An uphill battle to get people into teaching

SIR – The problem of teacher retention has been evident for many years. If Damian Hinds, the Education Secretary, can come up with a solution (Interview, May 11), he will be working a minor miracle.

In planning his strategy, Mr Hinds might care to consider the fact that in higher education the lecturers have face-to-face contact with their students for as little as 16 hours a week. Primary and secondary school teachers, on the other hand, who must deal with larger classes that include unwilling learners, are lucky to get an occasional free lesson to gather their wits about them.

My wife and I were teachers; we trained in the Sixties and generally enjoyed the job. Our son took up the profession and walked away after six years. Large classes, too much preparation and marking, an overprescriptive syllabus, too much box-ticking geared towards pleasing Ofsted, too many unruly pupils and indifferent pay all played a part. I wish Mr Hinds good luck. I think he is going to need it. Mick Ferrie

Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

SIR – The author Cressida Cowell bemoans the lack of creative space in schools for children to express themselves (Features, May 11).

Instead of blaming the teachers for this state of affairs, she should blame the years of government meddling, allied to the coma-inducing Ofsted frameworks, which have blunted the enthusiasm of thousands of English teachers.

As a group, English teachers tend to be the most creative thinkers in schools. As a result of the constraints under which they are forced to work, they are also among the most frustrated. Richard Petty

Kettering, Northamptonshire