To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the number of male teachers in primary schools. [HL2290]

Yes, as male teachers are under-represented in primary schools recruiting them to teacher training is a priority. There are a range of activities, managed by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), specifically designed to encourage men to train to be primary teachers including a marketing campaign, following up strongly the initial interest of any enquiries from men, and encouraging and supporting male applicants to complete the application process. The TDA has also commissioned research on the barriers that men face in getting onto primary initial teacher training. There has been an increase of 52 per cent between 2008-09 and 2009-10 in the number of men applying to take postgraduate courses to train to teach in primary.