To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will undertake an investigation of the arrangements for training teachers for the purpose of raising the standard of teaching in schools.

holding answer 12 July 2010

The Department is already investigating a number of proposals that will improve the training of teachers so that standards of teaching are raised in schools. It is the Government's ambition to improve the prestige of the profession so that it attracts the highest quality entrants and to base more initial teacher training in schools so that trainees spend as much time in the classroom as possible, learning from the best teachers. For example, the Secretary of State has already announced plans to expand the successful Teach First scheme so that more schools, including for the first time primary schools, may benefit from the talents of the country's best graduates.