Your correspondents from Varna Adult Education Centre ( Letters, 31 May 2002 ), commenting on proposalsnbsp;to change the roles of support staff, ask: Has anyone asked them?

The answer is: Yes. The East Midlands Association of Support Staff in Schools has carried out a survey of members’ views about Estelle Morris’s plans, which is soon to be published.

Meanwhile, I can tell your readers that the view here is clear. Many think support staff are already playing these new roles. To make them work more effectively they believe that the government needs to:

• Establish a national system of pay and conditions of service
• Define the various support roles more effectively - clarifying how they differ from, and overlap with, the roles of teachers
• Provide effective systems of initial training and continuing professional development
• Ensure that teachers are better trained in managing support personnel

• The research identified a number of other support staff concerns. The gender balance is highly skewed; only about half belong to a trade union; many do not undertake any professional reading or up-dating; most schools do not have the physical space to accommodate Miss Morris’s vision of increased numbers of adults in them.

  Nevertheless, commitment and morale remain high.

  Professor Trevor Kerry, Hon President
  East Midlands Association of Support Staff in Schools (EMASSS)
  15 Lady Bower Close
  North Hykeham
  Lincolnnbsp; LN6 8EX