Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to increase recruitment levels of science teachers.

Recruiting science teachers is a top priority for the Government. The Department has put in place a range of measures, including increased generous bursaries, worth up to £26,000 for physics, biology and chemistry to encourage even more talented individuals into teaching. Our prestigious scholarship scheme will also continue, offering a package of tailored support and £28,000 tax-free for scholars in physics, chemistry and computer science.

The Department is also testing new financial incentives to boost recruitment and retention, which include a student loan reimbursement pilot for science teachers in 25 local authorities that are most in need. Around 1,700 science teachers a year will be eligible for this pilot scheme.

In addition to this, the Department has developed a number of further initiatives to encourage more science specialists into initial teacher training (ITT). These include targeted marketing campaigns; providing support to potential science ITT applicants to increase the proportion of successful applications; and a programme to recruit high calibre post-doctoral researchers who have detailed subject knowledge and a passion to teach physics in the schools where they are most needed.

The new National Mathematics and Physics school-centred ITT plans to offer high quality teacher training, in collaboration with partner schools across the country and Buckingham University, led by maths and physics experts in partnership with the Institute of Physics and Mathematical Association.

The Department provides the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics international Teacher Recruitment Programme to support state-funded secondary schools in England with recruiting to physics vacancies. Through this programme, schools can recruit qualified teachers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA to teach physics.