FRESH concerns have been raised over the prospect of headteachers being sued by parents under plans to give them more power.

The warning from experts at the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) comes in a response to a consultation on proposals for a new Headteachers’ Charter.

The charter – part of a new Education Bill to be introduced later this year – will allow school leaders to shape the curriculum, decide on how funding is allocated and choose staff.

However, because the Scottish Government wants to enshrine the charter in legislation it raises the prospect of legal action when things go wrong.

The RSE submission states: “Careful consideration will need to be given to the legal implications of the proposals to delegate greater decision-making responsibilities to headteachers, particularly in relation to staffing issues.

“While the decision-making responsibilities of local authorities for school education will contract as a result of the planned changes, local authorities could be vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of headteachers in their employment, and headteachers could be held personally liable if they are deemed not to have followed local authority guidance.

“This also implies that local authorities would be expected to produce extensive guidance on matters for which they no longer have day-to-day responsibility.”

The submission goes on to raise concerns over where accountability lies under the proposed new system.

It states: “Given the intention of the Bill to transfer significant decision-making responsibility from local authorities to headteachers, lines of accountability need to be unequivocal.

“However, it is not currently clear how and to whom headteachers will be made accountable for the decisions they take. This is an area that requires significant work before the Bill is brought forward.

“There is, for example, no suggestion that the headteacher and senior staff should be accountable to a board of governors or similar governance group.”

The document goes on to call for a phased approach in recognition that not all schools are ready to take on additional responsibilities.

“The assumption is that the new governance arrangements will be rolled-out throughout Scotland simultaneously, irrespective of schools’ readiness and willingness,” it says.

“This potentially risks creating a culture of grudging compliance. Consideration should be given to piloting the new governance arrangements, particularly those relating to the Headteachers’ Charter.

“The consultation implies that all schools, irrespective of their characteristics and circumstances, will be able to incorporate the new decision-making powers uniformly.

“It will, however, be necessary to explore to what extent the proposals cater for the different circumstances of primary and secondary headteachers.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Our education reforms are focussed on giving schools and headteachers more power and money to raise standards and close the attainment gap.

“Our reform proposals are based on international evidence of how high-performing education systems work and will deliver extra help for teachers in the classroom, more professional development and a stronger voice for parents and pupils.

“We welcome feedback in response to our consultation on the Bill and will consider all the responses received.”