Delegates at the National Association of Head Teachers conference in Eastbourne backed a motion attacking the new career grade of Advanced Skills Teacher as "fundamentally flawed".

The government intends to introduce Advanced Skills Teachers, who will be paid up to £40,000 a year, in September 1998.

But critics within the profession have said this will cut across existing pay differentials and create divisions within schools.

The Association's national salaries officer, Kerry George, said the proposals were not acceptable in their current form.

"The option is going to be available to a very small number of teachers, and the kind of work they are intended to do is already done by headteachers and deputy heads," she said.

David Blunkett: "Excellent classroom teachers could earn up to £40,000"

Teachers looking to develop their careers often consider becoming head and deputy headteachers, but these roles have become far more managerial in recent years as power has been devolved to schools.

The new grade of Advanced Skills Teacher is seen as a way of rewarding experienced teachers for continuing using their skills to directly benefit pupils.

The Education Secretary, David Blunkett, has described the proposal as "imaginative".

"The introduction of Advanced Skills Teachers shows our commitment to rewarding the very best teachers and encouraging the brightest graduates to consider teaching as a career," he said earlier this year.

"The very best classroom teachers will now have a career option to remain in classroom teaching rather than having to take up management posts."