Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that every primary school is able to access volunteer support for teachers working to raise literacy levels.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Headteachers have the freedom to make recruitment decisions, including the use of volunteers in their schools. This freedom allows schools to tailor their provision to the needs of their pupils and provide safe, effective, and bespoke volunteering programmes. Schools are required to follow employment laws and statutory guidance, including crucial safeguarding guidance.
To support the government’s commitment to strong foundations in reading and writing for all children, we have launched the National Year of Reading 2026, a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment.
The National Year of Reading is spotlighting the vital role that volunteers play in supporting literacy in schools, including helping children discover the joy of reading. We recognise the important work of reading volunteer charities such as Bookmark Reading Charity, Chapter One, Coram Beanstalk and Schoolreaders, who are partners of the National Year of Reading.
The National Year of Reading website includes a tool to find reading volunteering opportunities, information about how to become a National Year of Reading Champion, and case studies showing how volunteers are supporting reading for pleasure.
More information for those interested in reading volunteering is available here: https://goallin.org.uk/get-involved/volunteers/.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the teacher workforce strategy includes consideration of aligning maternity (a) pay and (b) leave arrangements for classroom teachers more closely with the equivalent arrangements available to civil servants, in the context of efforts to improve teacher retention.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
We recognise women aged 30-39 are the largest group of leavers from the teacher workforce. To address this, we are taking action to promote and expand flexible working opportunities in schools, without impacting pupils’ education hours. This includes offering practical support on combining flexible working and career progression. We also provide support for those returning having taken an extended break following parental leave.
The Burgundy Book outlines how maternity provision applies in schools. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website and views can be fed in via the organisations involved in that negotiation.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of differences in maternity (a) pay and (b) leave arrangements between classroom teachers and Department for Education civil servants on teacher retention, with particular reference to teachers aged 30 to 39.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
We recognise women aged 30-39 are the largest group of leavers from the teacher workforce. To address this, we are taking action to promote and expand flexible working opportunities in schools, without impacting pupils’ education hours. This includes offering practical support on combining flexible working and career progression. We also provide support for those returning having taken an extended break following parental leave.
The Burgundy Book outlines how maternity provision applies in schools. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website and views can be fed in via the organisations involved in that negotiation.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what analysis her Department has undertaken of the role of (a) maternity pay and (b) family-friendly employment conditions in levels of retention of experienced teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.
We recognise women aged 30-39 are the largest group of leavers from the teacher workforce. To address this, we are taking action to promote and expand flexible working opportunities in schools, without impacting pupils’ education hours. This includes offering practical support on combining flexible working and career progression. We also provide support for those returning having taken an extended break following parental leave.
The Burgundy Book outlines how maternity provision applies in schools. This is a national agreement negotiated with employers by the six teachers’ organisations.
Further information can be found on the Local Government Association website and views can be fed in via the organisations involved in that negotiation.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of salary differences between college lecturers and school teachers on recruitment to further education teaching posts for (a) construction and (b) electrical engineering courses.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Further education (FE) colleges are responsible for setting and negotiating staff pay and terms and conditions within colleges.
The government recognises that colleges are facing recruitment challenges in construction and engineering. That is why our targeted retention incentive scheme gives eligible early career college teachers in priority subjects, including building and construction and engineering, up to £6,000 after tax annually. In the 2024/25 academic year, almost 6,000 teachers received payments.
In addition, we have announced that areas with Local Skills Improvement Plans will benefit from £20 million to form partnerships between FE providers and construction employers. This will help to build links between colleges and industry and boost the number of teachers with construction experience in FE.
Across the spending review period, we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029. This significant investment will ensure there is increased funding to colleges and other 16 to19 providers to enable the recruitment and retention of expert teachers in high value subject areas, and interventions to retain top teaching talent.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of male underrepresentation in the teaching workforce in primary schools on the attainment gap between boys and girls.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has said, the department wants to see more male teachers teaching, guiding and leading the boys in their classrooms.
Men are underrepresented across the education workforce. This is broadly in line with international trends and has remained stable over time in England
Recruiting and retaining expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, as high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s outcomes.
We ensure men are featured regularly in our recruitment marketing campaign “Every Lesson Shapes a Life”, with men in the focal role in our last two major TV campaigns.
Whilst the department does not have evidence to draw a direct link between gender of teachers and pupil outcomes, we are clear that schools should be an environment where all children feel a genuine sense of belonging.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of teachers in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The latest school workforce census reported that the workforce has grown by 2,346 FTE between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. This year has one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,700 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector and more teachers returning to state schools than at any point in the last ten years. The latest data showed 17,274 teachers returned to the classroom.
This government agreed a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25 and a 4% pay award for 2025/26, meaning teachers and leaders will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. In 2024/25, we also confirmed targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for teachers in the first five years of teaching in maths, physics, chemistry and computing in the most disadvantaged schools.
The government manages Teaching Vacancies, a website where schools can list their teaching, leadership and support vacancies. The service helps schools save money by removing advertising costs for their recruitment activities.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of levels of unemployment and underemployment among qualified teachers; and what steps she is taking to help improve increase retention and re-entry levels.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In the government’s Plan for Change, the department committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
Delivery is already underway: retaining more skilled teachers is key to delivering our pledge and our ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, developed alongside school leaders, provides a range of resources for schools to review and reduce workload, and improve staff wellbeing. We are also providing targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax for early career teachers in key subjects. These incentives are available alongside trainee bursaries worth up to £31,000 tax-free to improve recruitment, and a pay rise of nearly 10% over two years.
We are already seeing improvement. The workforce has grown by 2,346 Full Time Equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. This year has one of the lowest leaver rates since 2010, with 1,700 fewer teachers leaving the state-funded sector, and more teachers are returning to state schools than at any point in the last ten years. The latest data showed 17,274 teachers returned to the classroom.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve staff (a) pay and (b) conditions in further education colleges.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating staff pay and terms and conditions within colleges.
In May 2025, the department announced a further £190 million investment for colleges and other 16 to19 providers in addition to the £400 million of extra funding we already planned to spend on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year.
Across the Spending review period, we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29. This significant investment will ensure there is increased funding to colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to enable the recruitment and retention of excellent staff, including expert teachers in high value subject areas, and interventions to retain top teaching talent.
Targeted Recruitment Incentives of up to £6,000 (after tax) are available for eligible early career FE teachers working in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics and technical shortage subjects, in disadvantaged schools and colleges, including in sixth form colleges. This payment is separate to teachers’ usual pay.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for (1) issuing revised and streamlined guidance to schools about sponsoring visas for overseas teachers of modern foreign languages, and (2) making the process of sponsoring those visas cost-free for schools, colleges and other educational establishments.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is continuing to look at how best to support schools to navigate the visa sponsorship processes to ensure that high quality international teachers can train and work as teachers in England. We have dedicated, school specific guidance to support schools that would like to employ international teachers. We regularly review this guidance to ensure it provides accurate, up to date and clear information. We have tested the content with schools and continue to engage with the sector for further feedback. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas.
The costs of sponsoring a visa are charged at the same level across professions. There are no plans to introduce any new sector-based exemptions from these costs, or to provide funding to cover the cost of any processes related to domestic or international teacher recruitment, but there are lower rates for smaller employers.