A letter from the Training Development Agency for Schools revealed that the budget for training Higher Level Teaching Assistants has been cancelled from September.
The letter states that the 'financial challenges facing the public sector have been considerable' and says, 'the support staff training and qualifications grant, formerly used to support Higher Level Teaching Assistants training and assessments, will not be funded by the LA grant in 2010.'
It goes on to say that those who started their training in 2009 and who will finish in 2010 will have been accounted for by the LA and so they will not be affected.
Christine McAnea, head of education at public services union Unison, said, 'The Government is playing fast and loose with children's educational needs.
'There is a clear need for more teaching assistants to be trained to a higher level. Earlier this month, a Unison survey revealed that all too often teaching assistants are being called on to cover for absent teachers without enough training.
'It is simply not fair on the staff or the children that only 27 per cent had the HLTA training they need to cover for teachers on a short-term basis.
'By cutting 100 per cent of the funds available for training teaching assistants, the Government will only make matters worse.'
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, said, 'We have enormous sympathy for the position HLTAs find themselves in. Teaching assistants are being sold a confused role and say themselves they are being exploited. The sins of the Workforce Agreement are being visited on teaching assistants, who deserve better than having their training grants cut. Their role was never clarified under the last Government and this position is now being exploited by this Government.'
