Nursery World - Report on support staff is rubbished

The Government has distanced itself from a report produced by the Department for Education and Skills proposing that schools of the future employ only one teacher and use more support staff in the classroom. The document, Workforce reform - Blue Skies, was dated 11 November and circulated to all the unions that signed up to the workload agreement, which applies to schools in England and Wales. The report made the case for schools to be able to employ more support staff by cutting the number of teachers.

The document, Workforce reform - Blue Skies, was dated 11 November and circulated to all the unions that signed up to the workload agreement, which applies to schools in England and Wales. The report made the case for schools to be able to employ more support staff by cutting the number of teachers.

But a DfES spokesman described the paper as 'a load of rubbish' and said that it was 'not Government policy at all'. He added, 'This paper was produced by junior officials without the authority or knowledge of ministers. While much of it is merely a repetition of existing policy, it offers ideas as to future direction.

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