TEACHERS hit back at a charity yesterday for suggesting that parents should be given a legal right to intervene in failing schools and the power to sack headteachers.

The idea would “damage” children’s education and could force schools to be downgraded to academies, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) warned.

The New Schools Network (NSN), which champions the Tory government’s disastrous “free school” model, called for the creation of a “parental trigger” which would supposedly drive up academic standards.

Nick Timothy, director of the taxpayer-funded charity, claimed that free schools give parents more control by entitling them to a formal response from their regional schools commissioner if they complain.

He added that a greater number of schools should have “more accountability.”

This would result in headteachers being ousted and more schools being turned into academies or subjected to “action plans” to boost grades and league table rankings.

The NUT branded the scheme “ridiculous,” warning that it could foster an environment of suspicion and turn school leadership into a popularity contest.

“Our schools are already subject to multiple accountability measures, including Ofsted inspections, which often lead to heads leaving schools,” said NUT deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney.

“If any politician were foolish enough to implement this NSN proposal, they would make the situation much worse.”

National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby called the idea “counterproductive” as it “looks for new ways to sack head teachers” when there is a shortage of people to fill the posts. He added: “The government would do well to distance itself from these suggestions immediately.”

However, the government “will consider” the proposals, a Department for Education spokesman said in a statement.