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There are few phrases more challenging in a leadership advert than “practising Catholic required.” At a time when schools across England are already struggling to recruit senior leaders, Catholic schools and trusts face the additional challenge of finding leaders who not only have the skills and experience to lead effectively, but who can also preserve and strengthen the Catholic ethos and mission of the school and trust.
The result is a much smaller talent pool and increasing pressure on trusts to think differently about how they attract, develop and retain future leaders. In Catholic education, leadership is about far more than operational effectiveness. It is about creating an environment that nurtures and educates the whole child, while preserving and strengthening the mission, values and faith life that sit at the heart of Catholic education.
The wider recruitment challenge
England’s schools are facing a growing shortage of headteachers, driven by wider recruitment and retention challenges across the education sector.
Increasing workload, accountability pressures, financial constraints, safeguarding responsibilities and concerns around wellbeing have made senior leadership roles less attractive, while fewer teachers are staying in the profession long enough to progress into leadership. As a result, many schools are struggling to appoint headteachers, with many vacancies requiring repeated rounds of recruitment due to a lack of suitable applicants.
Why this is even harder in the Catholic sector
Catholic schools face these same pressures alongside additional recruitment challenges linked to their distinctive mission and ethos. In line with diocesan guidance, many leadership posts are reserved for practising Catholic applicants only, which significantly narrows the recruitment pool at a time when fewer teachers are entering and remaining within the profession.
Catholic leaders are expected not only to deliver strong educational outcomes, but also to act as custodians of the school’s Catholic mission, values and faith life, adding another layer of responsibility to an already demanding role.
Many Catholic schools also serve communities facing higher levels of deprivation and social disadvantage, the latest CES analysis in 2024 indicates that Catholic schools educate disproportionately high numbers of disadvantaged pupils nationally This means Catholic leaders are often working in environments where the challenges linked to attendance, safeguarding, wellbeing and wider family support can be even more significant. Leadership within Catholic education is therefore not only about educational performance, but also about service to communities and supporting children and families through a values-driven approach rooted in Catholic social teaching.
These combined pressures make succession planning particularly important within the Catholic sector to ensure a sustainable pipeline of future Catholic leaders.
Why people strategy matters
To respond to these challenges, Catholic trusts need a clear and intentional people strategy. This starts with thinking carefully about how they attract talent and communicate their employee value proposition (EVP): what makes working in Catholic education distinctive, and the wider social purpose of serving children, families and communities. For many educators, the opportunity to work in an environment shaped by values such as dignity, compassion, service and the common good is a significant motivator and source of professional fulfilment. In many Catholic schools, particularly those serving areas of higher deprivation, staff are motivated not only by educational outcomes, but by the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to the lives of children and families within their wider community.
For some educators, working in a Catholic school can also become part of their own spiritual journey, with the mission, values and faith life of the school helping to deepen their sense of vocation and connection to Catholic education over time.
Catholic trusts should actively promote not only career progression and leadership development, but also the opportunity to contribute to a mission-led environment that seeks to educate the whole child and make a positive difference beyond academic outcomes alone.
However, in a market where external recruitment is becoming increasingly difficult, Catholic trusts cannot afford to rely solely on finding leaders from outside their school or trust. Succession planning must therefore become a central part of long-term people strategy and organisational resilience. Rather than waiting until a leadership vacancy arises, trusts should be proactively identifying, nurturing and developing future Catholic leaders at every level of the organisation.
Building leadership from within
Effective succession planning starts with understanding your workforce and identifying both current capability and future leadership potential. Do staff have clear development pathways? Are career aspirations discussed regularly and supported properly? In Catholic trusts, succession planning should go beyond identifying operational leadership potential and consider how future leaders are being developed in Catholic life, mission and spiritual leadership.
A strong appraisal and development process is key to this. Trusts should consider how leadership potential is identified through appraisal conversations, reviews and ongoing professional development discussions, ensuring that growth conversations are not simply focused on performance management, but on long-term career aspirations and leadership readiness. This creates opportunities to identify emerging talent early and support staff in taking meaningful next steps in their development journey.
Formal professional development programmes also play an important role in building leadership capacity. Many trusts are investing in programmes such as the National Catholic Leadership Programme (NCLP) alongside National Professional Qualification Programmes (NPQ), helping aspiring leaders develop both strategic leadership skills and the faith-centred understanding required within Catholic education. Other formation opportunities, including diocesan leadership pathways and Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS) qualification, can further strengthen understanding of Catholic mission, ethos and leadership.
However, leadership development cannot rely on qualifications alone. Coaching, mentoring, shadowing opportunities and external collaboration are equally important in preparing future Catholic leaders. Providing opportunities for aspiring leaders to lead projects, contribute to chaplaincy and mission initiatives, or gain experience across different schools within the trust can help develop both leadership confidence and a deeper understanding of Catholic education in practice.
By developing deputy heads and middle leaders specifically for Catholic headship, trusts can create a stronger internal leadership pipeline and reduce reliance on an increasingly difficult external recruitment market. Gathering workforce and development information consistently can also help shape future people strategy, CPD programmes and leadership planning, while allowing trusts to evaluate whether their approach is genuinely building leadership capacity over time. Succession planning is not reactive recruitment, but a long-term investment in the future sustainability of Catholic education.
Ultimately, succession planning for Catholic trusts is about developing strong Catholic leadership that can sustain and strengthen the mission, values and identity of Catholic education for years to come. The trusts that succeed in the coming years will be those that use succession planning as an opportunity for investment in the future of Catholic education.
Find out more
Whether you are looking for immediate executive recruitment support or need support in designing your organisational structure to support succession planning, we’re here to help. Call us on 0191 6076 300 or email [email protected] to discuss how we can support your school or trust.