Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many participants of the Return to Teaching scheme returned in each subject area in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21.

The return of former teachers is an important component of the Department’s recruitment strategy, and we continue to prioritise initiatives that facilitate their return to the profession. The Department’s main arm of support is the Return to Teaching Advisory (RTTA) service which provides former teachers with access to one-to-one support from a dedicated adviser. The cost of the scheme is as follows:

• 2019/20 - £361,344.69
• 2020/21 - £325,562.73

The RTTA service historically only supported those looking to return to teach maths, physics, or modern foreign languages. The table below shows the number of teachers who received support from an adviser, and returned to teach in these subjects:

Many teachers supported by the RTTA service return to teach in other subjects which are not included in these figures. Additionally, some may return to teaching without informing their adviser, so the Department is unable to capture this data.

The RTTA service fulfils a broader support role in facilitating events for those interested in returning to teach from both the UK and overseas, managing a returners network and supporting other Department for Education initiatives, including the National Tutoring Programme.

The Department has recently expanded the remit of the RTTA service and is now offering support to former teachers considering returning to teach any secondary subject.