Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of teacher recruitment in STEM subjects in the last academic year.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is seeing real progress. On top of an increase of 2,346 teachers (full-time equivalent) in secondary and special schools between 2023/24 and 2024/25, the future pipeline is also looking positive. New entrants to training in physics are up 37% this year, computing up 46%, and maths up by 18%. In total, the data shows an increase of 22% in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, exceeding the STEM target for the first time since it was introduced in 2019.

The department set out plans for an additional 6,500 teachers in our delivery plan, published last month alongside the Schools White Paper, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6995de6aa58a315dbe72bf7c/6500_additional_teachers_delivery_plan_print_ready_version.pdf.

We are continuing to offer bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax-free to encourage more talented people to train to teach key STEM subjects. We are also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for teachers of the same STEM subjects in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools.