Why Interim?
Built for This Moment in Education
The education leadership pipeline is under serious strain. Fewer than one in ten teachers aspire to headship, a third of serving heads are considering leaving, and a retiring workforce is shrinking the permanent talent pool further every year. At the same time, the Schools White Paper is demanding that mainstream schools develop specialist inclusion capability they have never needed before. Experienced interim leadership has never been more important.
Experienced and accountable from Day One.
Unlike a consultant who advises and leaves, an interim leader takes the seat – they make decisions, lead staff, and are accountable for outcomes from day one, without months of onboarding. The best interim leaders are decisive, objective, and free from internal politics. They have navigated situations like yours before and know how to make an immediate difference in complex environments.
A New Inclusion Agenda. A New Leadership Challenge.
The Schools White Paper places significant new demands on mainstream schools to meet a wider range of needs in-house. SEND expertise that was once the preserve of specialist provision is now a mainstream leadership requirement. For many settings, that expertise doesn’t yet exist internally. An experienced interim leader can bridge that gap, and that is exactly the kind of placement Brava specialises in.
What Great Interim Leadership Looks Like
Reduced risk, faster resolution
When a setting is under pressure – from Ofsted, from a leadership crisis or rapid change, the cost of getting the wrong leader is high. An experienced interim with a proven track record in complex environments significantly reduces that risk.
01
Objectivity when you need it most
Interim leaders carry no internal politics, no legacy relationships, and no personal agenda beyond doing a great job. In settings navigating challenge, scrutiny or change, that independence is enormously valuable. They can make decisions that permanent staff sometimes cannot.
02
Specialist experience on demand
The best interim leaders have built careers across multiple challenging settings. They bring a depth of experience that is genuinely hard to find in permanent candidates, particularly in SEND, alternative provision, and mainstream schools navigating significant inclusion challenges.
03
A bridge to the right permanent appointment
A great interim doesn’t just stabilise. They help organisations understand what they truly need from a permanent appointment and leave the setting better positioned to attract and retain the right long-term leader.