The news comes after strike threats from teaching assistants elsewhere over pay, particularly the fact that they earn nothing during school holidays. Education Secretary Estelle Morris was confronted by demonstrators at last week’s North of England education conference in Huddersfield.

She has refused to intervene as pay and conditions are subject to local agreements with education authorities, and are no longer agreed nationally. But some teaching assistants are paid as little as pound;5 an hour, according to unions. The Government’s commitment to employing more assistants and giving them more responsibilities to ease teacher workload will only add to the pressure to pay them properly, they say.

The landmark deal in Nottinghamshire has established a three-grade structure for teaching assistants, with higher rates for those with qualifications. The top end of the highest scale is pound;18,417 compared with the pound;17,001 starting salary for NQTs with a second class degree or better.

The county council is recommending the deal and new grading structure to schools. However, its implementation depends on school finances.

Vicki Corden, joint Unison education convener in the county and herself a teaching assistant, said only one school had so far claimed it could not afford to implement the changes. She said the union would challenge schools that failed to regrade, and expects all regraded staff will receive a pay increase - with a few gaining as much as pound;3,500.

“The nature of the job has changed dramatically; there’s far more responsibility and far more need for teaching assistants in schools,” she said.

Mike Scott, Unison branch organiser for Nottinghamshire, believes it is the best deal in the country for teaching assistants and hopes teachers won’t resent the pay increase.

A spokesman for the county council said there were around 2,750 assistants in its schools, equivalent to 1,500 full-time posts. It expects only a handful of assistants to reach the top pay point.