Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 24
Second Report - Teacher recruitment, training and retention
Published 17 May 2024
Paragraph 101
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 are disappointed about recent changes to the international relocation payment which will exclude trainee teachers from the 2024 and 2025 academic years. We viewed this payment as a positive intervention to encourage the recruitment and training of international teachers in key subjects and do not view this decision as a step in the right direction. We urge the Department to review this decision and reevaluate the scheme’s potential to help in providing high quality teachers in our schools. In particular, we are concerned about the late notice given for this change and urge the Department to work closely with Universities to ensure that no students on their way to qualify as teachers in shortage subjects are lost as a result of this At a minimum, this change should not apply retrospectively and international candidates accepted prior to April 3rd 2024 should be able to continue on to their studies in September 2024 with these payments.
From: Education Committee, Second Report - Teacher recruitment, training and retention (HC 119), paragraph 101, 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".