Head resigns over paperwork mountain

Allan Jones wants to get back to teaching

A Northamptonshire head teacher is leaving his job because it does not give him enough time to teach.

Allan Jones, head at Brixworth Primary School, is resigning because of his frustration with the growing volume of paperwork.

He plans to look for work as a classroom teacher.

Mr Jones says the demands of administration leave him able to spend just 10% of his time teaching.

It gets me back to where I came into the profession

Allan Jones, head at Brixworth Primary School

He says the rest of the time is spent dealing with meetings and demands for data from the government and the local education authority.

Demotion will get him get back in the classroom teaching.

"It gets me back to where I came into the profession, working alongside children and enjoying them growing and being educated," he said.

The National Association of Head Teachers says stress and workload-related illness are up, causing heads to leave.

A workload review is under way at a national level, but Mr Jones is just looking forward to getting out from behind his desk.