Demand for head teachers’ skills will drop as deputies are trained to manage several schools, a report suggests.

The National College for School Leadership claims teams of deputies could make individual head teachers redundant.

Mick Brookes, leader of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the report was “extremely unhelpful” as up to 1,200 schools in England have no permanent head.

The NCSL said putting groups of schools under the control of one head teacher was the future of UK education.

Steve Munby, chief executive of NCSL, said: “We are entering a new era in school leadership, which is challenging the long-held assumption that every school needs its own head teacher.”

He added that it could improve recruitment shortages and provide new skills challenges to current head teachers.

Brookes disagreed, commenting: “This isn’t the cure-all for the recruitment challenge. It’s just one of a range of possible solutions.”