'I was a teacher not a manager'; CASE STUDY

At the age of 50 Bob Dacey retired from his job as head of an inner-London primary school, after a breakdown caused by the stresses of his job.

After more than 10 years as a head in Southwark he chose to leave a profession he loved, weighed down, he says, by the administrative burdens placed on heads by the Government's reforms.

Even before the 1988 Reform Act introduced devolved budgets for schools, Southwark schools had more than their share of difficulties.

Mr Dacey's school was a tough one. Out of 300 children, 30 were on the at-risk register and 23 languages were spoken.

Once schools had to run their own budgets and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was dismantled, heads' burdens increased.

Some of Mr Dacey's governors had little management experience, and in some weeks he spent more time explaining school policy to them than he did with his pupils.

Mr Dacey, who retired last summer, said: "When I was appointed a head in 1984, I enjoyed it. I was with the children a great deal and my main remit was ensuring the quality of teaching.

"Then ILEA went and I was taken over by Southwark, which had not run an education department. Budgets were devolved and virtually total responsibility for everything within school and the school grounds.

"I taught maths so the finances didn't present a problem but I was a teacher, not a manager. It wasn't something I had been appointed for, trained for, or had much aptitude for."

Money became tighter. Class sizes rose and funds for support staff were short. The combination of his old duties with his new ones eventually proved too much for him.

"I was unable to sleep. I was carrying round this terrible feeling of apprehension and anxiety. I couldn't concentrate. I was mentally and physically exhausted."