The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), which was one of seven teachers' unions to sign an agreement with the Government in January to work on measures to remodel the school workforce, said it could not 'divorce the lack of resources from the cost of implementing the Workload Reduction Agreement'.
NAHT general secretary David Hart said budget deficits, with 'some schools in the red up to six figures', made the workload reduction agreement undeliverable in many schools, with much of the financial pressure linked to pay, pension contributions and this month's 10 per cent increase in national insurance.
The Department for Education and Skills consultation package, launched last week, includes proposals to change teachers' contracts, regulations on the role of support staff, and a set of standards for higher-level teaching assistants. It said one of the aims of the standards was to 'provide confidence to head teachers that higher-level teaching assistants have the necessary skills, expertise and experience to take on a range of teaching and learning activities under the professional direction of a qualified teacher'.
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