 Peter Peacock said parents should be more involved |
The headteacher selection process is to become more thorough, under plans being considered by the Scottish Executive. Critics have condemned the current system, which sometimes allows senior staff to take up posts after a single half-hour interview.
The modernised system will give parents a much greater role, according to the education minister who was addressing a teaching conference in Edinburgh.
Full details will be outlined in a consultation issued later this month.
They include giving parents a say in the advertising strategy for posts, and involving them in a long-listing and short-listing process before final interviews.
At the Scottish Parent Teacher Council annual conference on Saturday, Peter Peacock said: "I'm completely committed to the role of parents in the selection of headteachers and deputies.
Meaningful role
"Our proposals will achieve just that and modernise the approach we take to head teacher appointments."
The Headteachers Association of Scotland said it would look for assurances that parents really would play a meaningful role.
The minister has recently tried to play down concerns that the executive's reforms to the school boards system could weaken the role of parents.
The Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill, currently proceeding through parliament, will allow 'parent councils' to be set up with a wider focus than the current remit of school boards.
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