Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of levels of supply and demand for qualified teachers in STEM subjects.

The Department for Education uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate the demand for the number of qualified teachers in active service within state-funded schools in England. To estimate the demand for teachers in specific subjects (including STEM), the TSM uses the latest data on secondary subject take-up and projected pupil numbers at Key Stages 3 to 5. It also accounts for the different age and gender demographics of the teacher stock in each subject (which affect the likelihood of teachers leaving the stock or retiring). We monitor the current supply of teachers using the annual School Workforce Census. The current supply and future demand for qualified teachers as estimated by the 2015/16 TSM along with a user guide explaining the methodology in detail is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model

The department also monitors the current supply of teachers (including STEM teachers) using data on full-time classroom teacher vacancies in secondary schools by subject. In 2013, the vacancy rate was 1.1% for mathematics, 1.0% for the sciences, 0.6% for design and technology, and 1.0% for information technology. Data on vacancies for other subjects and historical vacancy rates for STEM subjects are available in Table 15 in the main tables of the school workforce statistical first release, published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2013