Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 29 of his Department's document entitled, Teacher recruitment and retention strategy published on 28 January 2019, what progress his Department has made on establishing pilot schemes for teacher sabbaticals.

The recruitment and retention of teachers remains a priority for the Government. We want to ensure that all pupils in England are taught by high-quality teachers.

The Department has a significant programme of work in place to improve recruitment, retention, and the quality of teaching, much of which is set out in our Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published in January 2019. As part of this, we intend to work closely with the sector and potential delivery partners to consider how to design an effective sabbaticals pilot that works for teachers and school leaders. We are not yet at the stage where we can launch the scheme.

The Department will provide further information on any pilot in due course.