Green MSP Ross Greer asks about the balance between teaching time and managing faculties.

Teacher Dr Shaun Harley says he has "time under his belt" and he uses his experience to time manage and teach.

Dr Harley says he is also lucky to have an excellent group of teachers. 

He says he has been "caught on-the-hop before" but he is lucky to work with good teachers. 

Mr Scott asks what can be done to make teacher training better.

Teacher Linda Robertson says she experienced the same problems as the last panel when she went through her training because teachers do not have the time. 

Teacher Dr Shaun Harley says for him there is a problem in the way teachers are being pulled together because "fast-track" makes him "shudder a bit."

Dr Harley says the scientific art of teaching is often being encapsulated in one year. 

He says he would favour a four year professional degree to become a teacher. 

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Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott asks about more power and autonomy for headteachers.

Isabel Marshall says she is a retiring head looking for a new career.

Ms Marshall says as a primary head she speaks to the local authority  most about not having enough people to do the job.

She says there is not enough head space to deal with things like pupil equity funding.

The headteacher says teachers need to be empowered and there needs to be "a culture to say this far and no further".

Teacher Linda Robertson says that she was told of the changes to national 4 and 5 and that there was no way of feeding back 

"They don't want a dialogue," she says.

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Angela Kelly says the good teachers don't do the job for money.

However ten years ago there would be salary increments for taking children away for a week or to run extra-curricular clubs, she says.

Ms Kelly says that is no longer the place in her local authority.

Committee convener James Dornan asks what methods there are to raise this with the local authority. 

Teacher Linda Robertson says she has raised issues with union representatives about the changes to national 4 or 5 and the lack of time to project manage this.

Teacher Emma Newton says no one is asking how workload can be reduced and what can be done about this.

Mr Dornan asks where union representatives take this information.

Ms Newton says that "they bring it to you" in committee and COSLA. 

Mr Dornan asks if they go to local authorities.

Ms Newton says this is not a problem for particular local authorities and that it is Scotland wide and nothing is being done.

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Judith Williams says she has been in a job share for 17 years which is why she is still in teaching.

Ms Williams says the regular changes in the CfE mean there is no stability.

She says there is no chance for teachers to catch their breath and she says she cannot imagine dealing with more curriculum changes.

Dr Shaun Harley says the changes to the curriculum are taking teachers away from the classroom.

Dr Harley says the prospect of further change leads to teachers saying "I'm backing off from this".

Teacher Emma Newton says none of her colleagues will work to 67 as a teacher and, in fact, most of them won't work beyond the next 5-10 years.

"I could work 100 hours per week and I wouldn't get it all done," she says. 

Karen Vaughan says she refuses to work full-time because it is not sustainable working full-time as a teacher from a health point of view. 

Ms Vaughan says she may have to leave teaching because of the lack of permanent part-time positions. 

Teacher Linda Robertson says she has never worked so hard and that is coming from industry.

Ms Roberson says she cannot imagine working at 65 at this level.

Mr Beattie says he is hearing that teachers are not seen as professional and asks by whom.

Angela Kelly says teachers are not respected by many parents or the wider community. 

Ms Kelly says increasingly parents arrive on the doorstep and expect to be accommodated by appointment. 

She says the parents can be quite demanding of teachers time. 

"It is overwhelming and many staff feel like they are juggling," she says. 

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Teacher Angela Kelly says: "What is being asked of us is no longer sustainable."

Ms kelly says teachers are "not seen as professionals, not trusted as professionals".

If you attend a course you are expected to go back to the school and train all the other teachers, she says.

Ms Kelly says teachers have to do three or four hours of twighlight training, in their own time, which the leads to far more work.

SNP MSP Colin Beattie asks about retention and how teachers can be encouraged to stay.

Headteacher Isabel Marshall says she has enjoyed her career but is "exhausted" and has resigned after 33 years.

Ms Marshall says there is too many management pressures and social demands.

The headteachersays people say to her that she does a good job but that they wouldn't want that job. 

She says this is a shame because she was inspired by teachers. 

Ms Marshall says there isn't much "work-life balance". 

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Críostóir Piondargás says his art teacher and technical teacher were inspirational to him in helping with his dyslexia.

Mr Piondargás says the motivation to promote Gaelic is a factor too..

Headteacher Isabel Marshall loved the headteacher that I had when I was at school and I saw it as a great career.

"I was really inspired," she says. 

Teacher Karen Vaughan says she had a computing degree but then realised she was a "people-person" and not a "computer geek" so she went into teaching.

Teacher Angela Kelly says she is interested in helping all children and those who require additional support. 

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Committee convener James Dornan asks what motivated the witnesses to become teachers.

Judith Williams says simply: "Children."

Teacher Dr Shaun Harley stresses the vocational element. 

Linda Robertson says she was at a cross-roads and decided there was more to life than making money and she says she is a newly qualified teacher.

The committee will now take evidence from:

• Emma Newton, teacher
• Isabel Marshall, headteacher
• Judith Williams, teacher
• Karen Vaughan, teacher
• Angela Kelly, teacher
• Linda Robertson, teacher
• Dr Shaun Harley, teacher
• Críostóir Piondargás, teacher

Trainee teacher Halla Price says she thinks the starting salary is good but once a teacher reaches the top of the pay bracket there may not be much motivation not to move out of the sector.

Ms Price says she doesn't think she will stay in teaching for the rest of her life because of the career progression aspects.

SNP MSP Colin Beattie says that promotion and career progression has been raised to the committee by a number of winesses.   

Teachers in the gallery applaud the trainee teachers as they prepare to swap seats.

SNP MSP Colin Beattie says there is a recurring theme about pay levels and asks how the panel feel about that.

Trainee teacher Mark Melrose says that, being from the private sector, he took a major hit in money which he will not recover from unless he reaches department head level and the salary could be higher than now. 

Committee convener James Dornan says there is a panel sitting here that want to be teachers despite the salary.

Mr Melrose says that it is a panel of five and that the committee could look at the amount of people who have the qualifications but choose to go to the private sector.