Education minister Stephen Twigg has set out government plans for a "new relationship with schools".

The school standards minister told a National College for School Leadership conference that a more flexible system will allow parents and pupils to take advantage of personalised learning.

Providing more details of the Department for Education and Skills' plan to deal more directly with headteachers, he said schools will move towards ordering what they want Whitehall online, rather than receiving batch mailings among other measures.

Shorter and sharper Ofsted inspections will also lighten the burden on successful schools, while local education authorities will be refocused to provide support rather than regulation, he added.

Revolution

Twigg told headteachers that the government is committed to revolutionary reforms that will scrap red tape and allow schools to meet pupils' personal needs.

"The new relationship with schools is crucial to delivering a high excellence, high equity education system with personalised learning at its heart," he said.

"Since 1997 we have made a step change in investment and reform and the system is now ready to be reshaped more significantly. The new relationship seeks to achieve this through reduced bureaucracy; sharper challenge; and more effective support.

"We have made significant steps towards making the new relationship a reality, from central government through to individual schools. I congratulate everyone involved for their efforts so far.

"I am delighted that the majority of schools that took part in the NCSL survey already feel prepared to evaluate their own performance from September. The document that we are publishing today sets out the practical changes planned, the timetable for achieving them and the actions that schools and local authorities should now start to take."

Inspections

However the speech has been overshadowed by a row between Ofsted chief inspector of schools David Bell and National Association of Head Teachers general secretary David Hart over the new inspections regime.

Bell wants to write to pupils "in language they understand" with inspection findings in a bid to make reports more relevant to them.

"School inspection is worthless if it does not get to the heart of what pupils do at school and this has been at the forefront of our thinking when designing the new system," he said.

"Over the past 10 years, Ofsted has helped up the ante on seeking pupils' views.

"Including a letter to pupils in inspection reports in the future is no gimmick, but a response to the fact that pupils are surrounded by intense activity during inspections but are often never told, in
language they understand, what the outcome is."

But Hart believes this could arm students with ammunition for attacking teachers.

"I must say I think the chief inspector has gone off the rails on this one," he said.

"The chief inspector of schools should withdraw the suggestion that he is going to be writing to pupils. It is a totally unacceptable way forward."