A new breed of 'super teachers' on more than £40,000 per year are being recruited to help struggling Bradford schools.

Education Bradford has increased the salary package on offer in a bid to attract four outstanding teachers from across the country.

The new posts, Associate Leading Primary Teachers, are said to be "a radical departure from the traditional model".

Teresa Whitfield, director of achievement at Education Bradford, said: "We hope to appoint four people with exceptional teaching skills. We will target them at schools identified by Ofsted as having weaknesses in the quality of teaching.

"They would go in to one school at a time and stay a whole term. It is more intensive than what we have seen before."

The 'super teachers' would be paid by Education Bradford but directed by the head teacher of the school they were placed in to help both teachers and pupils.

They would have the job of enhancing particular aspects of a school's teaching.

"We have advertised these posts before but not appointed. We have increased the salary which is now very generous," Ms Whitfield said.

Earlier, the posts were advertised at around £32,500 but now the advertisement boasts a salary package of "£40,000 plus excellent benefits".

"It's a significant jump because we need to get really high-quality calibre people with credibility across all age ranges in primary school. They will be coaching and role modelling best practice," Ms Whitfield said.

Her enthusiasm was not shared by teaching unions. Ian Davey, Bradford branch secretary for the NASUWT, said: "I think this is Serco spending money unwisely. They already have Consultant Heads and Advanced Skills Teachers - this could be undermining their role. It might be duplication. Will they be worth the £160,000?"

And Ian Murch, secretary of the Bradford branch of the National Union of Teachers, added: "The idea of a classroom expert advising people how to improve teaching is nothing new. It sounds like Advisory Teachers, and Bradford at one time employed quite large numbers of them."