The Scottish government risks alienating the entire teaching profession if its plans for measuring school performance are “imposed” too quickly, one of the leading backers of the project has said.

John Stodter, general secretary of the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland - which has been a key government ally over the introduction of the National Improvement Framework (NIF) - warned that the result would be a system that was “not fit for purpose”.

The plans for the NIF are controversial, as critics fear they could usher in an era of high-stakes testing and league tables.

Mr Stodter said: “People in Scotland, especially professionals, don’t like things being imposed upon them. It’s a national characteristic: Scottish people just don’t like being telt.”

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