Teachers (Hansard, 3 December 1996)

§ Mr. David Nicholson
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what priority she gives to, and what measures she is taking in respect of(a) the encouragement of men to enter or stay in the teaching profession and (b) the facilitation of women to obtain suitable headships. [6910]

§ Mr. Forth
Responsibility for promoting teaching as a profession rests with the Teacher Training agency—TTA. One of the main aims of the agency is to ensure that the profession attracts high quality candidates in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of schools. The agency's recently published strategy paper on teacher recruitment sets out its plans for promoting teaching generally, and the ways in which more men might be attracted into the profession.
610W
The Government place a high priority on training for headship. The national professional qualification for headship, available nationally from September 1997, will equip all those aspiring to headship with the necessary skills to become effective headteachers.

§ Ms Walley
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment she has made of the current age profile of teachers. [7180]

§ Mrs. Gillan
The following table shows the numbers of teachers in full-time service in maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools as at 31 March 1995.

Age Number of teachers Age Number of teachers Age Number of teachers

21 7 36 8,234 51 10,903

22 1,278 37 9,809 52 9,454

23 5,200 38 10,836 53 7,513

24 7,703 39 12,193 54 6,497

25 8,366 40 13,724 55 6,040

26 8,719 41 15,678 56 5,046

27 8,430 42 16,775 57 4,149

28 8,714 43 17,749 58 3,297

29 8,789 44 18,190 59 2,527

30 8,486 45 18,897 60 1,617

31 7,934 46 18,243 61 1,057

32 7,172 47 18,352 62 697

33 6,900 48 18,052 63 461

34 7,019 49 12,663 64 365

35 7,388 50 12,456 65+ 181

Source:

Database of teachers' records

§ Mr. Nicholson
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the total number of(a) males and (b) females in the teaching profession (i) in 1985 and (ii) at the latest available date. [6911]

§ Mr. Forth
The information is as follows:

Full-time and part-tine teacher numbers in the maintained nursery, primary, secondary¹ and special education sector in England and Wales

Men Women

March 1985 172,100 285,300

March 1995¹ 134,100 303,300

¹Excluding sixth form colleges.

²Provisional data.

Age	Number of teachers	Age	Number of teachers	Age	Number of teachers
21	7	36	8,234	51	10,903
22	1,278	37	9,809	52	9,454
23	5,200	38	10,836	53	7,513
24	7,703	39	12,193	54	6,497
25	8,366	40	13,724	55	6,040
26	8,719	41	15,678	56	5,046
27	8,430	42	16,775	57	4,149
28	8,714	43	17,749	58	3,297
29	8,789	44	18,190	59	2,527
30	8,486	45	18,897	60	1,617
31	7,934	46	18,243	61	1,057
32	7,172	47	18,352	62	697
33	6,900	48	18,052	63	461
34	7,019	49	12,663	64	365
35	7,388	50	12,456	65+	181
Source:
Database of teachers' records

Full-time and part-tine teacher numbers in the maintained nursery, primary, secondary¹ and special education sector in England and Wales
	Men	Women
March 1985	172,100	285,300
March 1995¹	134,100	303,300
¹Excluding sixth form colleges.
²Provisional data.