Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the shortage of teachers in Design and Technology on the availability of that subject in all schools and at all ages.

The 2020/21 academic year saw an increase of more than 5,000 in the full time equivalent of teachers in state-funded secondary schools in England. This equates to a 2.5% growth on the year before, the largest observed in the last 10 years, and has resulted in the largest qualified teacher workforce since 2015/16.

Added to this, one of the department’s top priorities is to ensure that we continue to attract and retain high-quality teachers across all subjects. In October this year our new digital service, Apply for Teacher Training, was also rolled out. This is a key milestone in the delivery of a more streamlined, user-friendly application route for candidates across the country and the world.

To combat shortages of design and technology teachers, the department is offering a £15,000 tax-free bursary for design & technology trainee teachers in 2022/23 academic year. All design and technology trainees on tuition fee-funded initial teacher training routes are also able to apply for a tuition fee loan and maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional student finance is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the Childcare Grant.

The department has also now launched our early career framework (ECF) reforms, as part of the department’s teacher recruitment and retention strategy. These reforms provide a funded entitlement for all early career teachers in England to access high quality professional development at the start of their career.

To support international recruitment across all subjects including design and technology, the department are also piloting a new Support Overseas Teachers acclimatisation service in 2022. This is designed to provide newly recruited overseas trained teachers moving to England with pre-arrival training and support during the first term, to ensure they make a successful transition to teaching in England, with the intention of improving retention.