Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the successful applicants to secondary teacher training for Religious Education received a Subject Knowledge Enhancement grant in each month since September 2022 .

The below tables show the number of candidates who received a religious education (RE) subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) grant in each month since October 2022.

The previous government took the decision to cut funding for RE SKEs from April 2024 alongside four other subjects. The department currently offers SKE support in five secondary subjects: chemistry, computing, mathematics, modern languages and physics. The department will continue to explore our options for delivery of SKE training in future academic years to ensure that our funding supports courses in the subjects where these courses are most needed.

SKE courses in RE by month

Initial teacher training (ITT) census data shows there were 269 new entrants to postgraduate ITT courses in RE in the 2023/24 academic year. Therefore, the department estimates 32% of all new postgraduate entrants in RE in the 2023/24 academic year undertook a SKE prior to commencing ITT.

ITT census data shows there were 462 new entrants to postgraduate ITT courses in RE in the 2024/25 academic year. We therefore estimate 27% of all new postgraduate entrants in RE in the 2024/25 academic year undertook a SKE prior to commencing ITT.

This government inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. Financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply, which is why the department has announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, which is a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes the reintroduction of a £10,000 tax free bursary to encourage prospective trainees to teach RE.

​​The department has also expanded its ‘School Teacher Recruitment’ marketing campaign which inspires and attracts candidates to consider a career in teaching, including RE. It promotes the profession and directs people to the ‘Get Into Teaching’ service, which exists to make teaching a career of choice and supports candidates to apply for teacher training in the most effective and efficient way possible.