Asked by: Lord Warner (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing subject knowledge enhancement grants for religious education upon (1) the recruitment of teachers in that area, and (2) the standard of religious education being taught in schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Recruitment and retention are crucial to every curriculum subject. The department recognises that high-quality religious education (RE) relies on well trained, confident teachers. The department will be offering a £10,000 bursary for RE trainee teachers that are starting Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in the 2024/25 academic year. The latest data available to date for this 2023/24 academic year highlights that 246 candidates have accepted an ITT offer in RE. At the same point in the cycle in the 2022/23 academic year, 145 candidates had accepted an ITT offer in RE. This represents a 59% increase.
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of teachers in Wellingborough constituency.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department currently has the highest number of teachers on record. There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000, or 6%, since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
Last year, the department accepted in full the School Teacher Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award, which is the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years. This means that over two years, teacher pay is increasing by more than 12% on average and means the department has delivered its manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country.
The department has put in place a range of measures, including increased bursaries worth up to £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth up to £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
The department is also offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after-tax for eligible mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their career who work in disadvantaged schools. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium. Six schools in Wellingborough are eligible for payments of up to £5,000 after-tax under this scheme.
The department has also established three Teaching School Hubs near Wellingborough: the Northamptonshire Teaching School Hub, the Chiltern Teaching School Hub and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub. More information can be found at the following web addresses: https://www.northamptonshireteachingschoolhub.org/, https://www.teaching-school.co.uk/, and https://www.cptshn.co.uk/. More information can be found at the following web addresses: https://www.northamptonshireteachingschoolhub.org/, https://www.teaching-school.co.uk/,
These school-based centres of excellence deliver Initial Teacher Training (ITT), the Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and provide Appropriate Body services for the induction of early career teachers. More information on the induction of early career teachers can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/induction-for-early-career-teachers-england . Together, these ensure that new teachers in Wellingborough will benefit from at least three years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.
The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices.
On flexible working in particular, the department has established a series of Flexible Working Ambassador Multi-Academy Trusts and Schools (FWAMSs) throughout the country which support school leaders to implement and embed flexible working in their schools. Wellingborough’s named FWAMS is Lapal School of Hales Valley Trust. Further information can be found on the ‘Flexible Working in Education’ website, here: https://www.flexibleworkingineducation.co.uk/about-fwams.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase digital learning opportunities across (a) schools and (b) colleges.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, have the world class computing and digital knowledge and skills that they need for the future is a key priority of this government.
To help meet the demand for people with computing and digital qualifications and competencies, the department introduced computing as a statutory English National Curriculum subject in 2014, from Key Stages 1 to 4 inclusive. Through computing, pupils become digitally literate so that they are able to use, express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world.
The computer science GCSE and A level were also introduced in 2013, through which students are taught to understand and apply the fundamental principles and concepts of computer science. In addition, there are high quality vocational and technical digital qualifications available that are counted in the Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 performance tables, which provide alternative pathways towards digital careers. Information on the Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 performance tables can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores, respectively.
The department has invested over £100 million in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science at GCSE and A level. The NCCE provides high quality continuing professional development and resources to teachers of all Key Stages and engages with schools and colleges across England to improve their computing provision. This includes facilitating industry-led events for pupils on careers in computing and digital.
The department is also investing to fix the basics by improvinge broadband access and connectivity and sett standards for technology infrastructure to help create an environment where all schools and trusts can use technology effectively. The department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and commercial providers to accelerate gigabit capable broadband rollout to schools and investing up to £200 million to upgrade schools that fall below Wi-Fi connectivity standards in Education Investment Areas.
The government recognises that digital skills are important for adults of all ages, and the department is committed to improving their level of digital skills to support active participation in society.
From August 2020, the department introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications free of charge. The new entitlement mirrors the existing legal entitlements for English and maths and puts essential digital skills on an equal footing in the adult education system, as the third essential skill adults need for work, life and further learning.
