Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proportion of religious education lessons taught by teachers without a relevant post-A-level qualification was taken into account in the decision not to offer a postgraduate ITT bursary for religious education in 2026–27.

Whilst bursaries are expected to have contributed to the increase in religious education (RE) initial teacher training (ITT) recruitment in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, there are other key factors that drive recruitment, including the graduate labour market and attractiveness of the teaching profession.

School demand for teachers is also a primary factor in our review of bursaries to ensure demand for new RE teachers is aligned with trainee recruitment. Falling pupil numbers and better retention of existing teachers, which is at one of its highest levels with leaver rates at 8.5%, means schools are retaining experienced teachers while demand for new teachers is falling.

The decision to withdraw the bursary was, therefore, informed by both the increased recruitment and the reduction in postgraduate RE trainee teacher need in academic year 2026/27, 450 compared to 780 the previous year. As of 17 August 2026, there were 308 candidate acceptances to RE ITT courses compared to 422 at the same time last year, with the drop reflecting the reduced demand. The department will continue to assess the need for trainee teachers across all subjects and review the bursaries on offer annually.