Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more men to enter the teaching profession.

The Government values diversity in the workforce and wants the best people in the classroom, regardless of their gender; evidence shows that the quality of teaching is the single most important factor in determining how well pupils achieve.

The Government does not feel that top-down targets for the recruitment of men into initial teacher training would be appropriate. The Department is pleased that the quality of entrants to initial teacher training, as measured by degree class, remains high, with 19 per cent of postgraduate entrants, a new record, holding a first-class degree.