The Shadow Schools Minister, Theresa May, said the government's education initiatives were already leading to teachers spending too much time on administration rather than educating children.

Theresa May: "We need to set schools and teachers free"

She claimed that ministers' proposals for appraising teachers to determine their pay rises would cost £250m and only add to this burden.

"Too much of teachers' and headteachers' time is taken up by administration and unnecessary bureaucracy," she told a conference of secondary school headteachers in Blakeney, Norfolk.

"Last year, the government sent 322 documents to local authorities and schools. The government's new teachers' pay proposals will make matters worse.

"The planned appraisal system is cumbersome and unwieldy and will cost £250 million in the first year.

"It's time the government stopped bombarding schools with paper and stopped telling teachers what to do.

"We need to set schools and teachers free and let teachers teach."