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The problems with parent power

Senior leadership
Ed Miliband's recent call for the public to be given a greater say in public services may sounds good, but is giving parents the power to sack headteachers really sensible? Our headteacher diarist argues against the idea.

Recently Ed Miliband, in a speech about public sector reform, suggested that the public should be given a much greater say in determining how various public services are run. 

He stated: “We should always be seeking to put more power in the hands of patients, parents and all the users of services.”

Among his suggestions were that patients should be able to influence policy at their local hospital and that parents should be given the power to remove poorly performing headteachers.

While, perhaps not surprisingly, it was the reference to “sacking” headteachers that caught my eye, it was the wider thrust of the speech that really made me think. 

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