26 April 2002
The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers said there was widespread unease about the government's plan to expand the role of classroom assistants, unveiled by Education Secretary Estelle Morris last year.
McAvoy expressed fears that assistants would be expected to cover for absent teachers, and take classes to give teaching staff non-contact time: 'Teachers are deeply suspicious of the government agenda…The use of teaching assistants is not a solution to the problem of teacher shortages.'
The NUT leader's comments were a pre-emptive strike before the School Teachers' Review Body delivers its final report on teachers' workloads next week.
Its recommendations will be the culmination of a review launched a year ago, when staff protested against shortages that they claimed were leading to excessive workloads.
McAvoy's comments came at the launch of an NUT survey testing the opinions of almost 4,000 members on assistants.
While 80% supported the use of assistants, almost 90% rejected the suggestion they should cover teacher absences. Just over 40% opposed assistants being used to supervise work set by a qualified teacher.
NUT members also agreed that, far from cutting workloads, assistants increased it. Almost 35% said they led to more management responsibilities, and a further 23% said having an assistant took more lesson planning.
Estelle Morris said: 'More support staff means teachers can spend more of their time teaching and more time with each pupil.'
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