During my 18 years as a teacher I became increasingly aware of the great contribution support staff make to the work of the classroom. They free teachers to do what they do best - teach. That is why we are planning to increase the number of support staff by 20,000 in this Parliament, adding to the 186,000 who are already making a massive impact in our schools. They are not being hired to replace teachers but to help them.

This Government is determined to raise the status of the teaching profession. And if we consider the teacher as a professional, working to provide a vital service to the nation, it is clear that he or she cannot work alone. Nobody expects a hospital consultant to go into the operating theatre without support. Surgeons need anaesthetists, nurses, junior doctors - all professionals, all valued members of a team, and each with a particular job to do.

Schools are driving forward our reforms, and the way we think about teachers must change if we are to deliver the high-quality, individualised learning that will be essential in the 21st century. Providing a modern education system tailored to children’s needs inevitably means using staff flexibly and imaginatively, playing to their strengths and daring to challenge the accepted view of what a teacher does.

Many assistants are highly qualified. And we want to provide more and better training, as part of a drive to improve the status of education professionals.

But an assistant’s job is to assist, not to replace. We need to make changes in the law and school practice to enable teachers to focus on the essentials of the job. Assistants should share the very necessary work of, for example, invigilation, lunchtime supervision, and helping primary pupils with reading. There is no reason why a teaching assistant could not supervise a class where the teacher has already set work for the pupils. This in turn will allow teachers to spend more time on teaching, lesson preparation, assessing pupil progress, and updating their skills. Schools will be able to deploy staff where their skills can be put to best effect. This is essential if we are to raise standards.

Professional anxiety about para-professionals is not new. Today’s debate in education has already happened in medicine and the law. Para-professionals should not threaten qualified teachers; rather they offer the chance for deeper professionalism. That’s also why we are supporting more professional development - such as in-service training - both for teachers and those who support them.

Schools are changing. Virtually all are connected to the Internet - computers are improving lessons and reducing administrative burdens. If standards are to continue to improve, we must make the most of new technology. It is more than an optional extra: used well, it can support new, more flexible ways of teaching and learning, where pupils have their talents and potential enhanced.

Change poses new challenges for heads too. They will also want to ensure they are acknowledging excellence in their pay and performance arrangements. Bursars (sometimes part-time) will increasingly manage budgets. And schools will work more with universities, colleges and business to share or exchange staff to everybody’s benefit.

Management change should go further, including looking afresh at class organisation. Some secondaries opt for three-hour lessons (with breaks) rather than a disjointed series of 40-minute lessons. This keeps pupils focused and can support more non-contact time too. It also means everybody making sure that every paper-based task or meeting asked of teachers is essential and done as efficiently as possible.

I want teachers to have the status they deserve. But this is a two-way process. It means we all need to be open to change in our schools. It needs imagination from everybody in schools - heads, teachers and support staff.

On our part, we need to continue making the investment and providing the freedoms to allow that to happen. We will make a start with our education Bill.

My vision is one where every pupil can say “I have a good teacher”, and increasing numbers of talented graduates want to become teachers; one where more teachers say “I enjoy my job”; where teachers spend more time on what helps pupils to learn - confident about what works well and why; and where teachers have a better work-life balance too.

I know we can make progress together in the years ahead - to the benefit of pupils, teachers and the nation as a whole. In the process, I hope we value everybody in our schools who contributes to that success.

Opinion, 19; Letters, 20

Estelle Morris is Secretary of State for Education and Skills