SCOTTISH TUC president Helen Connor slammed the Scottish government’s poor record on education yesterday, accusing Holyrood ministers of mimicking Tory education policy.

Speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Perth, Ms Connor warned that the SNP administration “did not trust local government to run education,” citing a recent governance review which would see funding handed directly to “unelected and unaccountable” head teachers.

Ms Connor, who has been a teacher for more than 30 years, said the proposal was “Tory policy and always has been. It is the first step on the road towards academy schools as they have in England.”

She called for education funding to go to local government because local authorites are democratically accountable for how they spend it.

Ms Connor added: “If the government was truly committed to changing the attainment gap, they would provide funding to local authorities to employ more teachers, assistants and support workers.”

She also urged Scottish Labour to “stand firmly” with teachers’ union EIS in “defending the right of every child to have a comprehensive education.”