By Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporter, in Bournemouth

Head teachers feel they are increasingly under pressure

There should be a moratorium, to allow schools to assimilate one initiative before moving on to the next, said the National Association of Head Teachers.

NAHT president David Tuck warned: "This government needs to back off."

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) said it made no apology for its drive to raise standards in schools.

'Ridiculous'

"The driving force in education is the relationship between the teacher and the child," said Mr Tuck at the NAHT annual conference, being held in Bournemouth this weekend.

Schools were being subjected to a "ridiculous amount of change", he went on.

He listed dozens of new initiatives such as attendance targets, nutritional standards, anti-bullying procedures, the common assessment framework and the personalisation agenda.

"Before we introduce anything else, we need to ensure that what we are introducing has been trialled, tested, costed and that the funds and resources are available," he said.

'Ego tripping'

"The problem is that too many ideas are not thought through."

And, in a swipe at Education Secretary Alan Johnson and Chancellor Gordon Brown, Mr Tuck raised questions about the plan to raise the school leaving age to 18.

Mr Tuck accused politicians of "ego tripping with children's life chances" in their quest for a good sound bite.

"I firmly believe that our present plethora of initiatives has been created not necessarily for the good of the child, but for the greater glorification of politicians of all parties and jobbing bureaucrats."

'Radical reforms'

The DfES said all its initiatives were developed in co-operation with teachers and were intended to improve the quality of education and raise standards.

"This government has increased heads' school budgets by some 50% and teachers' pay by some 25% since 1997," a spokesman said.

"It is precisely because we have introduced radical reforms and record investment that the hard work of heads, teachers and pupils has been able to deliver nothing less than a massive improvement in school standards since 1997.

"We make no apology for improving the prospects of every young person in this way."