The plan is to constantly monitor a pupil's progress

The EIS union said individual learning schemes for pupils could result in an unworkable bureaucratic burden.

Personal Learning Plans (PLP) have been launched to offer children education tailored to each individual.

However, a Scottish Executive spokeswoman rejected the union's claims about red tape.

Under PLP, teachers and pupils routinely record the children's progress in a document over the course of the year.

The plans, which are to be rolled out across the country, are seen as a way of motivating pupils and of monitoring their progress.

Personal Learning Planning cannot be about the creation of paper trails George MacBride EIS

The EIS said the plans were good in principle.

However, it said in too many parts of the country they were in danger of turning into one big paper trail, reducing the time for teaching.

The union said councils should follow the example of Scottish Borders in taking teacher advice to make the plans meaningful.

The convener of the EIS education committee, George MacBride, said: "Personal Learning Planning cannot be about the creation of paper trails, nor can it be about writing and filing pages of notes about every pupil in the class or setting a myriad of targets for each child to achieve on a monthly basis.

"Such approaches lead to teachers' time being spent on administrative tasks of little worth, and take away time from planning, teaching and evaluation."

This is not about additional bureaucracy Scottish Executive spokeswoman

Mr MacBride said that teachers in many areas of the country had reported that the PLP process meant a constantly updated pupil report, which was a "big bureaucratic burden" and reduced the time available for teaching.

He said that consultation between teachers, school management and the education authority was vital if agreement was to be reached on a workable and effective approach to PLP.

However, the executive spokeswoman said: "Personal Learning Planning is a planning process, not a piece of paper.

"It's designed to help pupils, parents and teachers discuss learning and prepare for the future.

"There is no central model for PLP. Individual schools will have their own processes but this is not about additional bureaucracy."