The National Union of Teachers has advised its members to take a range of non-strike action if headteachers do not interpret the guidelines to their liking.

This includes refusing to chase up absent pupils, process examination marks, rewrite policy statements for imminent inspections, or carry out tasks such as writing letters and bulk photocopying.

The rival National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers is already taking similar action.

Sticking point

The Department for Education and Employment decided to issue its draft circular on reducing classroom bureaucracy after talks with teaching unions broke down in May.

A key sticking point was the number of after-school meetings that teachers would be expected to attend.

This issue is left open in the circular, which advises that the "quality and frequency of meetings should be regularly reviewed", so the National Union of Teachers has advised members to take industrial action if they are called on by headteachers to attend more than one meeting per week.

Doug McAvoy: school-by-school approach

The circular also suggests that school documents should be kept short, pupil reports should be concise, and that clerical support should be employed for routine tasks.

Doug McAvoy, the union's general secretary, said: "Industrial action will be taken on a school-by-school basis.

"If the circular is interpreted to mean there should be no more than one after-school meeting a week, no action will take place in that particular school. It is up to individual heads."

The unions have said their boycott of paperwork and other tasks will not affect children's education, but the Education Secretary, David Blunkett, takes the opposite view.

'Real and practical effect'

As the circular was launched on Monday, Mr Blunkett said, "Teachers should be able to concentrate on pupils' work not paperwork.

"Today's announcements will have a real and practical effect which should be widely welcomed in schools throughout the country.