NEW recommendations on cutting classroom bureaucracy have been sent to all schools in Scotland.
The move comes in the wake of a follow-up report from a specialist group set up to tackle the issue which found some schools had not got to grips with the problem.
Teacher workload and stress have been a significant issue in the wake of the roll-out of the new Curriculum for Excellence reforms.
The new recommendations include a call for all schools to draw up an action plan to tackle bureaucracy with the best examples being highlighted by national quango Education Scotland.
Dr Alasdair Allan, the Minister for Learning and chair of the Curriculum for Excellence Working Group on Tackling Bureaucracy, said: "We have seen some successful examples of schools and local authorities implementing recommendations to address some of the problems our work has first identified.
"It is unacceptable that hard-working teachers should have to cope with pointless paperwork and that's why the Scottish Government and its partners are announcing another strong package of measures to tackle unnecessary bureaucracy."
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union, said: "There are many challenges still to be overcome relating to issues such as excessive forward planning, overly cumbersome assessment, unreliable and frustrating ICT planning and over-reliance on audits, but the signs are that progress is possible."
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, added: "There will be thousands of teachers pleased to see that the enormous pressures they faced in developing and implementing the new curriculum have been recognised, but this report must bring real practical changes."
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