Headteachers press Miliband to cut 'tangle of bureaucracy'

A network of some of the country's top heads will ask the government to cut through a "tangled bureaucracy of accountability" faced by school leaders so that they can be freed to create a personalised education system for all.

The National College for School Leadership's (NCSL) Leadership Network, which meets in Birmingham for its annual conference tomorrow , will ask Minister for School Standards David Miliband to give them the support they need to develop "workable concepts of personalisation" and plan for the phased introduction of ever greater personalisation across the system.

The network will also seek clarification on how personalisation fits into the "new relationship" with schools.

Ray Tarleton, national co-ordinator of the network and principal of South Dartmoor Community College, Devon, said that a key barrier to personalisation was the "bureaucracy of accountability" faced by headteachers and that existing limits to headteacher freedom must be addressed if personalisation is to become a widespread reality.

"Accountability is non-negotiable, an absolute in a publicly funded service. We all accept and even welcome that," Mr Tarleton said.

"But there is a tangled bureaucracy of accountability which inhibits and even prohibits progress. It is in this area that the tensions lie and where there could be paralysis."

He added: "If we're to push personalisation beyond a few progressive enclaves and out into the wider school system then we need a pledge from the government that it is committed to the concept and the development of workable, practical solutions to ensure it becomes a reality across the system."

Launched in 2002, NCSL's Leadership Network consists of almost 200 headteachers who are engaged in reform in their schools and "committed to working together to stimulate national debate and inform policy development".

(gmcg)