* = includes all people cited by less than 2% of respondents. We will be able to provide you with a list of who is included in the 'other' category for your information.

Q4 How often, if at all, have you visited a school in your area, for any purpose, during the last 12 months?

Q5 Thinking now about leadership within schools, to what extent do you feel that leadership is good or poor?

Base: All parents of dependent children under the age of 19, and/or those who have visited a school in their local area at least once in the last six months (887)

Q6 To what extent, if at all, do you feel that leadership provided by headteachers and/or their deputies has improved or declined over the last three years?

Base: All parents of dependent children under the age of 19, and/or those who have visited a school in their local area at least once in the last six months (887)

Q7. A national college for school leadership has been set up. To what extent do you think this will help headteachers and their deputies to do their jobs more effectively?