Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons why there are not sufficient teacher applicants from overseas.

The department welcomes talented individuals from overseas to train to teach in England. For the 2023/24 academic year the department has extended bursary and scholarship eligibility to all non-UK national trainees in physics and languages. This means international physics trainees are eligible for scholarships worth £29,000 and bursaries worth £27,000. International language trainees are eligible for scholarships of £27,000 and bursaries worth £25,000. The department is also piloting a new international relocation payment worth £10,000 to help teachers and trainees in languages and physics with the cost of visas and other expenses involved in moving to England.

The new ‘Apply for QTS in England’ service provides a fair and consistent approach to the recognition of overseas teachers’ qualifications, meaning more suitably qualified teachers from around the world have a route to gain qualified teacher status (QTS).