Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help newly qualified teachers who have been unemployed for two or more years to find work.

A new national Teaching Vacancies service is being rolled out nationally and can be found at: https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/.

By April 2019, all schools will be able to list their vacancies on the site. This will help newly qualified teachers and established teachers find their next teaching role.

The Department is also committed to improving the quality of support for newly qualified teachers. In response to the consultation on strengthening qualified teacher status and improving career progression for teachers, the Department committed to a number of proposals. These proposals include ensuring teachers have the right support in place at the beginning of their careers, have access to high-quality professional development, and have improved progression opportunities throughout their careers.

The key decisions set out in the response, published on 4 May 2018, include introducing an extended induction period of two years supported by an early career framework, strengthening the mentoring provision for early career teachers, and developing new specialist qualifications. The consultation response is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-qualified-teacher-status-and-career-progression.

The response to the consultation was the first stage in a longer-term programme of work and will form a core part of the Department’s recruitment and retention strategy. The Department will continue to work with the profession and will publish further details in due course.