§ Mr. Amessasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received regarding his educational objectives; how many of these were from teachers or teacher unions, parents or parents' associations, respectively; and what conclusions he has drawn from these responses.
§ Sir Keith JosephI have received over 100 letters relating directly to the programme for improving standards in schools which I set out in my speech to the North of England education conference on 6 January. Of these approximately one-third are from teachers and one-sixth from parents or parents' associations: I welcome the fact that the great majority of correspondents express general support for the Government's proposals. I am currently discussing with my partners in the education service (including the teachers' associations) how our objectives may best be achieved.