Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that specialist Citizenship teachers are recruited and retained; and what steps she is taking to extend bursaries to this subject.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working with the sector to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession across all subjects, including citizenship. As a first step, this government has increased teacher pay by almost 10% over two years.
Our Plan for Change is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament to ensure sufficient teachers across all subjects. We are making good progress with the workforce has grown by 2,346 on a full-time equivalent basis between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, where it is needed most.
Trainee bursaries are reviewed annually to ensure we are focusing on the subjects most in need. Our commitment of over £200 million for bursaries in 2026/27 follows improved recruitment, with 10% more acceptances to start initial teacher training courses this year compared to last year and the teacher leaver rate falling to 9%, one of the lowest on record. In 2024/25 3,685 teachers taught citizenship.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the exclusion of citizenship from the teacher training bursary list on the (a) recruitment of specialist teachers and (b) ability of schools to deliver high-quality citizenship education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working with the sector to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession across all subjects, including citizenship. As a first step, this government has increased teacher pay by almost 10% over two years.
Our Plan for Change is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament to ensure sufficient teachers across all subjects. We are making good progress with the workforce has grown by 2,346 on a full-time equivalent basis between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, where it is needed most.
Trainee bursaries are reviewed annually to ensure we are focusing on the subjects most in need. Our commitment of over £200 million for bursaries in 2026/27 follows improved recruitment, with 10% more acceptances to start initial teacher training courses this year compared to last year and the teacher leaver rate falling to 9%, one of the lowest on record. In 2024/25 3,685 teachers taught citizenship.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new teachers have been recruited since July 2024; and how many of those are citizenship teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
41,736 qualified teachers joined state-funded schools in England for the 2024/25 academic year, the latest date for which data is available. This has been available since 5 June 2025 and, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3d4415a2-a099-427d-d209-08de2129b4fd..
A breakdown of the above figure by subject taught is not available.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Ofsted (a) inspections and (b) public reporting properly reflect schools’ statutory obligations to deliver Citizenship education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Lewisham North and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Citizenship is treated on an equal footing with other statutory National Curriculum subjects within Ofsted’s inspection framework.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Lewisham North and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of discontinuing BTEC qualifications on the number of young people not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third, vocational pathway at level 3 that will sit alongside A levels and T Levels, and offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. They will blend applied learning with practical assessment, with content linked to occupational standards set by Skills England. We have launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways : https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.
This government is fully committed to T Levels, which are out-performing other large qualifications in T Level areas. In line with this, funding for qualifications of 720 guided learning hours and over in T Level areas will be removed in 2026 and 2027.
We are keeping funding for most existing qualifications in place until new V levels and other qualifications come in.
As detailed in the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper, we will transform our approach to supporting young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET by reforming how they are identified, tracked and supported. The Youth Guarantee will guarantee young people aged 18 to 21 access to education, training and/or help to get into work.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of students studying (a) BTECs and (b) other level 3 qualifications.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. They will blend applied learning with practical assessment, with content linked to occupational standards set by Skills England. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.
This government is fully committed to T Levels. Where a student wishes to study a large qualification (those with 720 guided learning hours or more) and a T Level exists, they should undertake the T Level. T Levels are outperforming large qualifications in T Level areas of study. In line with this, funding for other qualifications of 720 guided learning hours and over in T Level areas of study will be removed in 2026 and 2027.
The department is keeping funding for most existing qualifications in place until new V Levels and other qualifications come in.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with further education sector professionals during the development of its plans to replace BTECs.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Officials and Ministers from the department regularly meet with stakeholders, including further education sector professionals and their representative bodies.
During the Review of Qualifications Reform in 2024, we held an extensive programme of engagement, to ensure that the views of colleges, schools, teachers and wider stakeholders fed into the review. We spoke to over 250 people through the more than 40 hours of engagement, including over 100 teachers, practitioners, and college leaders.
The department held a Ministerial chaired round table with key leaders in the college sector and undertook a series of focus groups and interviews with colleges, schools and other organisations to ensure that the views of stakeholders were fully considered.
We will continue to work closely with the sector, drawing on their insight to ensure future reforms deliver high quality qualifications for young people.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's timetable is for the completion of its review of post-16 qualifications.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is building a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that our economy needs. Students deserve high quality qualifications, and we must continue to develop and improve qualifications, so that they provide for the needs of students and employers. Qualifications are being reformed so that they are better quality and deliver improved outcomes.
The outcomes from the Review of Post-16 Qualifications Reform were published in December 2024. The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report earlier this year and aims to ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all learners aged 16-19. The Review will publish their final recommendations in autumn 2025.
The Review’s interim report said that they were interested in developing a third pathway at level 3 alongside A levels and T Levels and noted the absence of 'vocational' options in the reformed system. The department is working with the Review panel on the approach to qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and will set out further detail shortly.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce a third route for level 3 qualifications.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is building a skills system that will drive forward opportunity and deliver the growth that our economy needs. Students deserve high quality qualifications, and we must continue to develop and improve qualifications, so that they provide for the needs of students and employers. Qualifications are being reformed so that they are better quality and deliver improved outcomes.
The outcomes from the Review of Post-16 Qualifications Reform were published in December 2024. The Curriculum and Assessment Review published its interim report earlier this year and aims to ensure meaningful, rigorous and high-value pathways for all learners aged 16-19. The Review will publish their final recommendations in autumn 2025.
The Review’s interim report said that they were interested in developing a third pathway at level 3 alongside A levels and T Levels and noted the absence of 'vocational' options in the reformed system. The department is working with the Review panel on the approach to qualifications at levels 2 and 3 and will set out further detail shortly.