CEREDIGION’S Cabinet member for education has denied there is a crisis in the county’s schools after figures obtained by the Cambrian News revealed a massive increase in headteachers quitting their jobs.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal a staggering 10-fold rise in the number of headteachers leaving primary and secondary schools in Ceredigion over the last four academic years.

The number of headteachers who left the job in the last academic year (2015/16) more than doubled on the previous year, with a four-fold increase over the same period in the number of headteachers having left after resigning.

After no headteachers left their jobs in the county’s schools in the 2011/12 academic year, this was followed by one exit through retirement in 2012/13.

But the last full academic year saw a dramatic increase with 11 headteachers vacating their posts, five of whom resigned, three of whom left through retirement, and three who left for ‘other’ reasons.

Speaking to the Cambrian News this week, Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for education, Cllr Hag Harris, said the problem was common across Wales and refuted claims Ceredigion’s schools were in crisis.

“I am well aware of the number of heads who, for various reasons, have either retired or left their posts,” Cllr Harris said this week.

“This is a common situation across the whole of Wales and affects most councils. It is not true to say that we are in a crisis situation, but we need to be pro-active in how we can recruit, train and retain heads.”

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