The department introduced new Essential Digital Skills qualifications (EDSQs) at entry level and Level 1 from August 2020, which are funded under the digital entitlement. EDSQs are based on the national standards for essential digital skills and are designed to meet the diverse needs of adults with no or low digital skills byreflecting different learning needs, motivations and starting points.
To further enhance the essential digital skills offer for adults, from August 2023 the department introduced new digital Functional Skills qualifications (FSQs), which replaced FSQs in Information and Communication Technology. Digital FSQs have standardised content and assessment and provide a benchmark of digital skills for employers. These are based on subject content for digital FSQs that the department published in October 2021.
In addition to formal qualifications, the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the Adult Education Budget. Many Local Authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.
Of course, people may look to progress beyond essential digital skills, through a desire to retrain or upskill. Through the department’s wider skills reforms, which is backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament, it has continued to ensure learners, whatever their age, can train, retrain and upskill towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.
The department has introduced three Digital T Levels, which include Digital Business Services, Digital Production, Design and Development, and Digital Support Services. They are the gold-standard Level 3 technical qualification that are designed with employers to meet industry standards and with a significant industry placement built in to give that all-important experience of work within the digital sector. Digital skills are increasingly important across all occupations and as a result, every T Level has the digital skills necessary for employment embedded into its curriculum.
Additionally, employers have designed over 30 high-quality digital apprenticeships to support them to develop the skilled workforces they need, including Level 3 Information Communications Technician, Level 3 IT Solutions Technician and Level 3 Digital Support Technician. The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers in delivering high-quality apprenticeships.
Employers and learners can also make use of the department’s Skills Bootcamp offer, which provides free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills with an offer of a job interview upon completion. Skills bootcamps in digital form our largest sector and are available in each English region and online with courses ranging from software development to AI and Machine Learning.
More information about digital skills and other government-funded training opportunities can be found at the following link: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/skills-for-life.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 20856 on Schools: Veterans, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a training scheme for veterans to become (a) headteachers and (b) members of schools’ Senior Leadership Teams.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are best placed to decide on the development need of their staff and the leadership structure that best suits their pupils. That is why the department has given all trusts and schools the authority to make their own recruitment decisions, including for headteachers and senior leaders, using their own policies and procedures in line with Employment Law, Equality Action 2010 and Safer Recruitment Guidance to recruit appropriate individuals. More information can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/616e92fd8fa8f529777ffc40/Staff_Advice_Handbook_Update_-_October_2021.pdf
Experience at various levels of teaching is an important factor for successful leadership of schools and, as such, almost all senior leaders and headteachers have been awarded qualified teacher status (QTS) and have experience as a class teacher before progressing to senior roles within schools.
For existing teachers and senior leaders, including veterans that have changed career and are working in schools, there is a range of specialist and leadership National Profession Qualifications available to provide training and support at all levels. These provide support to a range of professionals from those who want to develop expertise in high quality teaching practice to those who aspire to be members of school leadership teams and those leading multiple schools across trusts. Interested applicants can learn more about the qualifications and eligibility for scholarship funding by visiting the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-professional-qualification-npq-courses.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 20858 on Schools: Veterans, what steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of people taking up the undergraduate teaching bursary for veterans.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.
The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:
The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:
The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2024 to Question 20858 on Teachers: Veterans, what steps her Department has taken to advertise the availability of the undergraduate teaching bursary for veterans.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.
The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:
The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:
The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to undertake a lessons learned exercise on countries that have introduced policies to encourage veterans to become teachers.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The £40,000 tax free undergraduate veteran teaching bursary is available to veterans who have left full time employment from the British Army, Royal Air Force, or Royal Navy and enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) course. The bursary is paid over the final two years of the course with £20,000 payable in each year. Veterans who have a degree can undertake postgraduate ITT courses where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £30,000 available on these routes into teaching.
