TEACHERS across East Lancashire have been told to stop cutting, pasting and photocopying to make time for more teaching.

From last week, schools began phasing in a new three-year workload agreement aimed at taking administrative tasks away from teachers.

But already it is unravelling as councillors, parent governors and teachers warn that the new rules covering teachers' responsibilities are causing confusion.

Canon Peter Ballard, director of education for the Church of England's Blackburn diocese, said the LEA should have stood up to the government by rejecting the policy.

Teachers are no longer required by law to "regularly" carry out tasks such as bulk photocopying, chasing absent pupils, processing exam results, ordering supplies and collating pupil reports.

The 20 or so tasks were laid out in the Raising Standards And Tackling Workload national agreement, published in January.

Speaking at a Blackburn with Darwen overview and scrutiny meeting, Canon Ballard said: "We have to stand up against this at LEA level and I think it is a cop out to say that the Government has told us to do it so we must follow.

"If LEAs don't do something then teachers will be out of jobs. Who else is going to stand up to them if we don't."

Coun Robin Evans warned the committee that the strategy was about filling East Lancashire schools with "administrators instead of teachers."

"I send my son to school to be taught," he said. "What is happening is money that could be sent on a teacher is being spent on someone to do paperwork."

But Ian Kendrick, Blackburn with Darwen council's assistant director of education, said that through sharing best practice and adapting the rules for each schools, the plans could be a success.

"Teachers will work through this to make it suit them and schools will find a way of making it work. The aim is to maximise the amount of time teachers spend teaching pupils in class.

"There will be more of a blend between who does what between the roles of assistants, secretarial staff and teachers."

The National Union of Teachers boycotted the agreement over fears that it would see unqualified teachers being left to run classes but supports the removal of administrative tasks from teachers.

Simon Jones, national executive member for the NUT, said: "The tasks have been enshrined in teachers pay and condition contracts so they now have the full force of the law behind them and applies to all teachers. The problem is the government is not funding it properly."