Data from four different questionnaires are analyzed.  Explanations of school problems are compared for chief education officers, principals (in municipal and independent schools), subject teachers, class teachers, special teachers, special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), and  assistants. Explanations involving deficits tied to the individual child were by far most common. Teachers and principals were the groups least likely to view teachers as a cause of school problems. Principals were even less likely to do so than the teachers themselves, and this was also the group that was least likely to consider the functioning of classes as an explanation of school difficulties. A school-leadership paradox is identified, meaning that principals discern causes of school problems that are not within their influence.