The remodelling of education means that teachers should now be regarded as the "manager of the classroom", a teaching union chief says today.

In an ePolitix interview, the Professional Association of Teachers general secretary, Jean Gemmell, argues that with a greater role in schools for classroom assistants and nursery nurses, teachers are increasingly managing the work of others.

"The work in schools needs to be tackled by a whole team of people, not just teachers," she told this website.

Speaking in advance of PAT's conference next week, Gemmell welcomes the new approach.

"I think that that is indeed the way forward and certainly one of the topics in my speech next week will pick that up," she said.

But the union chief recognises that some in her profession will find the team concept challenging.

"It isn't an easy change and it will be a change that some teachers find difficult in practice, even if in theory they can see the benefit of it, because it does involve completely new ways of working and new attitudes as to how schools deploy their staff," she acknowledges.

"It is a radical re-look at things and is certainly in line with what this union has been advocating but I'm not foolish enough not to realise it needs a lot of work and is quite challenging."