Parents and headteachers offered purse strings on school spending

HEADTEACHERS are to be given more control over their own budgets, and parents offered a say over how the money is spent, following a review of school management.

A report written by David Cameron, the former education director of Stirling Council, calls for schools to be given greater autonomy over budgets for staffing and staff development as well as repairs and maintenance.

It recommends devolving power to “clusters” of schools, which would group together to make spending decisions based on local needs.

Any budget decision would need to be approved by a group drawn from local parent councils, the report said.

However, councils will retain their position as the ultimate employers, allowing surplus staff to be moved to other schools within a local authority.

The report, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government, noted that while some headteachers currently feel they have enough autonomy, others feel “more restricted”.

But one leading teaching union said it had concerns that headteachers would be put under increased pressure by being turned into “accountants.”

Mr Cameron recommended that councils retain the power to set overall education budgets, but said schools should be given their budgets over a three-year period, allowing them to better plan for the future.

He also called for schools to establish groups based around parents councils which would approve improvement plans and budget decision.

Commenting on the report, education secretary Mike Russell said: “I am aware of many schools across Scotland that have benefited from having greater control of their own management. Building on this, we want to work with our partners and ensure that guidelines are reviewed and updated to allow all schools to take advantage of opportunities for greater say over their own affairs.

“Improving our schools is vital in improving the life chances of our children and young.

“We want to see improvements in the management of schools that are in the best interests of the school, pupils, teachers and parents.”

But Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association, said: “I think headteachers are going to be quite concerned by this report – it’s asking a great deal of them.

“Headteachers have an enormous job and adding another layer to that by asking them to become accountants is unfair and unnecessary.”

Mr Cameron’s report was delivered in March, but only published yesterday.

Speaking at a conference in Edinburgh earlier this week, the former education director said the publication of the report had been held up by “entrenched interests” and suffered from a “lack of submissions”.

The work to review the guidance on school management with by led by Cosla and is expected to be completed by the spring.

Cosla spokeswoman for Education, Children and Young People, Isabel Hutton said: “Education is a top priority for local government and for that reason we look forward to leading the development of the new guidance.

“The new guidance will be developed with the support of Association of Directors of Education in Scotland. It will take into account developments over the last five years and will be informed by the best of current local practice.”