ASCL reveals a comprehensive strategy to strengthen schools and colleges, from fair funding and staff retention to better interagency collaboration
Schools and colleges across England are facing unprecedented pressures, including funding shortfalls, teacher shortages, and rising accountability demands. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) has published “A Roadmap for a Sustainable Education System,” offering a bold and practical plan to address these challenges.
This roadmap outlines clear actions to ensure schools are adequately resourced, staff are supported and retained, and interagency collaboration delivers better outcomes for every student.
The blurred lines between education and societal responsibilities
Schools and colleges are continually expected to expand beyond their core remit to provide support and services to pupils and their families. This extends beyond teaching and learning, forcing schools to dig into the little funding they have.
The report established a clear link between expansive responsibilities and the difficulty in recruiting staff at any level. A survey by the charity Action for Children revealed that teachers discussed how they had to go beyond their remit to provide emotional or family support, as well as essentials like food and clothing. This additional pressure adds to existing heavy workloads.
Another survey from the Department of Education consistently lists ‘high workload’ and ‘stress or poor wellbeing’ as the top two reasons why teachers and leaders are leaving or consider leaving the profession.
The report addresses the pressing challenges facing schools and colleges directly. It exposes the mounting pressures on educators, from ever-expanding responsibilities beyond teaching to chronic funding shortfalls. The report outlines practical strategies for clarifying roles, securing adequate resources, and retaining high-quality staff, while advocating for accountability reforms that prioritise core education over bureaucratic complexity. It also champions better collaboration between schools, colleges, and local agencies to ensure every student receives the support they need.
ASCL is calling for a sustainable education system
The report encompasses a year-long consultation between the ASCL Council, the association’s policymaking body comprising 60 serving school and college leaders, and examines the expectations of schools, how they should be resourced to deliver these responsibilities, and how to attract great education staff and leaders.
The report proposes 16 actions to recognise and address the significant challenges facing the education system, which include:
- Invest in children’s services to ensure that pupils’ health and social care needs are met.
- Map out who is responsible for what in each local area with clarity about the roles of education, health and social care.
- Ensure that school and college performance tables and Ofsted inspections are based only on core education responsibilities.
- Introduce a system which enables schools, colleges, or other local agencies to flag up if they don’t think another agency is fulfilling its remit.
Julie McCulloch, ASCL Director of Strategy and Policy, said: “In recent years, the expectations on schools and colleges have grown way beyond teaching and learning to encompass a wide range of societal responsibilities. Some of this can be traced back to the pandemic, but also to high child poverty rates and crumbling public services, meaning that schools and colleges have been left to pick up the pieces.
“From running food banks and supporting families with housing, to resolving parking issues and mediating parental disputes, the burden placed on school and college teachers and leaders has never been higher. Some of these issues are obviously of great importance, but they cannot continue to be shouldered by educators.
“More needs to be done to clearly distinguish where the core responsibilities of education staff start and end. It is time to rethink exactly what we expect from schools and colleges and how they should be resourced to meet these demands. We hope this paper will be a valuable resource to policymakers, and we would welcome further engagement to discuss the ideas it sets out.”
