Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to attract (a) science, (b) technology, (c) engineering, and (d) mathematics teachers in disadvantaged areas.

The department has announced funding for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects for those training in the 2022/23 academic year. As graduates in these subjects attract the highest salaries outside teaching, we are offering a £24,000 tax-free bursary or a £26,000 tax-free scholarship in chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. This reflects the priority we place on training teachers to teach STEM subjects.

We are offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free annually for maths, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers, who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.