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Most deputy principals at rural Southland schools don’t aspire to be principals due to the high workload and comparatively low financial rewards, a survey shows.
The survey was commissioned by principals in the region, with Riverton Primary School principal Tim Page saying the results did not surprise him.
Of the 38 deputy and assistant principals who responded, just five wanted to be principals, Page said.
Despite this, the Ministry of Education said primary school principal retention rates were 92.4% at the end of June this year, compared to 93.4% in 2019.
Page said a reason deputies didn’t want the principal jobs was because those at larger rural schools were in some cases paid more than principals at smaller schools that also taught children.
And the principal’s job was demanding and “lonely”, as the “buck stopped” with them, he said.
Their multiple tasks included dealing with parents telling them how to do their jobs, finding and retaining staff in a tight labour market, “fighting with the ministry” to get extra funding for vulnerable students, and dealing with the likes of property management, finances, audits, the school board, ERO and outside agencies.
Another key role was keeping parents and their kids connected to the school and community.
“Then you’ve got the main job of leading the curriculum,” Page said.
“Some deputy principals are asking if it’s worth it.”
BRUCE MACKAY/Stuff
NZEI Te Riu Roa president Mark Potter says it’s a huge concern fewer people want to be principals.
The survey results showed deputy and assistant principals “valued their wellbeing” and believed the principals were in extremely demanding jobs, he added.
Page said he worked between 55 and 60 hours a week and was paid $106,000 a year – to rise to $118,000 from December 2024 after unionised primary principals settled their collective agreement with the Ministry of Education in June.
“You do the maths,” Page said of his salary for hours worked.
He would be working throughout the upcoming school holidays, he added.
He knew of one rural Southland school which had advertised three times for a principal and had received just one application.
Page, who has been a principal at two rural schools spanning 15 years, said the pressures and demands of the role had increased over the years, he said.
Parents were increasingly demanding, and children’s needs had increased, with many arriving without the basic skills of being able to talk properly or count to 10, he said.
Despite the challenges, he drove to work every day wanting to do the job, because he made a difference in children’s lives.
The Southland survey followed an NZEI survey in June which showed almost a third of principal respondents said they wanted to leave the job within the next two years.
Kavinda Herath / Stuff
Southland teachers strike on the streets for better pay and conditions.
Mark Potter, president of the NZEI union for primary principals and teachers, said the collective settlement gave principals a pay rise but the job needed to be desirable to attract suitable applicants.
There was a trend of a diminishing pool of suitable people prepared to be principals which was a “huge concern”.
Ministry of Education spokesperson Anna Welanyk said it recognised the complexity of school leadership in rural and smaller schools, and acknowledged their leaders had been under pressure due to Covid-19, union strike action and disruptive weather events.
Primary school principal retention rates continued to be high; while the latest round of principal collective negotiations had addressed the complexity of the role in smaller schools.
Primary principals who were NZEI members had just received a 6% pay increase and would receive pay increases of 3% and 1.8% in 2024.
“They will also receive … one-off payments of up to $5,210.”
From December next year, principals of schools with a roll of 50 or fewer students would receive the same $118,003 base salary as the principal of a school with 150 students – plus allowances for staffing, equity index, leadership in literacy and numeracy and career payment.
This year a $6,000 per year professional coaching and support entitlement was introduced to support principals’ wellbeing and leadership development.
A service introduced by the ministry this year was staffed by experienced principals to provide peer principals with mentoring, while Te Mahau frontline support was also available to principals, Welanyk said.
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