Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the School Direct route into teaching.

The Initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment and performance data shows School Direct makes a valuable contribution towards the teacher workforce.

In the academic year 2017/18, there were 10,070 new entrants to School Direct courses, making up 36% of the total number of entrants to post-graduate ITT.

In the academic year 2015/2016, 93% of trainee teachers on School Direct courses achieved Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and 96% of those who qualified were in a teaching post within six months. This compares favourably to trainees on Higher Education Institution courses, with 90% awarded QTS and 93% of those who qualified being in a teaching post within six months.