Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have left the profession in the last year; and what estimate her Department has made of the cost to schools of this turnover.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Teaching assistants play a vital role in children’s education in schools across the country.
The school workforce census shows that the full-time equivalent (FTE) of teaching assistants has increased each year since 2019/20, rising to 288,800 in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5,900 since 2023/24.
A December 2024 departmental survey entitled ‘School and college voice’ found that a large majority of leaders (82%) reported recruiting teaching assistants or learning support staff since January 2024. However, these roles were commonly reported as the hardest to fill.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
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 real terms value of pay awards through the School Teachers Pay Review Body process in the 2025-26 financial year on trends in the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of school teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.
While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.
This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.
The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.
The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
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 real terms value of pay awards through the School Teachers Pay Review Body process on teachers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.
While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.
This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.
The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.
The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
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 Government's proposed pay award on service provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Ensuring there are sufficient, high-quality staff in our schools is therefore critical. This is why the government has pledged to recruit 6,500 additional expert teachers.
On 22 May, we announced this year’s above-inflation pay award of 4% which, combined with the 5.5% pay award last year, will mean school teachers in maintained schools will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.
The department is also ensuring that further financial incentives are targeted where the need for them is greatest. For example, we are offering targeted retention payments of up to £6,000 per year to teachers of key subjects working in disadvantaged areas in the first 5 years of their careers. We have also announced an initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach key subjects.
We are already seeing positive signs that this investment and approach is starting to deliver. New government data shows there are 2,346 more teachers in secondary and special schools in England compared to last year, an increase of 1,400 and 900 respectively from the year before. Over 2,000 more people are also training to become secondary school teachers this year and over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department (a) collects and (b) plans to collect data on the number of supply teachers leaving the profession annually.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The school workforce census does not identify supply teachers in England. However, teachers who are not directly employed by the school or local authority and who are in school on census day (early November each year) with a contract or service agreement lasting fewer than 28 days are recorded as ‘occasional’ teachers. In November 2024, schools reported 17,600 occasional teachers (headcount) on census day. This is up from the previous year when 15,800 were reported. The department only collects this information from state-schools in England. Education in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Governments.
A survey conducted by the department in 2023 (“Use of supply teachers in schools”) found that 85% of supply teachers surveyed said they had obtained work through supply teacher agencies.
Just under half of all supply teachers surveyed (47%) wanted to stop working as a supply teacher within 12 months. 47% of those who wanted to stop working as a supply teacher wanted to leave in order to take up a permanent teaching position.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing a long-term strategy to improve school teachers’ pay in real terms through the School Teachers' Pay Review Body process.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) based on a range of evidence, including the real terms value of teacher pay.
While in power, this government has accepted their recommendations in full.
This year’s pay award of 4% exceeds forecasts for inflation and provides a competitive salary for both new and existing teachers. Based on forecasts for inflation across the 2025/26 academic year, this is a real-terms increase of around 1.5%.
The department wants teaching to be an attractive and expert profession, to ensure that our children have the expert teachers they need to achieve and thrive and tackle recruitment and retention issues. That is also why we are committed to delivering the manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament and there are already signs that our Plan for Change is working.
The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools over the last year. Additionally, our future school teacher pipeline is growing. As of May 2025, there are 11% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary subjects, including in priority subjects such as physics, where we have seen a 43% increase in acceptances compared to last year.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessments she has made of the merits of implementing a teacher retention strategy that addresses key factors driving staff to leave the profession.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in schools and colleges. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
The best recruitment strategy is an effective retention strategy. The department recently announced a 4% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for the 2024/25 academic year, resulting in a near 10% pay award since this government came to power, ensuring teaching is once again a valued profession and keeping high-quality teachers in schools. In addition, we invested around £700 million across schools and further education this year, which included increasing our targeted retention incentives, worth up to £6,000 per year for early career teachers teaching in disadvantaged schools, and resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.
Our investment is starting to deliver. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent, between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, with leaver rates dropping to 9.1%, one of the lowest on record.
To further support teacher retention, the department has established a new way of working through ‘Improving Education Together’, which brings together employer representative organisations, unions and government to help inform policy design and approaches to implementation across key reform priorities.
Asked by: Sarah Bool (Conservative - South Northamptonshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to support the recruitment and retention of teachers in rural secondary schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s opportunity mission and boosting the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
We have announced a 4% pay award to school teachers and leaders, accepting in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s pay recommendation and two months ahead of last year.
This comes on top of the 5.5% pay award that we announced last July. We are seeing early improvements in recruitment and retention with over 2,000 more people training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is also on track to improve further for 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
We are doing more to continue to improve recruitment and retention, including in rural secondary schools. We have increased funding for training bursaries to £233 million in 2025/26, worth up to £29,000 tax-free. We are also offering scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax free. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including rural and coastal areas.
As part of our recruitment and retention strategy, it is vital that we improve the day-to-day experience of teachers and ensure that teaching is once again a respected and attractive profession that teachers remain and thrive in. We are supporting teachers to reduce their workload and improve their wellbeing and enabling greater opportunities for greater flexible working.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 four per cent pay award for teachers in 2025/26 on retention rates in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
The department cannot currently provide a breakdown of this progress by constituency, however, over 2,000 more people are training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is on track to improve further for 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
This is, in part, due to the 5.5% pay rise announced last year, which, combined with this year’s above-inflation pay award of 4%, will mean school teachers in maintained schools will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. This will apply across all teachers in all constituencies across England and is already having a significant impact on teacher retention. Alongside this, the department is offering targeted retention payments to teachers of key subjects working in disadvantaged areas in the first five years of their careers. Teachers in four schools are eligible for these payments, up to £4,000 tax free, in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, 12 in Milton Keynes, and 24 in Buckinghamshire County.
To further improve retention, the department is actively promoting flexible working in schools, such as allowing planning, preparation, and assessment to be undertaken from home. We are also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Upton Court Grammar School of Pioneer Educational Trust is the flexible working ambassador school for the South East, providing local, tailored peer support for Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made in recruiting additional expert teachers in (a) secondary schools, (b) special schools and (c) colleges in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child’s educational outcome. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new teachers across secondary and special schools and in our colleges over the course of this Parliament.
The department cannot currently provide a breakdown of this progress by constituency, however, over 2,000 more people are training to become secondary school teachers this year. Recruitment is on track to improve further for 2025/26, with 1,070 more acceptances to postgraduate and teacher degree apprenticeship initial teacher training courses in secondary subjects by the end of April 2025, compared to the same time last year. Additionally, over 2,500 more teachers are expected to stay in the profession over the next three years.
This is, in part, due to the 5.5% pay rise announced last year, which, combined with this year’s above-inflation pay award of 4%, will mean school teachers in maintained schools will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. This will apply across all teachers in all constituencies across England and is already having a significant impact on teacher retention. Alongside this, the department is offering targeted retention payments to teachers of key subjects working in disadvantaged areas in the first five years of their careers. Teachers in four schools are eligible for these payments, up to £4,000 tax free, in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency, 12 in Milton Keynes, and 24 in Buckinghamshire County.
To further improve retention, the department is actively promoting flexible working in schools, such as allowing planning, preparation, and assessment to be undertaken from home. We are also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Upton Court Grammar School of Pioneer Educational Trust is the flexible working ambassador school for the South East, providing local, tailored peer support for Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire.