Most school leaders say administrative burden is hindering strategic progress, in new ParentPay survey

A new survey of school leaders in the UK has found that 94 percent believe administrative burden is hindering their strategic progress.

ParentPay Group, a school payment provider, surveyed 250 senior leaders in the UK about the barriers currently preventing them from having a well-run school.

The survey found that 79 percent of school leaders believe they are being asked to “do more with less”, and 72 percent are experiencing significant recruitment and retention challenges. 

The full findings of the survey are published in the Well-run schools report.

“We commissioned this report to understand what’s really going on behind school gates – and what we found is a leadership system under unsustainable pressure,” explains Lewis Alcraft, Group Chief Executive of ParentPay Group. 

“When nearly one-in-three school leaders say they’re ready to quit, that’s not a data point – it’s a warning. This report is a call to action. We can’t fix every challenge, but we can give leaders time back by removing some of the operational friction that’s draining their energy and resilience.”

ParentPay Group is calling for more coherent systems and a renewed focus on enabling teams instead of overloading them as a result of its findings. 

“This report doesn’t just highlight the scale of the challenge – it offers a practical way forward,” adds Ben Whitaker, Founder of Edufuturists. “School leaders are being overwhelmed by admin, complexity, and unrealistic expectations. If we want schools to be truly well-run, we need systems that work for people, not the other way around. That means using technology to simplify, not stack, the school day.”