Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2026 to Question 22510 on Teachers: Religious Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for the decision on Religious Education initial teacher training bursaries for 2027-28 of the number of accepted applicants in the first recruitment cycle following the withdrawal of the bursary; and what criteria her Department will use in determining whether to restore that bursary.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to encourage applications to ITT courses, with funding targeted at subjects where needs are the greatest. The department reviews bursaries annually, considering factors such as teacher retention, recent recruitment, economic forecasts and overall teacher need.

The department uses the teacher workforce model to estimate postgraduate ITT recruitment needs, although recruitment is not capped. Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, the estimated recruitment need for religious education (RE) increased significantly and only drama experienced greater percentage growth. However, recruitment need fell for 2026/27 because of more favourable supply forecasts. In 2025/26, the latest year for which data is available, the number of postgraduate RE ITT trainees reached 492, the highest levels since 2020/21. This improved supply outlook, and alongside falling pupil numbers, has reduced recruitment need across subjects.

School leaders are responsible for employment and deployment decisions, as they best placed to understand their pupils’ needs and school context. As part of the annual review, the department will reassess the trainee teacher needs across all subjects and review bursaries accordingly.