Should bad teachers be sacked?

Sub-standard teachers should be removed from schools to make way for better colleagues, a key government education adviser has suggested. Is this the right solution?

Sir Cyril Taylor said he has estimated there are about 17,000 "poor" teachers in England and Wales.

He said they were unable to control classes and their presence was damaging the education of about 400,000 children.

The government says that ultimately head teachers are responsible for the quality of teaching and they should take action against poor performers.

Former chief schools inspector Chris Woodhead said poor performing teachers should be monitored and offered support, but if there is no improvement after about six months then they should be sacked.

Are you a parent, teacher or a pupil at a school? How big a problem are poor teachers in the education system? What should be done to improve the situation? How is your reaction to Sir Cyril's comments.