Following the announcement that the general election will be held on 6 May, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) urged politicians to stop introducing initiatives and targets and allow for an "honest and open" debate during the election campaign on how best to raise standards in schools and education.
Speaking as the union holds its annual conference this week, Christine Blower, NUT general secretary, said: "I am seriously concerned that politicians are not on the same page as parents and teachers.
"I do not believe Ed Balls, Michael Gove or David Laws can honestly say, with hand on heart, that the parents they meet are clamouring for academies or to start up their own ‘free schools'? When I talk to parents they tell me they want their child to do well and be happy at a good school down the road."
She added that teachers' workload is unacceptable and that they are working more unpaid hours than any other profession.
"Politicians would do themselves a great favour if they stopped this obsession with structures," Blower said. "The next government needs to start trusting the profession and end the relentless imposition of initiatives, tests and targets."
