Firebug teacher Amina Ditta should not be banned for life from the classroom, her union rep insisted today.

NASUWT branch secretary Ian Davey said he believed she should be kept out for several years and then have her case looked at again.

Mr Davey said today: "I think she should be given a term of say five years when she is not allowed to teach but after that time, the situation should be reviewed."

Ditta was supported by the union throughout her case.

But under current rules it is unlikely Ditta will ever be able to teach again in a state school.

As teaching is a 'notifiable profession', details of Ditta's conviction will be passed by police to the Department for Education and Skills and she will be entered on 'List 99' - people banned from working with children and vulnerable adults.

A spokesman for the General Teaching Council, which has the power to 'strike off' unsuitable teachers for misconduct, added: "If someone is banned by the DfES they are automatically de-registered with us."

Counsellors helped the traumatised staff

Trained counsellors were drafted in to help traumatised staff after the wave of arson attacks at Atlas Primary School.

The spate of fires at the inner city school at Lincoln Close, Manningham caused £40,000 worth of damage.

Classes were cancelled after the school shut for a day and a half at the height of the crisis in order for security to be increased.

And the wrecking of the temporary classroom meant a class of children had to be temporarily accommodated at nearby Green Lane Primary.

But worse than the physical damage and the disruption was the terrible anxiety created in a school community under siege.

The episode was a two-week nightmare for teachers. What made the Atlas attacks so frightening was that they took place during the school day.

Head teacher Beryl Powell today spoke of the trauma faced by staff, pupils and parents. She said the hardest part was explaining to the children that one of their own teachers had been arrested on suspicion of starting the fire.

Because Ditta was suspended, her class was transferred to Green Lane school, which lent a classroom and the services of an experienced teacher.

"Talking to the children was the hardest thing," Mrs Powell said. "We want them to respect teachers - that's what we tell them, that's what we're about.

"Obviously it upset everybody, and I know some of the staff were very anxious, and at one point were wondering whether to come into school or not, because they were so worried about the children's safety and their own personal safety."

She added: "People from the Council's counselling service came in to talk to staff and offer counselling where necessary.''