Head teachers are to be given new powers under reforms to Scotland's school system, education secretary John Swinney has announced.

They will become responsible for raising pupil performance and closing the gap between the poorest and richest pupils.

Head teachers will also have the power to hire staff and change management structures, decide on the curriculum - within a broad national framework - and directly control "significantly" more funding.

The reforms, which follow a review of school governance, were revealed at Holyrood on Thursday.

Swinney told MSPs the changes would "put the power to directly change lives into the hands of those with the expertise and insight to target resources at the greatest need".

He also said parents would be given a stronger voice and be more involved in the running of schools.

Swinney told MSPs: "The evidence is clear that the strength and quality of leadership in our schools is crucial to delivering improvement.

"We know that head teachers want to focus on delivery of learning and teaching, not be chief administrator of their school.

"We will, therefore, give headteachers more power over decisions on learning and teaching, freeing them to make a difference to the lives of children and young people."

Swinney also announced he has rejected a bid by a group of parents at St Joseph's Primary School in East Dunbartonshire to remove the Catholic Primary School from council control.

The council plans to close the school and amalgamate it with a nearby school.

Swinney said he had already ruled out a "fixed national funding formula" to work out settlements for schools.

Instead, a consultation on "fair funding" has been launched to consider how to distribute cash.

Turning to parents, the education secretary promised "enhanced" parent councils, with parental involvement to be strengthened in legislation.

He said pupil participation would also be made "more effective and consistent".

The announcement of the governance review had raised questions about councils' role within education, with Swinney confirming they will retain responsibility for "a wide range of education support services".

Local authorities will also be given new statutory duties, including to collaborate to support improvement across their regions, Swinney said.

Proposals to establish an Education Workforce Council for Scotland, bringing the General Teaching Council for Scotland together with other training bodies, have also been put forward.

"At the heart of our reforms is a simple plan," Swinney said.

"We will free our teachers to teach. We will put new powers in the hands of our head teachers. We will ensure that parents, families and communities play a bigger role in school life and in their children's learning."

Conservative education spokesman Liz Smith welcomed greater devolution of power to teachers but said more radical reform is needed.

She stated: "We do not believe these reforms go far enough, particularly when it comes to extending choice and allowing schools to opt out of local authority rule if that's what parents and teachers want."

The Conservatives pledged in their local government manifesto to allow opt-outs.

Smith questioned why head teachers were not being given full autonomy over the pupil equity fund and whether creating regional boards is counter to the government's plans to devolve power to local communities.

Labour's Iain Gray said: "Consultation responses to the governance review from teachers, from parents, from educationalists and from councils all said the same thing - that the first reform we need is more teachers, properly paid, properly supported and properly resourced, why has [Mr Swinney's] statement nothing to say about that?

He praised Swinney for dropping his "flirtation with opt-out schools" and asked him to explain how the regional bodies and directors and annual plans are not "just another layer of bureaucracy".

The Greens' Ross Greer said the review will not resolve the key issue in Scottish education, which is loss of staff.