Gordon Jeyes, the authority’s director of children’s services, candidly admitted that Stirling “is not as good as it should be at unlocking the expertise of teachers”.

Mr Jeyes said: “Teachers must look beyond their own geographical area, and not think only about the detail of their job. They need to look at the need to clarify and transmit values and develop a more positive school ethos.

“We must not lose sight of the big picture, especially with so much uncertainty in the world. The challenge is to develop a sense of professional confidence by addressing how to share the values of citizenship in a democratic society.

“Literacy and numeracy are important but the devil is not only in the detail. It is also in the big picture of what we value and, crucially, what we value are children and what they can achieve.”

Mr Jeyes said that teachers did not want to be trained technicians. “They should be encouraged to use their judgment and be accountable for the outcomes achieved.”

The “big picture” theme was taken up by Colin Grant, depute head of St Modan’s High in Stirling, who told a conference workshop that “a brick wall” appeared when it came to talk of instilling values, attitudes and relationships - the notion of “feeling good about being a teacher”.

Mr Grant warned against teachers being “monitored to death” if they were to feel that they can make a difference. “It is possible to know whether teachers are delivering without having a systematic monitoring approach. There are different ways of monitoring, but when you consistently monitor people they feel undervalued.”

The senior management team at St Modan’s High, Mr Grant revealed to some surprise, do not attend departmental meetings, partly because they feel their attendance could influence the proceedings. Not attending also freed time for other tasks. HMI recently praised St Modan’s for the quality of its leadership.

Staff in the school are encouraged “to branch out” and “to develop as people”. This includes spending a day in another department, spending more time in local primaries and undertaking accredited after-school courses in areas such as thinking skills and differentiation.

Speaking to The TES Scotland, Margaret Doran, head of schools in Stirling, said HMI must not become solely an agency whose job was to inspect. “We now need evidence of schools achieving in the broadest sense.”

Ms Doran added: “Teachers have a lot more potential than they are given credit for and are denied opportunities to engage in dialogue with children, young people, parents and other services. Class teachers, like primary teachers and social workers, need to work ‘beyond their box’.”