The phrase “doing more with less” has become a familiar refrain in education; a mantra repeated so often it risks becoming background noise to a deficit model. But for school and trust leaders facing real-terms funding cuts, rising costs, and growing expectations, it is the reality.  

Leading under financial pressures demands high-quality and wise strategic leadership. But it isn’t enough to be strategic in your thinking; it calls for clarity, courage, creativity and connection, the ability to maintain educational quality while navigating complexity and constraint. 

As we enter the final half of the summer term, we outline key thoughts for school leaders to consider as they review their strategy and consider the upcoming academic year.  

The retention crisis continues in the education sector. This is no secret or surprise. Great teachers continue to leave the profession. Not because they’ve stopped caring, but because the system is become too heavy. For those we are speaking to, the downsides far outweigh the up. 

The roots of the issue run deep- into a wider system shaped by government policy, chronic underfunding, narrow accountability frameworks, and a deeply embedded culture of martyrdom in education. Too often, teachers are expected to absorb system failures through their personal effort at the expense of their own wellbeing, and wear exhaustion as a badge of honour. The result? A profession with mis-aligned purpose and drained of sustainability. 

In a job interview once, I was asked the question “Are you in teaching for the love of the subject, or for the love of teaching?”. I remember at the time thinking “I have no idea what answer you want from me here”. I was whole heartedly in it for the love of teaching! Which I exclaimed with buckets of enthusiasm! But I had be burned for this attitude before, with previous interview panels unimpressed by my non-core discipline degree. I have always been of the view that absolutely yes, a knowledge base is essential but ultimately knowledge can be learned, what truly makes a great teacher is the ability to engage students and foster their curiosity and teach them the skills to find things out for themselves. Real life is not separated out into subjects, it is complicated, integrated and colourful. It takes many routes that are not standardised.