Ask people what they think of their child’s teacher and you will generally hear nothing but praise. Ask them what they think of teaching as a profession and opinions can become more diverse.
In a recent international study, only a quarter of people in Britain said they would encourage their child to become a teacher. The equivalent figure in China was 50%. There may be many reasons for this, but it is telling that in China the majority said they think of teachers as being most closely comparable with doctors. Fewer than 5% of people in the UK said the same.
We want this to change. More of our brightest and our best are now choosing to go into teaching and to pass on their passion to the next generation. We have more graduates from top universities choosing teaching than ever before.
But we must do more. We are currently analysing the results of one of the largest-ever consultations of teachers, the Workload Challenge, to develop a plan to reduce burdens on teachers still further and allow them to focus more on what really matters. Now we want to help teachers shape the future of their profession, too.
Many in the profession have talked of the need for a college of teaching over the years. Yet such a professional body still does not exist. Teaching is almost unique among professions in lacking such an organisation. This is an idea whose time has come.
Government must not seek to control such a body. But we can do more to make the vision a reality.
So on Tuesday we are announcing our support for the creation of a new, independent college of teaching that can drive the profession forwards, helping to put it on an equal footing with other high-status professions such as medicine and law.
This new body will allow teachers, like other professionals, to set their own high standards for their members; to take a lead in improving the profession’s skills and abilities, and to champion higher standards for children.
It is crucial that this body should be created and led by teachers, but government can help things along, and we will do all we can to ensure a new college of teaching can open its doors within the next couple of years.
But to take the profession to the level it deserves, we must also see a revolution in the scale and quality of development opportunities available to teachers. So, alongside this new body, we are establishing a fund to provide more high-quality, evidence-based professional development, led by a network of more than 600 outstanding teaching schools.
We want more teachers to be able to access the kind of first-class training and opportunities offered to teachers in other high-performing schools systems around the world.
In recent years, we’ve seen the start of a culture change, transforming teaching into a more evidence-led profession – something we wholeheartedly support. But too often teachers tell us that, despite pockets of excellent practice in schools, the professional development they receive is poor quality and does little to help them improve their practice.
Excellent professional development for teachers should not be the exception, but the rule. Teaching should itself be a learning profession where teachers are supported to keep their knowledge and practice fully up-to-date.
Delivering the best schools and skills is vital to the success of this government’s long-term economic plan. It is also the key to creating a fairer society. Teachers have a crucial role to play in this, and we’re pleased to be able to back them.