Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage more (a) women, (b) men, (c) people from ethnic minority backgrounds and (d) people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to become teachers.

The Department wants teaching to be an inclusive profession where teachers from all backgrounds are supported throughout their career, from the moment they enter the profession, through their continued development as teachers and as they progress into leadership.

Recruitment campaigns for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) are targeted at students, recent graduates and potential career changers regardless of their identity or background.

Apply for Teacher Training, the new application service for ITT in England, was rolled out nationally in 2021. It has been designed to be user friendly and has been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure it helps remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.

The Department’s world class teacher development programmes, such as National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), are designed to support all teachers through to executive headship, and are designed to reach as many people as possible, regardless of their background. Since autumn 2021, eligible teachers and headteachers have been able to access scholarships to undertake fully funded NPQs and 51,518 qualifications have been started so far.

Flexible working supports equality of opportunity in the workforce and can help women to stay in the workforce and progress. The Department is taking action to promote flexible working in schools. This includes publishing resources and guidance on GOV.UK and funding a programme of support, including webinars with a focus on how flexible working can support diversity and inclusion.

Governors have an important role to play in promoting diversity, equality and inclusion when appointing headteachers. Guidance states that school governance boards are expected to have an understanding of, and an adherence to, the Equality Act 2010, promoting equality and diversity throughout the organisation including in relation to its own operation. They should understand the full diversity of the cultural context of the school and community they serve and are reminded of this in the department’s Governance Handbook: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/governance-handbook, and in the current guidance on recruiting a headteacher: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recruiting-a-headteacher.