Perthshire school chiefs voice fears over recruitment of teachers.

Extra workload ‘a barrier’ for headteachers

Schools in the Education Secretary’s Perthshire constituency have warned that his new bill could make it even harder to fill senior posts.

John Swinney’s education shake-up would give more powers to headteachers over spending, recruitment and the curriculum.

Local authorities in Tayside and Fife have voiced fears that the extra workload will reduce the time senior leadership can dedicate to improving learning.

Education chiefs at Perth and Kinross Council said it could also hamper efforts to recruit principals amid national shortages.

It was one of several concerns raised in consultation responses to the Education (Scotland) Bill, which aims to give headteachers more freedom to run their school without government interference.

The Perth and Kinross Council submission said: “Some of our headteachers in our small schools are concerned at the further operational requirements that this charter will bring, leading to a significant impact on their ability to plan meaningful learning and teaching experiences for the children in their care.

“At a time when we are looking to attract more candidates to headteacher positions, evidence gathered through discussions suggest that these proposals could be a barrier to recruitment.”

Mr Swinney, Perthshire North MSP, says the bill is about seeing that “key decisions in a child’s education are taken by schools”.

The legally-enshrined charter for headteachers in the draft legislation gives them responsibility for choosing staff and management structure, deciding what is in the curriculum to broad national guidelines and direct control of more funding.

The Scottish Greens delivered a blow to the prospect of the SNP securing a parliamentary majority to pass the legislation by urging the government to “stop blindly storming ahead with unwanted changes”.

Iain Gray, from Scottish Labour, said the consultation results show he has “failed to create a consensus for school reforms”.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said the reforms are “based on international evidence of how highperforming education systems work”, adding: “The majority of respondents to the consultation support the principles behind our education reforms.”