Support staff fear for their futures in the shake-up of Oxford's middle schools.

People in non-teaching posts such as librarians and lab technicians have been told they will still have jobs but they may not end up working in schools.

Some furious workers say they may as well quit now, rather than end up in a job they do not want.

County councillors voted to scrap Oxford's middle schools in February and a final decision on changing to a two-tier system of primary and secondary schools will be taken next month. Teachers affected by the switch have been told their contracts should be in place by the start of the summer holidays, but support staff have been told they could end up working in libraries or even at the education department.

Jane Tavinor, a librarian at Isis Middle School, said: "It means we could end up working split shifts in different schools and in a job which does not have the same status. Support staff come into this job because we like working with children and we like working in a school environment. We all feel nobody is listening to us." But council education officer Tom Long said it was unlikely most of the 235 non-teaching staff affected by the shake-up would end up not working in schools but there might be cases where other council services, such as libraries, could require their skills.

He said: "I'm saddened that non-teaching staff are feeling distress at the moment and I would ask them to bear with us."