Good teachers matter

I HAVE always admired good teachers. They make a huge difference to a child's life chances.

My old grammar school maths teacher was my greatest inspiration. And I know from the many visits I make to schools in my constituency that the vast majority of local teachers are very hard working and harbour a true passion for teaching.  

Devon's schools are amongst the finest in the country — we should be proud of them.

What we should be less proud of are the antics of those running some of the teachers' unions. Easter is the traditional time for teacher union conferences and as sure as there are chocolate eggs and talk of bunny rabbits the left wing elements in these unions come out strutting their stuff.

The NUT's conference called for strikes in every school that considers becoming an academy (around half our schools have already decided to become academies). Plus strikes over pay, conditions, pensions, school inspections and against making it easier for heads to dismiss poor teachers.

This last issue is being positioned by the NUT as a draconian attack on its membership.

Of course no one likes dismissing people but sometimes it is necessary. And the government's proposal is little more than making it possible for heads to remove teachers with a term's rather than a year's notice.

But in case you thought that the existing regime was tight enough already let me finish by asking you a question.

We have 500,000 teachers. Under the current system how many do you think have been dismissed for incompetence over the last 40 years? Inevitably, many thousands you might think given such a large number over such a long period.

It's actually just about a dozen. Quod erat demonstrandum – as my maths teacher used to say.