Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased SEND responsibilities on (a) teacher and (b) headteacher retention in Surrey Heath constituency.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

For 2025/26, we announced a Targeted Retention Incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools. Three schools in Surrey Heath constituency are eligible for the TRI.

In 2024, the department began delivery of the mandatory National Professional Qualification for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators. Participants will develop the essential skills needed to set the strategic direction and conditions to support pupils with SEND to thrive.

To ensure that there are sufficient, high quality teachers and headteachers, the department has increased the core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, totalling £65.3 billion. This is alongside the near 10% pay award for teachers over the last two years to ensure teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession.

The department is already seeing positive signs that the investment is delivering. The workforce has grown by 2,346 teachers full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. This year also has one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,300 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector.