A local authority could become the first in Scotland to allow independent trusts to run its schools. East Lothian Council is examining a plan which could see small clusters of schools grouped together and given control of their day-to-day spending decisions.

The move, which has echoes of the system used in England, would mean that head teachers would be given the power to run schools according to their own spending priorities, rather than those dictated by the authority.

The SNP-Liberal Democrat-led authority would still fund schools through the trusts, but would give up any control over their spending policies. The trusts might also be able to access funding from additional, private sources.

But the proposals were criticised yesterday by Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS), although School Leaders Scotland, which represents head teachers, gave a cautious welcome.

A similar scheme operates south of the Border, backed by the Labour Government at Westminster. However, the Scottish government emphasised that the East Lothian proposals appeared to be very different from the English system, which often involves targeting failing schools and placing them under private control to raise standards.

The Scottish Conservatives have given the new proposal their backing, claiming it would deliver the additional control to head teachers for which they are desperate. It would also allow the schools to focus on specific areas, such as sports, languages or music.

It is contained in a report, published yesterday, detailing potential cost-cutting methods for the authority. Under the scheme, secondary schools and feeder primaries would come together in “clusters”, backed by a trust, which would give them more freedom to set their own priorities and allocate their funds accordingly. Describing the proposals as “highly speculative”, an EIS spokesman said: “The EIS would have serious concerns about any potential return to the failed opt-out type policies of the past.

“It is already difficult to recruit head teachers in schools, without adding yet another responsibility to the job and removing the established local authority support.”

However, Ken Cunningham, the general secretary of School Leaders Scotland, said the scheme was certainly worth debating. He also insisted that it was “absolutely not the death of the comprehensive ideal”.

Liz Smith, the Conservatives’ schools spokeswoman, said it was time for Fiona Hyslop, the Education Secretary, to “stop holding back our children’s education” and allow the devolution of power to school level.

“Standards will only improve if we allow parents far more choice over where they send their child to school and if we give head teachers far more autonomy,” she said.

A spokesman for the Convention of Local Authorities said he was not aware of any other councils considering a similar move.

A spokesman for the Scottish government said it supported greater flexibility for schools but not the adoption of the English trust schools.

“East Lothian Council is exploring the possibility of extending the arrangements that many Scottish councils already operate for devolving management to head teachers and individual or clusters of schools.”

Times Recommends

• A vicar’s wife: ‘There is no one to fight for us’
• Every little helps at the supermarket
• Ugg or Fitflop? The battle of the boots