Brian Monteith, the Tories’ education spokesman, described the Rifkind commission proposals as a starting point which acknowledges that “we did not always get things right during our 18 years in government”.

Mr Monteith said the report would be subject to consultation with party members and the Holyrood parliamentary candidates, after which some of the ideas would be supported and others dropped.

“There should be no doubt that Tories see the restoration of teacher morale as a priority in the drive towards excellence,” Mr Monteith said.

But he warned: “The relationship between the parliament and local authority education departments will be an area of considerable conflict and Tories, by instinct, will be looking to see more responsibility shifting to schools and their headteachers, rather than to the centre.”