Without qualified, motivated and valued teachers and their commitment to pupils, comprehensive schools, primary and secondary, would not be the success story we know them to be. Working alongside them are many support staff, in pre-five centres, in special schools and in primaries and secondaries, and we should not lose sight of the contribution they make in making our schools effective.

If we want to maintain an education system which tries to meet the needs of all learners, there needs to be a commitment to staff development and training through the career of everyone working in our schools. The concept of teacher-as-learner is one which research has shown to be likely to promote real learning (as opposed to examination passing) among pupils.

Each year I tell my class of student teachers that they have not chosen an easy profession, and that if they have drifted into it because they couldn't get a place on a Marks and Spencer management training course, maybe they should think again.

For there are few of society's problems which schools are not expected to solve, from under-achievement to a lack of moral direction, from health to economic competitiveness. In recent years, a competitive, market-led ideology has sought to set school against school, parent against teacher and local government against central government.

There may be consensus that under-achievement is the issue to be tackled, but no agreement on how it should be done. What we do know is that a teaching profession which feels undervalued, inadequately trained and under-resourced is unlikely to create a climate of achievement in schools.

However, while many of the recent trends have been imposed in Scotland, often against the wishes of teachers and parents alike, the system has managed to retain many of its traditional strengths. There is still a greater level of consensual policy-making in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate has traditionally worked with local authorities to produce guidelines for the curriculum, self-evaluation instruments for school improvement, and advice on effective learning and teaching. Local authorities were traditionally strong and did much more than ''administer'' education. They had policies, were innovative, and supported their schools with strong advisory services.

These strengths have been undermined in the last decade. Local authorities have been reorganised; funding has gone to schools directly; HMI has, apparently, entered into the ideological arena with advice on internal selection - and, above all, a raft of central initiatives, including National Testing, publication of examination results, staff development and appraisal, school development planning, 5-14, and Higher Still have been implemented.

A system which used to be characterised by debate followed by consensus has been replaced by consultation followed by imposition.

The Scottish tradition has been based on national agreements which have resulted in a ''contract'' guaranteeing basic minimum standards in terms of class size, teacher non-contact time (in secondaries) and staffing standards.

Negotiations between teachers and management have not always been easy but the existence of the Scottish Joint Negotiating Committee has ensured that dialogue takes place. Now, the pressure is on to arrive at local agreements as the new councils strive to create their own identities and set their own agendas.

For the present, initial training and continuing professional development are still seen as national issues. Scotland has significant strengths, including:

q An all-graduate profession in the statutory sector, with a four-year-BEd and a one-year postgraduate qualification being the route into teaching;

q A partnership approach between initial Teacher Education institutions and local authorities to ensure that school placement is a positive contributor to the process;

q a General Teaching Council which oversees the two-year probationary period of all teachers, confers ''qualification'' and works actively to maintain standards among teachers.

In recent years, a number of national developments have emphasised the need for continuing professional development of teachers:

q a growing commitment by SOEID, councils and schools to continuing professional development;

q a national Credit Accumulation and Transfer scheme to enable teachers to pursue staff development through courses, experiential learning and prior learning which carry with them accreditation as part of a national system leading to Certificate, Diploma and Masters qualifications;

q a range of national initiatives such as Investors in People, Management Compe-tences, Staff Development and Review and School Development Planning which all carry with them an entitlement to professional development for teachers.

We are still a bit short of a system of training and professional development which could be said to be ''career-long'' and continuous. It is still possible for teachers either to avoid opportunities to develop their skills and practice or for them to find a very restricted ''menu'' of staff development on offer.

There has been in recent years an emphasis on the centrally-delivered in-service, often of the ''how-to'' variety with little involvement of those who are thought to benefit from the process. Management training for headteachers promoted a veritable explosion in management courses, but there was no similar growth in courses on effective learning and teaching.

The idea that schools became more effective by becoming more efficient seemed to dominate official thinking, whereas now the emphasis is shifting to supporting teachers in the classroom. Indeed, the notion that staff development only occurs on a course is itself highly questionable.

Approaches to staff development and training have differed across the sectors - primary, special and secondary. Recent evidence that the culture, attitudes and expectations of primary teachers differ markedly from those of their secondary counterparts has suggested that, 5-14 not withstanding, genuine continuity and progression in learning for young people is unlikely.

In addition, the disparity in staffing standards between primary and secondary schools has meant that time for reflection is much less in the primary school, with no ''non-contact time'' available during the day. More importantly, the opportunity for cross-sectoral staff development and training seems to have been missed in the welter of 5-14 documents.

If we really want a school system which continues to offer a high quality education to all pupils, then politicians need to proclaim publicly their confidence in a highly professional and hard-working teaching force and pledge to work with them to raise achievement. Rooting out ''bad'' teachers is a populist political slogan, but making the vast majority of teachers more effective in promoting real learning is a much harder and longer-term objective.

Any serious strategy to enhance the status and improve the effectiveness of teachers should include the following steps:

Firstly, training and professional development should be continuous throughout the career of every teacher. Staff development must become an entitlement for all teachers, and, in return, it should be a professional requirement that teachers regularly reflect on their practice and update their skills.

Secondly, we should continue to promote a collaborative approach to the provision of accredited staff development. Universities, council advisory services, teachers and others involved in training should work together to ensure that teachers are exposed to effective staff development. It may be that more time has to be found in the system for such opportunities at times which do not disrupt the teaching of young people.

Thirdly, and above all, such a system must carry with it rewards, in terms of time and/or salary which include incentives for classroom teachers as well as for those who aspire towards management positions.

Finally, the status differential among teachers from pre-five to secondary should be challenged, and the notion that the specialist is, by definition, more important than the generalist is absurd. Cross-sectoral as well as sector-specific staff development must be the way ahead.

If we genuinely want to make our system of schooling one in which the potential of all pupils is fulfilled, then investing in the professional development of teachers, updating their knowledge of how children learn, and creating a commitment to raising achievement for all, must be the way ahead.