Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact on teaching and learning of modern foreign languages of the decision to withdraw funding from state schools for the International Baccalaureate.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All institutions will still be able offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) and receive normal funding per student supported by this government’s very significant investment into 16 to 19 education.
The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. However, to make this funding work hard, we have announced that from 2026/27 we will focus large programme uplift (LPU) funding, which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include mathematics, further mathematics and other high value A levels. Other programmes, such as the IB, will no longer attract this uplift.
The department is giving transitional protection funding in the 2026/27 academic year so, for institutions that will lose a significant amount of LPU, the reduction will be spread over two years.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the costs savings achieved by the withdrawal of funding from state schools for the International Baccalaureate, and over what period of time those savings will be made.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All institutions will still be able offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) and receive normal funding per student supported by this government’s very significant investment into 16 to 19 education.
The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. However, to make this funding work hard, we have announced that from 2026/27 we will focus large programme uplift (LPU) funding, which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include mathematics, further mathematics and other high value A levels. Other programmes, such as the IB, will no longer attract this uplift.
The department is giving transitional protection funding in the 2026/27 academic year so, for institutions that will lose a significant amount of LPU, the reduction will be spread over two years.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact on educational inequality of the decision to withdraw funding from state schools for the International Baccalaureate.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All institutions will still be able offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) and receive normal funding per student supported by this government’s very significant investment into 16 to 19 education.
The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. However, to make this funding work hard, we have announced that from 2026/27 we will focus large programme uplift (LPU) funding, which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include mathematics, further mathematics and other high value A levels. Other programmes, such as the IB, will no longer attract this uplift.
The department is giving transitional protection funding in the 2026/27 academic year so, for institutions that will lose a significant amount of LPU, the reduction will be spread over two years.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the rationale for the decision to withdraw funding from state schools for the International Baccalaureate.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All institutions will still be able offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) and receive normal funding per student supported by this government’s very significant investment into 16 to 19 education.
The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. However, to make this funding work hard, we have announced that from 2026/27 we will focus large programme uplift (LPU) funding, which is on top of the base funding, on those large programmes which include mathematics, further mathematics and other high value A levels. Other programmes, such as the IB, will no longer attract this uplift.
The department is giving transitional protection funding in the 2026/27 academic year so, for institutions that will lose a significant amount of LPU, the reduction will be spread over two years.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 6 January (HL3649), what progress has been made in discussions across the Government regarding funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025; and when they expect a decision on the subject to be announced.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department continues to work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, and we will set out more in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for building Mandarin language skills within the workforce to meet the needs of the United Kingdom in (1) security, (2) diplomacy, and (3) trade.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will continue to fund the Mandarin Excellence Programme after its current funding expires in August 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education will consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the security services before it makes a decision on the funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to issue guidance to schools on sponsoring visa applications for teachers of modern foreign languages from other countries, and (2) to better support those international recruits in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the cap of 175 recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship administered by the British Council to help meet their language teacher recruitment targets.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.