§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps the Government are taking to retain teachers. [146662]
§ Mr. MilibandWe have the highest number of teachers in schools for over twenty years, which is a reflection of our success not only in recruitment but also retention. We are encouraging teachers to remain in the profession by improving the environment and working conditions in which they are employed, through our key worker housing scheme, through ongoing and improved investment in behaviour management, through our radical school workforce reforms—supported by our union and other partners on the Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group—and through the significant increases in teachers' salaries since 1997. These policies have met the key concerns of teachers and are all designed to make the profession more attractive both to potential new recruits and those already in our schools. We are also funding recruitment strategy managers who are currently working in over 100 LEAs across the country helping to provide a co-ordinated local approach to recruitment and retention.