School leaders know fixing problems a marathon, not a sprint

Hazel Shearing

Education correspondent

@hazelshearing

• Published

  31 October 2024

If one thing was clear from the emails that came pouring in after the autumn Budget, it's that school leaders and other education experts see fixing problems in England's education system as a marathon, not a sprint.

That's because there are big challenges. Universities warn they're at risk of going bust, targets have been missed for rebuilding crumbling schools, teachers are leaving the profession and the system designed to help children with special education needs and disabilities (Send) has been dubbed "broken".

What all these experts are not quite agreed on, however, is how quickly the government should be pacing itself at this early stage.