ELEVEN Oxfordshire schools are without permanent headteachers – and parents are being warned the situation is only likely to get worse.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show only one less school is without a permanent head that three years ago – when the issue was highlighted as a problem.

Five are due to get new heads for the next academic year – but the figures do not include impending vacancies at Didcot Girls School, which will have an interim head, and St Aloysius’ Primary in Oxford.

Two primary schools, Cropredy and Tetsworth, have been without permanent leadership since September 2007.

The only secondary school which does not have a permanent head is Oxford School, since the departure of Steve Lunt in April.

Yesterday, both Oxfordshire County Council schools cabinet member Michael Waine and the National Association of Head Teachers predicted the county would continue to struggle.

Mr Waine said: “There is a generation of headteachers in their late 40s to 50s who will be leaving the profession in the next few years.

“We are anticipating it being more problematic to appoint headteachers in the future.

“We have got to have other ways of working that can be offered to schools, providing the governors and communities find them acceptable.

“Recruitment for headship is extremely difficult because people who are in teaching are not naturally choosing to move on to headship.

“More work needs to be done there, both nationally and locally.”

He added the county council was working with deputy heads to encourage them to aim for the top job.

The county council is also reviewing primary school services, which could see some headteachers in charge of more than one school.

Tony Draper, spokesman for the south central branch of National Association of Headteachers, said heads were difficult to recruit because of bureaucracy, pressure, “aggressive accountability” resulting from Ofsted inspections, and the high cost of living in Oxfordshire.

He said: “Headteachers feel very vulnerable. They are seen as only as good as their last exam results or league table place.”

Mr Waine said recruitment at Oxford Community School was on hold while discussions about its potential switch to an academy took place.

Chairman of the governors at St Aloysius Iain Johnson said: “The headteacher is the leader of the school. They can make or break a school.”

Rob Price, the chairman of governors at Cropredy Primary School, said appointing senior teacher Daphne Elliott as acting head until her retirement in Summer 2010 actually provided the school with more continuity and gave them longer to find the right candidate.

Mr Price, who has three children at the school, said: “We took a conscious decision, probably six months ago, to work out how long we wanted the acting headteacher to stay. We took the decision that, because she was coming close to retirement and wanted to stay on not just this year but next, it would bring some stability to the school.

“I don’t think it’s a concern for the children because the current acting head has done a good job and parents, teachers and pupils are all very happy with the progress the school has been making.”

Mrs Elliott added: “I don’t consider my role as being anything but permanent until my retirement. The school needed stability and I have provided that.”