PLANS to give more power to schools will not improve standards and could even exacerbate headteacher shortages, parents have warned.
The concern from the National Parent Forum of Scotland comes in a formal response to proposals to change the way schools are run.
Under the plans, the Scottish Government wants to give more power to headteachers, coupled with direct funding to help support pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Herald View: Plans for education reform under close examination
New educational regions will be set up with a role similar to current councils and the SNP also wants more involvement from parents.
At the start of the consultation, John Swinney, the Education Secretary, said his guiding principle was that decisions should be taken at school level.
However, the forum’s written submission states: “The majority of parents... do not think giving schools more accountability would improve performance and are concerned additional financial and legal responsibilities would exacerbate headteacher shortage.”
Schools have already reported concerns that it is getting increasingly hard to fill headteacher vacancies with stagnant pay, staff shortages and overwhelming bureaucracy being blamed.
Agenda: It is time that we put these dubious worldwide assessments to the test
On the issue of new educational regions the forum said it was important their setting up did not create an “unnecessary extra level of bureaucracy”.
It adds: “Whilst parents accept the value in sharing good practice and saving money they find it difficult to imagine how this structure is possible without additional bureaucracy.
“We do not feel there is evidence that indicates educational regions are necessary, however, if government is committed to their creation, we would be open to the suggestion that regions could be fluid entities and recommend that they are not too large.”
Overall, parents acknowledged there were inconsistencies across local authorities and said they believed recruitment and procurement were better dealt with at a school level.
But it adds: “Almost all of the parents we have heard from do not want to have statutory financial responsibilities associated with running a school, but do want to be involved in shaping decisions.”
Herald View: Plans for education reform under close examination
The submission also highlights recruitment of school staff as a “core responsibility” of headteachers, particularly the recruitment of additional support needs teachers provision.
The Association of Headteachers and Deputes Scotland (AHDS) has already suggested school leaders should have the power to recruit staff directly rather than the current situation where councils take a lead role.
The forum submission echoes the concerns of Glasgow City Council which warned the Scottish Government has no evidence giving more power to headteachers would result in improved standards.
Cosla, an umbrella body that represents most councils, said shifting control away from local authorities would leave “unelected” school leaders taking decisions rather than elected councillors.
Agenda: It is time that we put these dubious worldwide assessments to the test
Mr Swinney said earlier this year: “We will empower our teachers to make the best decisions for our young people. We will place them at the heart of a system that makes decisions within schools.” He also said reforms would be driven by evidence of what worked.
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