Teacher strike threat over class helpers

The Government faces a mounting threat of industrial action over its plans to employ more teaching assistants in schools.

Ministers have pledged to recruit thousands more

assistants to help teachers in the classroom. The policy is one of the keys to its strategy to offer children lessons more suited to their individual needs, and to reduce the workload of teachers.

But now it faces a double threat as the biggest teaching union, the National Union of Teachers, is warning its members-will strike if assistants-take teachers' jobs. At the same time, the two other classroom teaching unions - ATL and the NASUWT - are threatening industrial action for precisely the opposite reason; that not enough assistants are being recruited.

Education minister Stephen Twigg will face anger from members of the traditionally most moderate union, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, when he speaks at its conference in Bournemouth today.

Delegates at the ATL conference will today vote on a move to ballot members on industrial action "where funding is a clear barrier to implementing contractual changes".

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said today: "Our members will not ease the pressure on the Government."