wrans/answers2025-02-12 conversation_155
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-12)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-12 conversation_155

Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve teacher retention in (a) Boston and Skegness constituency and (b) the UK. \p Catherine McKinnell: The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high-quality teaching. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child.

This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. That is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament.

​​The department has made good early progress towards this key pledge. We accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools for the 2024/25 academic year. Alongside teacher pay, we have made £233 million available for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in some shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’ and the further education teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share your Skills’.

A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy and new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing in the first five years of their careers will now receive a Targeted Retention Incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools. There are seven schools in the Boston and Skegness constituency where teachers are eligible for Targeted Retention Incentives.

The department is also working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve the experience of teaching, including a more comprehensive school report card in place of Ofsted’s single headline grades, providing a clearer picture of schools’ strengths and weaknesses for parents, and more proportionate accountability for staff. We are also making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.

The department is funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Lapal School of Hales Valley Trust is the flexible working ambassador school providing local, tailored peer support for Boston and Skegness schools.

High-quality continuous professional development is also key to ensuring we have and retain an effective teaching workforce. The department has established 87 Teaching School Hubs across the country, providing approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. These Hubs play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the early career framework and national professional qualifications. L.E.A.D. Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Boston, Lincoln, North Kesteven, South Holland, South Kesteven, East Lindsey and West Lindsey.