Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address teacher shortages.

​​​​​​​High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, but we must do more to ensure we have the workforce needed to provide the best possible education for every child in all parts of the country, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers with a focus on key shortage subjects.

​The first crucial step towards achieving this is to ensure teachers get the pay they deserve, which is why the department has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from this September.

​The department wants to ensure teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession. It is committed to resetting the relationship with the teaching profession. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has already spoken to various stakeholders and teachers working at the front end and continues to do so. The department is now developing the Social Partnership to work more closely with the sector unions to ensure they have a stronger voice on policies that affect their work.

​Alongside teacher pay, financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply, and we are continuing to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £28,000 and scholarships of up to £30,000 in shortage subjects. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, we are also offering a Targeted Retention Incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools.

​Recruiting more teachers is a key part of the department’s Opportunity Mission. This government is also committed to tackling long standing retention challenges to ensure teachers stay and thrive in the profession, including by addressing teacher workload and wellbeing, and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. The department has made key resources available to help teachers better manage their workload.