HOW very sad that several years after the Oxford Mail first highlighted the extent of headteacher vacancies in Oxfordshire, little has changed.

At the last count, 11 schools were effectively rudderless, without a permanent headteacher.

The situation at Cropredy Primary School, near Banbury, has seen it without a permanent head for almost two years, although it says it is coping with a stand-in, while St Aloysius in Oxford is on to its third recruitment drive to replace its outgoing head.

Oxfordshire County Council knows this is a problem and is predicting worse is to come, partly because of the cost of living here. It has some ideas on how to tackle it.

But since County Hall has responsibility for teachers’ salaries, it has a duty to ensure the best brains come to work in our schools in the same way it pays vast sums to attract talent to work in the higher echelons of its organisation.

Vacancies occur all the time. But when the situation is as historically bad as it is in Oxfordshire for headteachers, serious questions need to be asked.

Headteachers provide the strategic vision for schools in ways than rank-and-file teachers don’t.

Parents — and more importantly their children — deserve better.