A GROUP of influential head teachers focused on revolutionising education has created five policy papers to help shape decision making after the General Election.

John Tomsett, head teacher at Huntington School, in York, is one of about 10 heads from across the country who formed the Head Teachers’ Roundtable, which grew out of frustration with current government educational policy.

He said: “These five papers have been written by professionals who run schools, by those who know what’s best for our young people, and not by politicians.

“We have sent them to all the main political parties to influence education policy after the General Election in May.

“The future prosperity of our country depends upon the quality of our education.”

“The Headteachers’ Roundtable believes that improving the quality of teaching is the most important thing we can do. It’s that simple.”

The five papers focus on – setting up a Royal College of Teaching; creating a national baccalaureate; tackling underachievement; one on ‘intelligent accountability’ looking at revising the school inspection process and a policy paper on creating ‘coherence in a fragmented system’ – calling on the government to introduce legislation to harmonise school freedoms so that children in any school can access the same curriculum and opportunities, regardless of their school’s accountability and financial structures.

In the past, the group has secured talks with the education secretary and his opposition number and when the group was launched back in 2012, The Press reported how it set out a six-point manifesto to change the way children are assessed and schools are inspected.

The manifesto states:

• Schools should be assessed in a range of ways, not just judged on exam results

• Ofsted should be replaced by local partnerships that would hold schools to account and help them improve

• The curriculum and assessment should be taken out of political control and given to an independent agency with a 20-year licence

• The government should encourage small “families” of local schools rather than national chains

• The current system of capping the number of students who can achieve a certain grade in exams should be ended

• School accountability measures should encourage collaboration between schools and explicitly develop systems of leadership.