Reporting year 2024

School Leadership retention

Retention rates and headcounts of senior leaders who are new to their leadership post in each census year, in state-funded primary and secondary schools.

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• Produced by: Department for Education
• Published: 2 October 2025
• Last updated: 7 October 2025

2 updates

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Featured tables

Featured tables are pre-prepared tables created from a statistical release's data sets. They provide statistics that are regularly requested by some users (such as local councils, regional government or government policy teams) and can be adapted to switch between different categories (such as different geographies, time periods or characteristics where available).

4 featured tables

• Head teacher retention at the same post or higher in primary schools, 2011 to 2024

  Head teacher retention at the same post or higher in primary schools, 2011 to 2024

  View, edit or download

• Head teacher retention at the same post or higher in secondary schools, 2011 to 2024

  Head teacher retention at the same post or higher in secondary schools, 2011 to 2024

  View, edit or download

• Head teacher retention at any teaching post in primary schools, 2011 to 2024

  Head teacher retention at any teaching post in primary schools, 2011 to 2024

  View, edit or download

• Head teacher retention at any teaching post in secondary schools, 2011 to 2024

  Head teacher retention at any teaching post in secondary schools, 2011 to 2024

  View, edit or download

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Data sets: download or create tables

Data sets present comprehensive open data from which users can create their own tables using the EES table tool or download a zipped CSV file.

2 data sets available for download

Download all (ZIP)

• Senior leader retention at the same post or higher

  National

  Retention rates and headcounts of senior leaders in state funded primary or secondary schools at the same post or higher.

  • Number of rows: 504
  • Indicators:
    • Headcount
    • Percent retained
  • Filters:
    • Post
    • School Phase
    • Years after New to Post
  • Time period: 2011 to 2024

  Data set information page
  Create table

• Senior leader retention at any teaching post within the same phase

  National

  Retention rates and headcounts of senior leaders in state funded primary or secondary schools at any teaching post within the same school phase.

  • Number of rows: 504
  • Indicators:
    • Headcount
    • Percent retained
  • Filters:
    • Post
    • School Phase
    • Years after New to Post
  • Time period: 2011 to 2024

  Data set information page
  Create table

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Data guidance

Description of the data sets included in this release, including information on data sources, coverage, quality and any data conventions used.

Description

This page describes the data for the School Leadership retention publication, which uses underlying data from the School Workforce Census. Two data files are included, detailing the retention of senior leaders at 1) the same post or higher, and 2) at any teaching post within the same school phase.

Coverage

The data cover senior leaders (assistant head, deputy head, and head teachers) in state funded primary and secondary schools, between census years 2010 to 2024. Data are only presented at a national level.

File formats and conventions

Symbols used in the underlying data files are:

z =  not applicable - statistic cannot be produced. For example where a denominator is not available to produce a percentage. 

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about School Leadership retention statistics and data:

Characteristics of Teachers and Leaders Team

Email: Daniel.KNOWLES@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Daniel Knowles

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If you have a media enquiry:

Telephone: 020 7783 8300

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