麻豆约拍

As a host of new players gets involved in the running of schools and rules about qualifications for academy school teachers are relaxed, John Humphrys asks leading educationalists - who should teach? As long as the quality is high - does it matter who provides our children's education?

More groups of parents are setting up free schools; Disney and Fulham Football Club are among businesses backing a new generation of "studio schools" in which work experience is part of the timetable - and Labour wants the military to be involved helping to run so-called "service schools".

Meanwhile academies can now recruit teaching staff who don't have Qualified Teacher Status.

John Humphrys also asks - what's the role of the state in education? How much freedom have schools really got and how much should they have? Can the market drive up standards? Why do we have private schools? Can a non-educationalist run a school or teach a class?

An invited audience gathers at Bristol University to hear a panel of key decision makers and thinkers including shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg and pro-private schools guru Prof James Tooley - debate the crucial and timely question - who should teach?

Producer: Karen Pirie
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Production for 麻豆约拍 Radio 4.