To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have identified any areas for improvement in (a) current initial teacher training (ITT) provision, and (b) current continuing professional development (CPD) provision. [HL3992]

Nothing makes as large a difference to the quality of our schools than the quality of teaching, which is why we are focusing on policies that attract more talent into the profession, developing teachers through their initial training and throughout their careers, and encouraging them to work where the needs are greatest. Significant improvements have been achieved since 1997 and we are looking to build on these to achieve our vision for the 21st century school set out in the Children's Plan and the White Paper New Opportunities: Fair Chances for the Future.

Research tells us that the quality of recruits is the most important long-term driver of teacher quality. The quality of new recruits is driven by attracting a pool of good applicants through offering an attractive range of routes and implementing effective selection criteria. Research also tells us that effective CPD can improve teaching practice, morale, pupil attainment and motivation. It is on the basis of findings like these that we have given the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) challenging remits to help develop a world-class teaching profession through improved ITT and CPD provision for school teachers and leaders. These remits include the development and implementation of the new Masters in teaching and learning for teachers and development of better arrangements for the collaborative professional development of the school workforce delivered through clusters. The priorities for the TDA and NCSL for 2009-10 are set out in their remit letters from the department and published at www.tda.gov.uk/about/our_remit.aspx?keywords=remit+letter and www.ncsl. org.uk/aboutus-index/about-role-index/about-role-remit.htm respectively.