DENISE Smolinski is proud to be part of 'The Mums' Army'. "After all, mums are a great resource," she said.

The controversial tag has haunted teaching assistants like Denise since Education Secretary Estelle Morris pitched them into the spotlight when she announced ambitious plans to give them a role at the front of the classroom.

The Government's big idea is aimed at relieving the pressure on overloaded teachers, and last week the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers rekindled the phrase in a report which acknowledged that the controversial plan could actually spawn benefits for their members.

Denise has been a teaching assistant at Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Lynwood Road, Blackburn, since September.

New teaching assistants undergo an initial intensive four-day training course and ongoing tuition.

For instance, literacy hour is now a well-established part of the day at Sacred Heart and Denise has a key role in Year Two alongside teacher Anne Tattersall.

Denise will deliver a highly-structured lesson which Anne has planned to a group of five six-year-olds while Anne teaches the other 24. "We're even given the exact time to spend on each part of the lesson," Denise said.

Anne added: "It's all about building a good relationship with the teaching assistant. They're highly-trained these days and it can be very positive. We're a professional unit."

The training ranges from what is involved in literacy and numeracy teaching to pupil behaviour. "But it's made clear to us that dealing with pupils who might be misbehaving is the teacher's responsibility," Denise said. Sacred Heart is set in a sea of bright, neat garden terraces in Blackburn where the demography is changing rapidly. Children of upwardly-mobile Asian heritage parents have moved into the area in increasing numbers and when they arrive at Sacred Heart another teaching assistant, Fareeda Saddique, comes into her own.

She hails from Blackburn but speaks Punjabi, Urdu and Gujerati, and it helps to make nervous five-year-olds feel immediately at home.

Denise's own eight-year-old son George is a Year Three pupil at the school. Anne said: "Someone like Denise not only has experience of dealing with children because she is a mum, but she also has a vested interest in the school and its success."

Both have just one gripe about the system. Anne said: "It definitely isn't a well-paid job." In fact, nationally the pay for teaching assistants is about £5 an hour. Denise officially works 9am to noon each day -- but often performs extra preparation at home. "But I love the job and going to work," she said. "When you see a child improving it's very rewarding."

And headteacher Paul Heaton added: "People like Denise are like gold-dust."