EDUCATION boss Mike Appleyard said no Bucks school is on a four day week or thinking about going on to one.

However Cllr Appleyard, Buckinghamshire County Council cabinet member for schools, said there were problems with recruiting and keeping teachers, especially in schools in difficult areas.

There have been reports nationally that schools in the south east are so short of staff that they are sending children home on one day of the week.

But on Monday Cllr Appleyard said he had been told by by his schools' general manager that it wasn't the case in Bucks.

He said: "That isn't to say there are no problems.

"All we are saying is that schools are coping - with difficulty."

Staffing problems exist in both primary and secondary schools, in deprived areas such as Micklefield, Cressex, Castlefield and Hatters Lane.

Cllr Appleyard said everyone accepted that it was harder in these areas and money needed to go in to help the children achieve discipline from an early stage.

He said: "We are saying that in this sort of school they have to have more money for more staff."

Last year the county council targeted £1 million to schools with problems, and the figure would be £3 million in the coming year, said Cllr Appleyard.

County council cabinet member Mark Taylor said at Monday's meeting that finding staff was one of the biggest issues he faced, as the man responsible for resources.

He said: "With unemployment so low, it is fatuous to say we shall get a big influx of people to fill vacancies."

The council is looking at ways of getting the work done with fewer people.

Cllr Taylor said: "That doesn't mean getting people to work 20 hours a day, but finding new methods.

"Are we doing things as efficiently as we can?

"In some cases, should we be doing the work at all?"