Teachers are to be given additional help with secretarial and administrative tasks under plans outlined by the government today.

Ministers plan to recruit an extra 50,000 classroom assistants, who will also be offered further training to allow them to deputise qualified teachers, by taking classes and supervising lessons.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gerald Imison, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told ePolitix.com: "These proposals are absolutely fundamental to teachers and will be very carefully scrutinised to see whether they enhance the role and status of teachers in their schools and communities or whether they are a quick fix to buy off overworked teachers.

"ATL members are already asking whether this is a backdoor solution to teacher recruitment problems. The challenge for the government is to show that it is a genuine attempt to build teams of professionals in schools and it can only do this by ensuring that it redoubles its efforts to fill teacher vacancies and adds more teachers on top.

"If it really is 'Time for Standards', then the government must put teachers in sufficient numbers, firmly at the centre of these teams. It is teachers who will be crucial in raising standards.

"The '25 tasks' are not new and teachers are questioning why it has taken so long to get this far. The proposals are on target and are straightforward so why will some schools have to wait for nearly three years? More urgent action is vital.

"Restrictions will be broadly welcomed, although the delay in implementation is once again, questionable.

"ATL notes that the government will lead a campaign to bring down excessive teacher hours. A campaign against whom? The solution is in its own hands.

"Sufficient teachers supported by sufficient other non-teacher adults all protected by contracts, providing a worthwhile, well remunerated career structure working in well-led and well managed schools. The answer is in the hands of the government itself.

"ATL has long argued guaranteed that non-contact time is essential for all teachers, but particularly those in primary schools. This is only of real value, however, within the context of the overall working time of teachers.

"There is no point in guaranteeing this if it pushes up the number of hours teachers work outside school. The problem yet again is that this does nothing new for the overworked, overtired teacher in the classroom now.

"We welcome the proposals to make work/life balance contractual. It will want early discussions to take this forward.

"Once again, there is the promise of jam tomorrow, but this time we can taste the flavour. ATL would give [schools minister] David Miliband, seven out of ten so far. The devil is in the detail and there are crucial discussions yet to come before we can say the teacher workload problem has been solved."

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

Doug McAvoy, general secretary for the NUT, told ePolitix.com: "Teachers will be hugely disappointed by today's limited package on workload reduction. They will contrast the government's offer with the experience of teachers in Scotland where, for 15 months, there has been an overall limit of 35 hours on working time.

"The pressing need is to reduce the excessive workload which is driving teachers out of the profession. Yet the government ignores this and announces measures which are too little and too late.

"I welcome the fact that the government is proposing guaranteed marking and preparation time but already it seeks to take back an hour a week to cover for absent colleagues. Without an overall limit on working time, a limit on teaching time and class sizes, and no lengthening of the school day, the government will be free to claw back more.

"The concept of a work/life balance has been enthusiastically promoted by government but it cannot bring itself to include that in teachers' contracts.

"Teaching assistants provide vital support in classrooms but they are not teachers. Teaching classes needs all the skills of qualified teachers. Parents will have a ready answer if asked whether they want unqualified assistants or qualified teachers teaching their children.

"The government is asking the theatre sister to take over the brain surgery. Parents will not accept such a proposal.

"The government is threatening to withhold the much hyped Brown investment in education if the unions do not agree to its scheme. The NUT will not be bullied into accepting changes which are not supportive of standards and which do not promote the interests of our children and teachers.

"The NUT's opposition will be understood and supported by parents and all teachers."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Jean Gemmell, general secretary of PAT, told ePolitix.com: "These reform proposals represent a major step forward in reducing teachers' workload and promoting a whole team approach of professionals working together in the classroom. There seem to be real opportunities here for reform of the teachers' contract to tackle the workload issue.

"We welcome the proposed limits on teachers' working hours, cuts in bureaucracy and the guaranteed time for planning, preparation and assessment.

"At the moment, teachers are working excessively long hours and have to do much of their non-teaching work in their own time. We have long been calling for a limit in the number of hours in which teachers can be expected to carry out other duties, and limits to the duties expected of teachers.

"However, there needs to be a cautious approach to any changes to teachers' contracts. These must be negotiated carefully and not rushed through.

"We also welcome the proposed increase in the number of support staff. Tasks, such as photocopying and filing, that have traditionally been carried out by teachers, but are a poor use of their time, can be undertaken more appropriately by support staff.

"We are particularly pleased by the greater involvement of teaching assistants, although they must support - not replace - teachers. Many of those already in post are highly skilled and completing their tasks effectively.

"We welcome the fact that the new 'professional grade of teaching assistant' will be 'trained', but need to study the detail of how this will work in practice. Training is essential and must go hand-in-hand with a proper salary structure - as teachers have.

"There needs to be a national pay scale for teaching assistants or firm government guidance on this. Some LEAs have already taken action towards implementing pay scales for support staff, but many lag behind."

Department for Education and Skills Response

A DfES spokesman told ePolitix.com: "We make no apologies for the need to reform the workforce. It is essential if we are to help teachers focus on what really matters most - the education of pupils.

"There are the highest number of teachers for 20 years in our schools. We are not suggesting replacing them, but they must be free to focus on teaching. The only way we can do this is to provide them with the right level of support. Support for administrative and other basic tasks. But also support in the classroom, working with children.

"There have been productive discussions on these issues between David Miliband and the unions and employers in the past few weeks. We have made good progress and will seek final agreement over the next few weeks."