I believe this is a unique time for English education. Ofsted says we have the best generation of teachers ever. International studies applaud our progress. Whatever the difficulties, there is agreement that Government investment since 1997 has delivered real increases in revenue. And there is growing consensus on what matters in the use of that money - leadership, specialism and collaboration, workforce reform, and partnerships with parents, businesses and universities.
Signatories to the workforce agreement worked hard to help us produce a set of changes to teachers' contracts that will tackle the issue of workload, training for teachers and career development opportunities.
One of the most important areas of reform is in workload. Teachers are too burdened by other tasks to spend enough time on teaching. This is why the agreement has taken out of teachers' hands 25 tasks, such as chasing absentees, bulk photocopying and record keeping. But these changes cannot be achieved without greater numbers of support staff.
Teachers are the leaders in the classroom, and are not interchangeable with support staff. Teachers, when they are not doing everything themselves, will be able to lead far more effectively. That is why the draft regulations specify that support staff will support a qualified teacher, under the direction of that teacher, and subject to the confidence of the head that they have the right skills.
Teaching assistants are a vital resource if we are to give teachers the freedom they need. We are proposing that higher-level teaching assistants, properly trained, take on teaching activities under the direction of a qualified teacher. HLTA posts could be a stepping stone for those who want to go on to achieve qualified teacher status.
We are committed to increasing the numbers of support staff and expanding their roles in four key areas - administrative, pastoral, managerial, and pedagogical, with HLTAs actively engaged in the teaching process.
On average, they spend around 18 hours a week on teaching, a further third on marking, preparing lessons and professional development, and a final third devoted to other administrative and pastoral tasks.
Already some 350,000 people work in a wide range of support staff roles in schools.
