Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the most recent round of Initial Teacher Training accreditation on recruitment in STEM subjects.

Quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for children. Reforms to the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) market will help all trainees across the country receive quality ITT provision and further support at every stage of their teaching career. The reforms are a significant step in the delivery of the Department’s programme to create a world class teacher development system.

The Department remains committed to supporting the supply of high quality teacher training in all areas of the country. 179 providers have been accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024, following a rigorous accreditation process designed to drive up the quality and consistency of ITT leading to Qualified Teacher Status. These providers cover all regions of the country and include new entrants to the market. The Department will continue to monitor the market and review its implementation measures to ensure that there is sufficient provision of consistently high performing ITT provision, in all subjects, driven by demand.

The Department continues to provide significant support to attract the best possible candidates into teacher training. £181 million has been made available in bursaries and scholarships to attract trainee teachers in high priority subjects for the 2023/24 academic year, a £52 million increase on the current academic year. As graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects attract the highest salaries outside teaching, the Department is offering a £27,000 tax-free bursary and a £29,000 tax-free scholarship in chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. In addition, a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free annually is available for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools early in their career. This reflects the priority the Department places on training teachers to teach STEM subjects. It will also support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in the subjects, schools and areas that need them most.