Secondary Education: Teachers

(asked on 5th September 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the annual percentage change in the number of key stage 4 (1) art and design, (2) music, (3) drama, (4) design and technology, (5) history, and (6) geography teachers in state secondary schools in England for each year from 2010 to 2017.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Agnew of Oulton
This question was answered on 19th September 2018

The number of teachers in state funded secondary schools for the requested subjects is shown in the attached table. The table shows that numbers of teachers for art and design, music, drama and design and technology decreased between 2010 and 2017. The number of teachers for history and geography increased between 2010 and 2017.

Information on subjects by teachers in state funded secondary schools is collected from a large sample of schools. This is then weighted and grossed to provide national totals. The percentage of schools returning this information each year has been provided for context.

Driving recruitment and boosting retention of teachers is a key focus for this government.

To support the recruitment of music and history teachers, we offer tax-free bursaries of up to £9,000. Design and Technology (D&T) teacher recruitment is supported through bursaries of up to £12,000. For geography we offer tax-free bursaries of £26,000 for trainees with a 2:2 or higher, or a prestigious scholarship worth £28,000 tax-free.

All trainees on tuition fee-funded training routes are able to apply for student finance, regardless of their subject and degree class. This includes a tuition fee loan so that trainees do not need to pay for training upfront and a maintenance loan to support living costs.

In March, the Secretary of State for Education announced a strategy to drive recruitment and boost retention of teachers. The strategy will build upon the existing work already undertaken to support schools, including; introducing a period of stability; clarifying the roles of actors within the accountability system and providing evidence-based solutions to strip away the workload that does not benefit pupils. The strategy will cover a wide range of areas such as professional development, career progression, flexible working and entry routes into teaching.

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