Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Dinenage Excerpts
Monday 2nd March 2015

(9 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Baroness Morgan of Cotes Portrait Nicky Morgan
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It might have helped if the hon. Gentleman could have said any of that with a straight face, but he could not because he knows it is all utter drivel. We see fewer unqualified teachers, more children educated in schools rated good by Ofsted and the gap between disadvantaged and advantaged children falling. As we saw with the Labour party’s tuition fee policy announcement last week, Labour’s education policies are a farce, like scenes from “Nuns on the Run”.

Caroline Dinenage Portrait Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)
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8. What assessment she has made of the potential benefits to pupils of the expansion of the Troops to Teachers programme.

Edward Timpson Portrait The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Mr Edward Timpson)
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Service leavers have a wealth of skills and experiences that are transferable to classrooms, including teamwork, leadership—[Interruption.]

Edward Timpson Portrait Mr Timpson
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. Anyone would imagine that there is an election on the horizon.

There are 84 trainees on the Troops to Teachers scheme and the expansion of the programme allows even more talented service leavers to make an important contribution to our children’s education.

Caroline Dinenage Portrait Caroline Dinenage
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My Gosport constituency has very strong links to the armed forces, particularly in Navy engineering. Does my hon. Friend agree that schemes such as Troops for Training can only help to spread expertise to students in my area?

Edward Timpson Portrait Mr Timpson
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I absolutely agree. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently visited Bristol to see for herself the latest cohort being trained, and she was hugely impressed by both their calibre and their commitment. Along with my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Caroline Dinenage), I strongly encourage schools in Gosport and elsewhere to contact the university of Brighton to secure a trainee for this September and benefit from the next tranche of Troops to Teachers.