Moves to cut down on the use of external experts in schools have been branded a "slap in the face" for new Local Government Minister Derek Mackay.

But Education Secretary Mike Russell denied the accusation made by Labour MSP Neil Bibby.

The charge was levelled after Mr Russell announced he is "explicitly ruling out the model proposed by Renfrewshire Council" on the use of outside experts, such as sports coaches or business figures, who are sometimes brought into classrooms.

The proposal for greater use of such specialists was put forward when Mr Mackay, who became an MSP in the 2011 election, was leader of the local authority.

It led to hundreds of parents attending a rally against the plan, while the matter was also raised in the Scottish Parliament.

On Thursday Mr Russell announced that Education Scotland is to consider the arrangements for schools.

He stressed that the role of teachers should not be diminished by the use of such experts.

The Education Secretary said: "To be clear, this work is not about replacing teachers or diluting their position at the centre of learning. Teaching should be done by teachers. Nor is it about finding ways in which savings could be made from local authority budgets. Indeed, I am explicitly ruling out the model proposed by Renfrewshire Council, or variants on it."

Mr Bibby said he welcomed Mr Russell ruling out "the model adopted by Renfrewshire Council to replace teachers with unqualified staff for 10% of the school week".

But he claimed the Education Secretary's remarks are "a real slap in the face for Renfrewshire Council and the council leader that tried to introduce it".

Mr Russell told him: "I don't think it's a slap in the face at all. I think you don't make any progress in life unless you come up with ideas and discuss them. They either go forward or they are rejected."

The Education Secretary also announced plans to bring in a masters degree in teaching, with the new qualification to replace the existing chartered teachers scheme.

By December last year 1385 teachers had achieved the standard for this higher-level qualification, with 2935 teachers working towards it.

But a review of teaching recommended the chartered teachers scheme be abolished.

Mr Russell said: "There are many excellent chartered teachers in schools across Scotland but I am not convinced that the chartered teacher scheme remains the best model to provide the teaching profession with opportunities to improve and develop.

"We should aspire to a vision of teaching as a masters level profession."

He told Holyrood that he expected a new teacher's agreement by April 2013, which would allow any new arrangements to be in place for the school year starting in August of that year.

The review, chaired by Professor Gerry McCormac, also called for a new system of professional review and personal development. While Mr Russell said there are "many issues to consider in developing these proposals" he welcomed such an approach, saying the current system for professional review and development is "inconsistently applied across the country"

Labour education spokesman Hugh Henry welcomed the rejection of the Renfrewshire Council model, but said the McCormac Review "will help to destabilise and demoralise the teaching profession".

He said: "It is a charter for cost cutting by managers and is an academic fig leaf to allow the SNP Government to facilitate budget cuts across Scotland. This builds on previous education betrayals by the SNP, including the pledge to cut class sizes and the pledge to maintain teacher numbers."