EDUCATION chiefs have warned that school children in Bolton may have to be sent home if industrial action by two of the country's largest teaching unions spreads to the borough.

More than half a million pupils in Greater London are facing the prospect of a four day week after the NUT and NASUWT voted to a work to rule policy over staff shortages this week.

And NUT officials based in Bolton have revealed that they have received their first request to ballot for industrial action by a Bolton school.

In London and Doncaster the two unions have voted to refuse to cover for unfilled posts or absences by their colleagues for more than three days.

And they are calling on the Government to take action over the deepening crisis of staff shortages that face the profession as a matter of urgency.

NUT regional spokesman Richard Palfreyman, based in Bolton, said they had received one request from a Bolton school but refused to name the school.

He added that one school in Rochdale had also made the request and the entire complement of schools in Oldham Local Education Authority had also requested a ballot.

Mr Palfreyman said that nationally, teachers were being continually asked to cover for missing colleagues with a lack of supply teachers adding to the problem.

In some examples he said teachers were being forced to cover as many as four classes at the same time.

"We want to see our schools improve and do we are trying to highlight how serious the deficiency in teaching staff is," he said. "In London there are as many as 10,000 unfilled teaching posts. The Government seems to think that providing supply teachers is the answer but the vacancies are still there, it is only a temporary solution."

Mr Palfreyman pointed to the failure to attract more new teachers into the profession as one of the root causes.

Shortages

"We are seeing shortages across the board," he said. "Even in subject where historically there was a surplus of teachers such as English, there is now a shortfall.

"There are many enthusiastic young people who want to join the profession but are being put off by such things as the pay when they realise they could be earning thousands more in the private sector."

He added: "The prospect of a four day is a reality but surely four days of good teaching is better than having a fifth where the children learn nothing because of the shortages."

Concern has been raised nationally that the industrial action could affect pupils studying in the run-up to A-Levels, GCSEs and national tests.

Mr Palfreyman said: "The ballot process takes about four weeks and we will not see any developments in Bolton before Easter."

But Bolton LEA personnel manager said the revelation that a Bolton school had asked for a ballot was a "new development".

He said: "If the action were to escalate in Bolton then we could be looking at the scenario where children are sent home but we have to stress that this would be a worse case scenario. There is a teaching shortage in the North-west but it is not nearly as critical as it is in London. We will be keeping a watchful eye on how the situation unfolds in London and developing our contingency plans from there."