The department remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and veterans, including supporting their journey into teaching in primary, secondary and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the ‘Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022 to 2024’, the department has ensured that there is tailored support available for the veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information on this support can be found at the following links:
The department also collaborates with the Career Transition Partnership and British Forces Resettlement Service to provide bespoke webinars, and presence at regional employer fairs. More information about these can be found at the following links:
The department regularly engages with international governments to share best practice on how to attract and retain talented teachers from all backgrounds and on how to support all teachers in their career journeys. The department’s digital services that manage the ITT application process have been designed to be as user friendly as possible and have been extensively tested with a diverse range of potential applicants to ensure they help remove barriers to great teachers applying for ITT courses.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has allocated to support teachers of (a) maths and numeracy, (b) English and literacy, (c) science, (d) music, (e) history and (f) religious education through (i) subject knowledge enhancement courses for trainees, (ii) Oak National Academy Resources (A) planned and (B) existing (iii) subject hubs, (iv) support for level 3 provision, (v) bursaries and (vi) other support for continuing professional development in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Raising standards is at the heart of this government’s agenda and, since 2010, the number of schools rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ has risen to 90% from 68%. The Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS) 2021 showed that English primary school children are the best in the western world and were ranked 4th out of 43 comparable countries. While the pandemic affected the study, the Programme for International School Assessment 2022 also showed that 15 year old pupils in England performed above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD) average and are now 11th in maths and 13th in reading and science. This was up from 27th in maths, 25th in reading and 16th in science in 2009.
The department has invested significantly to provide a world class education system, ensuring an excellent teacher for every child, high standards of curriculum attendance and behaviour, targeted support for every child that needs it and a stronger and fairer schools system. The overall core schools budget, including the recently announced additional pensions funding, will total £60.7 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This means school funding will have risen by £11 billion by 2024/25 compared to 2021/22.
The funding breakdown requested since 2019/20 is included below. Figures for the 2023/24 financial year are subject to ongoing data collection and reconciliation and therefore we have not included this year in the table. The department reviews Initial Teacher Training (ITT) bursaries each year to determine the offer for trainees starting ITT the following academic year. In doing this, the department takes into account a number of factors including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions and teacher supply need in each subject. The department focuses its funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses in its highest priority subjects with the greatest sufficiency challenges.
In addition to the funding outlined in the table below, the department also offers national professional qualifications (NPQs), including specialist NPQs in leading literacy and leading primary mathematics. Details on scholarship funding available for autumn 2024 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-for-national-professional-qualifications-npqs.
The quality of teaching is the single most important, in-school factor for improving pupil outcomes and it is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. The department is creating a world-class teacher development system, which builds from ITT, through to early career support, specialisation and onto school leadership.
Financial year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
Subject Knowledge Enhancement Courses1 | £28m | £24m | £14m | £10m | |
Oak National Academy resources2 | N/A | £4m | £4m | £7m | |
Subject hubs3 | English Hubs | £11m | £11m | £19m | £24m |
Maths Hubs | £27m | £25m | £16m | £28m | |
Science Hubs | £9m | £9m | £8m | £9m | |
Music Hubs | £76m | £76m | £76m | £76m | |
ITT Bursaries and Scholarships 4 | Maths and Numeracy | £35m | £50m | £53m | £41m |
English and literacy | £33m | £31m | £10m | £0m | |
Science5 | £72m | £77m | £52m | £33m | |
Music | £2m | £3m | £1m | £0m | |
History | £11m | £14m | £4m | £0m | |
Religious Education | £3m | £4m | £2m | £0m | |
1. Due to the way the department allocated funding, it does not have historic data on SKE spending by subject. This total includes all SKE funding, regardless of subject
2. Oak was incubated by The Reach Foundation and predominantly funded through a department grant until 31 August 2022. The 2023/24 financial year is Oak’s arm’s length body allocated budget as 2023/24 actuals are not yet available. The funding for Oak National Academy covers the creation of curriculum resources across all national curriculum subjects for Key Stages 1 to 4
