New inquiry: Attracting, training and retaining the best teachers

The Education Committee is announcing an inquiry into attracting, training and retaining the best teachers.

Written submissions are invited, addressing the following points:

• what evidence is available to help identify the sorts of applicants who become the most effective teachers, and the strategies known to be effective in attracting these applicants;
• whether particular routes into teaching are more likely to attract high quality trainees, and whether the Government’s proposed changes to initial teacher training will help to recruit these trainees;
• what evidence is available about the type of training which produces the most effective teachers and whether the Government’s proposed changes to initial teacher training, particularly the focus on more school-led training, will help to increase the number of good teachers in our schools;
• how best to assess and reward good teachers and whether the Government’s draft revised standards for teachers are a helpful tool;
• what contribution professional development makes to the retention of good teachers;
• how to ensure that good teachers are retained where they are most needed, particularly in schools in challenging circumstances.

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines below by midday on Wednesday 12 October 2011.

Further information 

Please note A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to educom@parliament.uk and marked “Attracting, training and retaining the best teachers inquiry”. The Committee’s strong preference is for submissions in electronic form, although hard copy originals will be accepted. Submissions should be sent to:

Kathryn Smith
Committee Assistant
Education Select Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA

Each submission should:

• be no more than 3,000 words in length;
• have numbered paragraphs; and
• (if in electronic form) be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible.

For Data Protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals submitting written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. A guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website at: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/witnessguide.pdf

Please also note that:

• Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, although not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
• The Committee does not normally investigate individual cases.