Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of teachers in Aldershot constituency.

Supporting our expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. However, this government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, with the growth in teacher numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. This is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.

​We have made good early progress towards this key pledge by ensuring teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession, key to which is ensuring teachers receive the pay they deserve. This is why we have accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools for 2024/25.

Alongside teacher pay, we have made £233 million available from the 2025/26 recruitment cycle to support trainee teachers with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share your Skills’.

In addition to recruiting expert teachers, we want them to stay and thrive in the profession. To support this, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000 after tax if working in disadvantaged schools. There are four schools in Aldershot that are eligible for targeted retention incentives.

To further support retention, we have provided workload and wellbeing resources that were developed with school leaders through our new ‘Improving Workload and Wellbeing’ online service, as well as continuing to promote the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which nearly 4,000 schools and colleges have already signed up to.

To reduce workload, the department has also removed the requirement for performance related pay and has abolished one-word Ofsted judgements to deliver a system which provides better information for parents and is proportionate for staff.

​To help retain a more diverse workforce, the department is committed to supporting schools to implement flexible working practices, including taking planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time remotely. The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts. The named flexible working ambassador for schools in Aldershot is Upton Court Grammar school, part of the Pioneer Educational Trust.

​High quality continuous professional development is also key to ensuring we retain an effective teaching workforce. ​The department has established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. They play a significant role in delivering Initial Teacher Training, the Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and Appropriate Body services. The Success for Every Teacher Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Basingstoke and Deane, East Hampshire, Guildford, Hart, Rushmoor and Waverley.