Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and David Evennett

Monday 29th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

Again, I commend my hon. Friend for his work. I also appreciate the importance of the provision of local services—none is more important than education—where there is housing development. I would be very pleased to convene such a meeting as he requests.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

12. What steps her Department has taken to improve standards of reading in schools.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and David Evennett

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I think the hon. Gentleman needs to do some research before he starts asking questions in Parliament. On recruitment and retention, I join him in stressing the importance of retention, which we are absolutely focused on, including through our workload programme. We have a good set of scholarships and bursaries for encouraging entry and a range of different routes into teaching to get the full range of talent that can benefit our children and young people.

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

Would my right hon. Friend agree that good and enthusiastic teachers are vital to ensuring that we have good, successful schools and pupils? What more can be done to assist schools with discipline and truancy issues, because it would obviously help teachers’ morale if they could have some more support?

[Damian Hinds]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about the importance of brilliant teachers—I think he might have some personal experience of that. He is also right about the central importance of behaviour. In relation to retention, we hear back in surveys that we need to improve further on this. This is one of the reasons that we have the network of behaviour hubs, so that schools can learn one from another about what works best.