Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Paragraph: 63
Targeted bursaries improve teacher recruitment but negatively impact non-bursary subjects.
Conclusion
Where available, bursaries and scholarships improve teacher recruitment. We heard strong evidence that bursaries should be targeted where they will be most effective, such as for subjects with longstanding under-recruitment, subjects where demand is expected to increase and subjects that have particularly competitive job markets. However, we also heard concerns about the negative impact of targeted financial incentives on recruitment to teach non-bursary subjects.
Government Response Summary
The government highlights a 5.5% teacher pay award and nearly £1.1 billion in funding for schools to cover teacher and support staff pay offers, but does not directly address the conclusion's points on targeting bursaries.
Paragraph Reference:
63
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
We have also accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from this September. This award is above economy- wide average earnings growth forecasts for 2024/25 (the Office for Budget Responsibility expect average earnings growth to be 4.5% in FY 2024/25), improving the competitiveness of teacher pay. to make teacher pay more competitive. This award will apply to maintained schools across all pay points and allowances. In practice, this award will also be implemented in many academies, at their discretion. Alongside the pay award announcement, we announced that we are providing schools with almost £1.1 billion in 2024-25 through the new Core Schools Budget Grant (CSBG), to support them with overall costs. This matches what we have calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in financial year 2024-25, after accounting for the available headroom in schools’ existing budgets. Digital services