Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 12
Second Report - Teacher recruitment, training and retention
Published 17 May 2024
Paragraph 73
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Teacher recruitment, training and retention All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome the initial success of existing retention payments such as the Levelling Up Premium and Early Career Payments. The Department should expand the Levelling Up Premium and Early Career Payments according to subject and regional demand. We have heard concerns about the restriction of these payments to Education Investment areas and that they may be needed elsewhere. The eligibility criteria for these payments should be reviewed periodically in order to adapt and respond to shortages; a national roll out of these payments should be considered if they continue to be a success.
From: Education Committee, Second Report - Teacher recruitment, training and retention (HC 119), paragraph 73, 17 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 16 January 2025 (deadline 17 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it "will consider the report's findings and recommendations carefully" and points to its own programme, including recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers, while setting out agreement and disagreement on individual recommendations.
- On extending the Teacher Workforce Model to further education, the Department says it "will continue to keep the schools and further education estimates separate" because of "the differing factors determining both the demand and supply of teachers".
- On subject-level data, it says it "will explore publishing subject level leaver rates" in future School Workforce Census publications, but does not publish reasons for leaving by subject "due to small sample sizes".
- On a bursary for career changers, it states "We do not believe there is a need to introduce a bursary specifically for career changers", noting that such trainees can access existing bursaries and scholarships.
- On NPQ funding, it is "committed to continue delivering funded NPQs in 2025", with future funding "confirmed in due course following the multiyear Spending Review".