Let parents trigger heads' sacking, says free school group

Under the plan, a certain number of complaints from parents would trigger official intervention

Parents should be able to trigger the sacking of weak head teachers, says a charity that sets up free schools.

The New Schools Network wants parents to have a legal right to force intervention in failing schools.

Other measures could include ordering a school to become an academy, outside local authority control.

The National Association of Head Teachers called the plan "counterproductive" and said heads were already "stringently accountable".

General secretary Russell Hobby said heads were already under great pressure "to the extent that we are struggling to get people to do the job".

"Looking for new ways to sack them is hugely counterproductive and an appalling use of the New School Network's time," he said.

"School leadership is not a popularity contest; you must sometimes make difficult decisions when you are improving a school - some of our most effective heads would have lost their jobs under this proposal."

Under the plan, a certain number of complaints from parents would compel the regional schools commissioner for their area to intervene.

The commissioner would be able to impose an immediate school improvement plan if they agreed it was warranted.

According to the charity's director, Nick Timothy, parents need more choice, something free schools are best placed to provide.

"Free schools give more control to head teachers, teachers, parents and governors, rather than politicians and bureaucrats," he said.

"But there needs to be more accountability in the system so parents can get the change they want when a local school is failing.

"We believe the 'parental trigger' will be an important legal right for parents and a way of driving up standards in schools that aren't performing well.''

The charity quotes government figures it says suggest there are too few places at good schools in England, where one in six primary pupils and one in four secondary pupils attend schools dubbed "failing" by Ofsted.

It says one in 10 families did not get their first choice of school last year and more than 50,000 children were allocated schools not among their parents' top three choices.

The charity says the plan, set out in a written submission to MPs on the Education Select Committee, would mirror other mechanisms that give a greater voice to the public.

These include the proposed ''power of recall'' allowing voters to force a by-election when MPs have been found guilty of wrongdoing and 10% of constituents have signed a petition calling for their removal.

The National Union of Teachers warned the proposal could damage parental involvement in schools and breed suspicion.

Deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney said: "This proposal from the New Schools Network doesn't merit serious consideration.

"Our schools are already subject to multiple accountability measures, including Ofsted inspections, which often lead to heads leaving schools.

"One of the biggest problems facing schools currently is the difficulty of recruiting teachers and head teachers. If any politician were foolish enough to implement this New Schools Network proposal, they would make the situation much worse.''

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was introducing two new measures "to intervene more swiftly in failing schools and to properly tackle, for the first time, schools that have been coasting".

She added: "While we already have in place a robust system to deal with school complaints, we take all parents' concerns seriously and routinely pass them on to the relevant bodies.

"We will consider the New Schools Network's proposals and continue to ensure that regional schools commissioners, local authorities, Ofsted or our own education advisers, are able to promptly deal with all issues raised by parents and intervene if necessary."