Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 77988 on Department for Education: Social Media, how much has been spent on influencers in aggregate since 4 July 2024; and on which campaigns and programmes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Influencer marketing is a credible paid communications channel used in government advertising campaigns to reach target audiences, particularly those that traditional channels find hard to reach. The department works with influencers across a range of activities, including paid partnerships, PR activity and content creation, to support its campaigns
In the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, the department has spent £708,971 on influencer marketing in aggregate across its campaigns and programmes. This comprises £119,300 in 2024/25 and £589,671 in 2025/26. These totals reflect the full costs attributed to influencer activity for each campaign, which may include fees, production and paid-media costs, depending on how each campaign was procured and delivered and held by financial year
This spend covered the following campaigns:
All spend in these areas is subject to standard value for money assessments.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to help strengthen complaints and whistleblowing processes with respect to the Teachers Regulation Authority.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA), acting on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is responsible for considering allegations of serious teacher misconduct. Lower-level complaints and concerns should be considered at the local level by schools and employers. Where concerns are raised through whistleblowing, these are ordinarily considered at the local level in the first instance, or through the department’s wider whistleblowing arrangements. Where such concerns relate to potential serious misconduct, they may subsequently be referred into the TRA’s misconduct process and considered in line with its statutory role. The TRA has published clear guidance on how referrals of serious misconduct can be raised.
In 2025, TRA introduced a triage process to strengthen how referrals are handled. This ensures that matters which clearly do not relate to serious teacher misconduct, and which are outside of the role and remit of TRA, are signposted to appropriate local or departmental complaints processes rather than being progressed as referrals to the TRA. This approach supports proportionate use of the misconduct regime while ensuring concerns are directed to the correct route and that teachers are not inappropriately drawn into regulatory proceedings.
These measures help ensure that safeguarding concerns continue to be identified and addressed effectively, while maintaining public confidence in the teaching profession and the fairness of the regulatory system.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers left the profession within five years of qualifying in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the vacancy rate for teaching posts and the retention rate for teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The teacher vacancy rate for full and part-time posts in secondary schools decreased to 6 per 1,000 teachers in service in November 2024, the latest figures available, from a peak of 8 per 1,000 teachers in November 2023.
Over two thirds (67.7%) of teachers who qualified in 2019/20 were still teaching five years later in 2024/25.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made as to the suitability of the teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to review teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of school initial teacher training providers sending trainee teachers to conferences and work shops promoting the concept of white privilege on schools' ability to comply with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses leading to QTS must incorporate the Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework (ITTECF) in full. The ITTECF is based on the best available evidence of what makes high-quality teaching and sets out the critical core content that new teachers need to be successful as they join the teaching profession.
The framework does not require ITT courses to include content on white privilege theory and/or schools' ability to comply with sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996.
ITT courses must be designed so that trainees can demonstrate that they meet all the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level. Part two of the Teachers’ Standards sets clear standards for teachers’ personal and professional conduct, including not undermining British values and promoting mutual respect and tolerance of different views. Regular Ofsted inspection of ITT providers considers their training content and how providers prepare trainees to meet all expected professional behaviours.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote teaching as a career path for young people and current teachers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Since July 2024, this government has taken targeted action to boost teacher supply. This work started with our reset of the relationship with the sector, to re-establish teaching as an attractive profession, making it one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to, and new graduates wish to join. We have published our delivery plan for 6,500 new expert teachers, focusing delivery across three key themes:
We are offering recruitment incentives in the subjects where they are needed most, with significant investment in tax-free teacher training bursaries and scholarships of up to £31,000 for school and college teachers.
We have recognised the importance of teachers with a pay rise for school teachers and leaders of nearly 10% since this government took power.
Our approach is already starting to pay-off, with the secondary and special school workforce growing by 2,346 teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of teachers' pay in real terms.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite the challenging fiscal context, this government is taking action to restore teaching as the highly valued profession it should be. This includes prioritising pay with above inflation increases of almost 10% over two years.
Our latest pay proposal of 6.5% over three years, when combined with the last two increases, would mean that teacher pay would rise by almost 17% across this parliament, equating to a real terms increase of almost 4%.
Final decisions on the 2026/27 pay award will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process, which is ongoing.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to expand or reform teacher training programmes to help improve access to the teaching profession.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life. The aim is to deliver better life chances for all, through a system which works for all.
In September 2025 we introduced the early career teacher entitlement (ECTE). The ECTE revised and improved the delivery of what we formerly referred to as the early career framework programme, maintaining the grounding in evidence, to ensure the highest standards of professional development for new teachers.
The department recognises that continuous improvement is essential in order to transform the training and support for all new teachers, and we have committed to a full review of the delivery of the ECTE, including the content of the initial teacher training and early career framework in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs based on the most up to date evidence. This review will focus on increasing support for mentors, as well as for teaching pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Asked by: Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review the potential impact of historic practices on women’s pension entitlements in the teaching profession.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department actively reviews historic provisions to ensure that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme remains fair for all and, if necessary, take steps to rectify where discrimination has been identified. The Preston cases, which were rectified in the 1990s, and the Goodwin cases, which were rectified in 2021, are cases in point.
The department does not have plans to review any specific historic provisions at present.
Changes to the maternity participation rules were provided in legislation in 1994 and 1995 and widely consulted on. The scheme administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, continue to issue guidance to local authorities and employers to ensure compliance and to manage claims effectively.