Leading online learning during a pandemic and beyond: Challenges and opportunities for school leaders in England

Emerging work around the globe has identified the impact of closing schools and moving education online during the COVID-19 pandemic has had, especially on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Whilst research into this area is growing from both students' and parents' perspectives, there remains a need to explore how school leaders strategically dealt with these challenging circumstances and, crucially, what can be learned for the future to ensure some of the opportunities that emerged can be harnessed and developed. This article addresses this knowledge gap by drawing on an UKRI-funded mixed-methods study involving an online survey (n = 65) and semi-structured interviews (n = 50) with headteachers in England exploring not only the strategic challenges that school leaders had to overcome but also highlighting the opportunities that have emerged from the crisis that will positively impact on leading online learning in the future. The results from this research have been used to develop a free online professional development course for heads, underpinned by the key findings, which are highlighted at the end of this article.