A NEW professional body for teachers must be “genuinely independent of government and commercial interests,” the National Union of Teachers warned yesterday.

Proposals to establish a new College of Teaching have won the backing of 200 educational organisations including five teaching unions. This week a selection committee was established to find 13 founding trustees for College, which is expected to emulate professional associations such as the British Medical Association and the Law Society.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: “We expect the Board to launch a wide-ranging process of consultation with teachers, so that the structures and objectives which are developed for the College can have the full support of the profession.

“The NUT will work alongside others to promote the voice of teachers in the College, which must be led by teachers and act in the interests of teachers and their pupils.”