Education is not alone in facing what some call a "demographic time bomb". Figures from both the private sector and schools have presented strikingly similar figures: up to 50 per cent of leaders will retire in the next 10 years. In response, many businesses are now introducing systematic succession planning programmes to replace departing leaders.

This summary draws on a number of areas of the College's work. We have carried out school-based research that highlights potential difficulties in leadership sustainability and recruitment, and discovered that a number of school leaders are already addressing this issue with concentrated efforts to grow their own leaders.

Following this study, several NCSL seminars convened school leaders and others with responsibility within the education system to explore the issues and develop examples of existing practice.