Teaching deal will lead to classes of 60 pupils
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Your support makes all the difference.Children are likely to be taught in doubled-up classes of up to 60 pupils because of a £1bn programme to allow teachers more time off for marking and preparation.
Under the deal, signed by five teachers' unions with the Government, one teacher could be put in charge of the two classes with the support of one or more classroom assistants.
Britain's biggest teachers' union, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) – which has refused to sign the deal – claimed that it would lead to pupils being taught in classes of 60 – double the maximum of 30 for those aged seven to 11.
In a letter to Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education, Doug McAvoy, the NUT general secretary, demanded the removal of the clause. He said the union "cannot accept increased class sizes as a consequence of the introduction of guaranteed planning, preparation and assessment" time for teachers, adding it was a return "to the Victorian era".
Sources at the Department for Education and Skills said the doubling-up was only likely for lessons such as physical education. and drama. "The phantom being dreamt up here really should not be allowed to derail this agreement," David Miliband, the School Standards minister, said.
The clause is just one part of a deal described as historic by ministers and teachers' unions. It was also signed by unions representing classroom assistants and local education authority employers yesterday.
The package includes a pledge to hire 10,000 more teachers by 2006. Other vital elements include the introduction in September of an agreement releasing teachers from 24 administrative tasks, including invigilating exams and collecting lunch money. A limit on the hours spent covering the lessons of absent colleagues will be introduced by 2004, and teachers will be given more time for marking and preparation in school hours.
Mr Clarke said the agreement represented "a good deal for everyone", adding: "It will free teachers to spend more of their time on teaching and to focus on the individual learning needs of all their pupils."
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