3. Where subject hubs are part of a contract with a supplier, we have included all contract costs, including those not directly for subject hubs but for other Career Progress Development (CPD) or central programme management. The department changed the way Maths Hubs were funded in the 2021/22 academic year, resulting in a visual drop by financial year but not across the academic years. The department also has subject hubs in computing and languages which are not shown in these figures but are included in total subject hub figures set out in WPQ 20499
4. ITT bursaries are paid and assured by academic year rather than financial year. The figures provided for each financial year have been calculated by prorating the total spend for the relevant academic years that the financial year spans. Academic years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 are subject to ongoing data collection and reconciliation and the figures provided may therefore be subject to change
5. Trainees on general science ITT courses are not eligible for bursaries. However, bursaries are available for biology, chemistry, and physics specialism courses. The figures provided for science are the total spend across the three individual sciences.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 25 April (HL Deb cols 628GC–630GC), whether development funding for Pakistan will be used for the training of teachers in religious tolerance or to develop materials and skills aimed at promoting a positive image of religious harmony and coexistence in schools.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to make representations to the Government of Pakistan and use UK programme funding to protect and promote Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in schools. We have supported initiatives to review the National Curriculum of Pakistan, providing technical assistance to create a more inclusive curriculum and textbooks. We have also commissioned studies to identify minorities' needs in education. Meanwhile, our Girls and Out of School Action for Learning programme is improving education outcomes for marginalised children from the most vulnerable sections of society, including religious minorities. We will continue to use UK aid to support Pakistan's long-term development, focusing on improving human capital (health, education, gender equality), governance and human rights and climate resilience.
Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending levelling up premium payments to teachers in training with initial teacher training providers in disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing secondary school teachers in the first five years of their career who work in eligible schools have been able to claim Levelling Up Premium (LUP) payments of up to £3,000 after tax since September 2022. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is doubling the LUP payments to eligible school teachers to up to £6,000 per year after tax and extending the offer to key science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and technical subject teachers in all further education colleges for the first time.
A new school teacher receiving a £6,000 LUP will have an income equivalent of at least a £38,570 starting salary next year, even before accounting for the next pay award.
The number of teachers that have received LUP payments by region are below:
| Sum of claims by academic year | |
Region | 2022/23 | 2023/2024 |
East of England | 337 | 371 |
East Midlands | 421 | 401 |
London | 1112 | 1170 |
North East | 238 | 251 |
North West | 762 | 790 |
South East | 304 | 314 |
South West | 241 | 246 |
West Midlands | 603 | 594 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 597 | 603 |
Total | 4615 | 4740 |
The number of teachers that have received LUP payments by subject are below:
| Sum of claims by academic year | |
Subject | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Mathematics | 2518 | 2609 |
Physics | 459 | 456 |
Chemistry | 1044 | 1101 |
Computing | 595 | 574 |
Total | 4615 | 4740 |
The LUP is primarily designed to incentivise the retention of specialist teachers in the disadvantaged schools it targets, but it may also support recruitment by encouraging teachers to take up posts in these schools.
It is too early to fully evaluate the impact of the LUP, but it is possible to draw on evidence from the predecessor pilots which informed it. For example, a University College London (UCL) evaluation of the Mathematics and Physics Teacher Retention Payments pilot found that teachers who received these £2,000 after tax payments were 23% less likely to leave teaching. Furthermore, an evaluation of Early Career Payments assessed they reduced the likelihood of teachers leaving by 37% for the £5,000 payments, and 58% for the £7,500 payments.
Mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing trainees starting school initial teacher teaching (ITT) in the 2024/25 academic year can already benefit from tax free bursaries worth £28,000 and scholarships worth £30,000. These ITT incentives are a national offer and are not differentiated sub-nationally. This is because teachers often teach in a different school or area to that they trained in. The Levelling Up Premium is paid to school teachers once they are qualified and is therefore targeted sub-nationally to incentivise them to work in the schools most in need.