FOOTBALL coaches will be taking over in Teesside classrooms to give teachers time to plan lessons.

A Government scheme sets out that teachers are given half a day a week away from classes for planning, preparation and assessments.

Schools were left with determing how to fill the gap.

Now, Middlesbrough Football Club's Community Project has stepped in, with coaching sessions at 18 primary schools.

The programme, which will also teach youngsters about health and fitness, has not been welcomed by all teaching unions, with one claiming it is providing cover on the cheap.

But Rob Lake, manager of the project for Middlesbrough FC, said: "We see it as a great way for us to improve health and fitness and of getting the kids motivated to do physical activity."

The club hopes to involve more schools and increase the time spent in class.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, described it as an 'historic development', but a spokesman for the National Association of Headteachers said insufficient funding had been made available to provide cover for classes.