John Chowcat, general secretary of children's services union Aspect, told CYP Now that the government is planning to use "loose" and "undefined" selection criteria to decide which providers are allowed to lead Accredited School Groups.
Schools, colleges, universities and other organisations such as business, charity, faith and parents' groups could be chosen to run the school groups.
Chowcat's comments come in response to a consultation on the proposals launched by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), which closes in January 2010.
He said: "I'm concerned that the criteria needs to be strict enough so that only the best providers get through. The qualities they're asking for are very general and focus on an academic track record. You might have a small group of schools that have good academic and Ofsted results. That doesn't mean that they can go into an underperforming school and turn things around."
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