The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which refused to sign up to the workload reduction proposals in January, has threatened strike action if they are implemented, while the second biggest union, the NASUWT, has warned it will take industrial action if they are not .
At the NUT's annual conference in Harrogate, West Yorkshire, general secretary Doug McAvoy attacked the way the Government was introducing its plans for classroom assistants as 'sinister' and 'totalitarian'. He accused the NASUWT of abandoning its right to free speech and promoting the Government's agenda.
'It's deeply worrying that in a democratic society a government should require free trade unions to commit themselves to its agenda,' Mr McAvoy said.
But at the NASUWT conference in Bournemouth, Dorset, general secretary Eamonn O'Kane denied that the workload agreement was a 'surrender of principle'. He said it would result 'in a substantial reduction in workload, and that should be the aim of any trade union'.
Under the agreement, teachers will be allowed time out of the classroom to prepare lessons and do marking. Classroom assistants will take on administrative burdens, while higher-level classroom assistants will be allowed to take charge of classes in the teacher's absence.
It is this extended role that is anathema to the NUT. Many of its members believe the proposals will not lead to a reduction in teacher workload because they will still have to prepare the lesson plan and supervise even if they are not present in the classroom.
But the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), a co-signatory to the workload reduction deal, warned that its benefits would not be seen by teachers unless local education authorities followed national guidance or improved on it locally and ensured that support staff were properly paid for any enhanced role. The ATL said, 'Enabling support staff to take on enhanced roles means that attention must be given to career structures.'
Leslie Batterham, a teaching assistant for ten years, told the ATL conference in Blackpool, Lancashire, 'We are fed up with being referred to as "mums' armies" or "ladies who help out at school". My role has changed enormously over the past few years. I now do much more work with small groups of children or more intensive one-to-one work with children who have special needs.
'The role of support staff is absolutely vital to making the national agreement work. But we cannot be asked to take on more responsibility for the same salary and conditions. We need to have our role valued and recognised, both financially and professionally.'
The agreement to reduce teacher workload is already being jeopardised by shortfalls in funding for schools, which have actually resulted in classroom assistants being laid off in some areas.