Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the rates of teacher retention amongst primary school educators.

The department has published detailed plans on how we will recruit and retain more teachers in our 6,500 additional teachers delivery plan, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/every-child-achieving-and-thriving. Better retention of teachers and leaders keeps the skills and expertise they have developed in classrooms, underpinning high quality education for every child.

We will promote best practice in workload and wellbeing management, including flexible working opportunities, and tackle the external pressures where schools are filling the gaps.

The department also recognises the important role which pay, and financial reward play in attracting and retaining teachers. We are offering targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for the subjects and areas with greatest need, and we have implemented above inflation pay increases over the last two pay rounds where we accepted the School Teachers' Review Body recommendation of a nearly 10% award for school teachers and leaders

The last workforce census (June 2025) reported one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,700 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector. More teachers are also returning to state schools than at any point in the last ten years. The latest data showed 17,274 teachers returned to the classroom.