The purpose of this paper is to report on some of the changes that have taken place in the working conditions of English primary school teachers following a national agreement governing the working conditions of teachers. The article is based on two sets of teacher interviews: the first set having been conducted in 2002 before the national agreement came into operation; and the second set taking place 4 years after its implementation in the same schools. The most significant change since the first survey has been the increase in the use of teaching assistants to undertake various duties. However, despite the reform, the time given to parents and dealing with pupils' problems as well as the teachers' workloads have increased.