text: Parents need to keep their distance and trust schools and teachers instead of being 'dervishes ready to battle with anyone and anything on behalf of their child', a leading head teacher has said. Peter Tait, the headmaster of Sherborne Preparatory School in Dorset, claimed parents have become 'dervishes' about their children's education and should take a back seat to allow them to develop naturally. Writing in Attain, the magazine for the Independent Association of Prep Schools, Mr Tait said the modern trend of interfering stemmed from parents being bombarded with information about how to raise a child. Parents need to keep their distance and use their intuition to trust schools and teachers, a leading head teacher has claimed. Stock image used . Mr Tait warned that while parents naturally wanted the very best for their children, such interference could end up hindering their natural development, The Daily Telegraph reported. He said: 'What has made some parents put their own child at the centre of the universe and to hell with the rest?' Adding that parents must trust those responsible for their children's education, he added: 'To do this requires a certain detachment, a willingness to trust the passage of time, focusing on whether their children are happy, challenged and purposeful and are learning the right values.' Sherborne, which was founded in 1550 by Edward VI in the Dorset village of the same name, has educated prominent churchmen and army generals, as well as famous figures such as codebreaker Alan Turing and Downton Abbey actor Hugh Bonneville and Coldplay singer Chris Martin. The school has enjoyed strong academic performance recently. On A-Level results day it was announced that 40 per cent of all grades were A*s or As, with six boys meeting offers to study at Oxford or Cambridge. The phenomenon of parents placing their children before any others and pushes their children to high levels of achievement through a range of after-school activities has been termed Tiger Parenting. Last year, Gail Larkin, the president of the National Association of Head Teachers, also attacked parents saying that some children were being forced to sit through hours of unnecessary tuition by pushy parents competing with one another. She added that instead of two or three hours spent in more classes after school, children would benefit from joining a swimming club, taking up ballet, or playing in the park instead. Mr Tait is Headmaster of Sherborne Preparatory School (pictured) in Dorset, who has been writing in Attain magazine . She also took a swipe at parents, saying part of the drive for extra tuition was down to adults being unwilling to help their children with homework. Meanwhile a survey, by teachers' union NASUWT, revealed a disturbing picture of how parents are increasingly using Facebook and Twitter to intimidate staff. It showed families are using social media to post obscenities, threats, offensive photos, sexually explicit insults and even covert films of teachers - with 30 per cent of those polled confirming they had been the subject of parents' abusive internet posts. The poll of 1,500 teachers also showed that the proportion of teachers suffering abuse from both parents and pupils has more than doubled over the past year – increasing from 21 per cent to 60 per cent. NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: 'It is deeply worrying to see that the abuse of teachers has risen by such a huge margin this year. 'Equally concerning is that it appears that more parents are the perpetrators of the abuse.' He added: 'The vile, insulting and personal comments are taking their toll on teachers' health and wellbeing and undermining their confidence to do their job.'
target: Headmaster Peter Tait claimed parents should trust their child's educators .
  Excessive interference could harm their children's development, he said .
  He made the comments for article in preparatory school magazine Attain .