In an interview with the Sunday Times at the weekend, Children's Secretary Ed Balls said the savings amounted to around five per cent of school spending and could be achieved largely through schools forming federations and sharing head teachers.
Under the plans, one head teacher could take charge of a federation of around six schools. Around 3,000 jobs could also be lost, with deputy heads the main role at risk.
National Union of Teachers general secretary Christine Blower described the proposals as "worrying" and criticised the suggestion that head teachers and other senior teaching staff are dispensable "bureaucrats."
She added: "If the Secretary of State wants to make cuts we can offer him a few suggestions. Let him halt the academies programme with its costly buildings and some spectacularly highly paid heads.
"Let him get rid of SATs, which their latest accounts show cost £67.8m to deliver, and leave teachers to access children on the basis of their own professional judgement. Let him look to the plethora of quangos, which are of variable use to the education service."
The Association of School and College Leaders general secretary John Dunford is similarly concerned.
He said: "The claim by the Secretary of State that the number of heads and senior school staff can be reduced without damaging teaching quality is manifestly false."
He acknowledged that in some areas a federal system of leadership can work, but said "it would be disastrous if this policy is pursued by the government as a means of saving money on school leadership positions".
Other savings highlighted by Balls include cutting £800m from schools' heating, lighting and repair budgets. Schools could also be forced to spend money in their reserves and teachers' pay rises are set to be restricted after 2011.
