Teaching unions in the North today made an impassioned plea for politicians to broker a deal to end the confusion over the future of education.

The Ulster Teachers Union has teamed up with the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities to lead the fight against racism in the North's schools, it was announced today.

There is a “disaster waiting to happen” in school classrooms because of teachers being expected to administer medication to special needs children, the UK government was warned today by the head of a leading teaching union.