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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the School Direct programme is ensuring a sufficient supply of teachers for schools in England.

Lord Nash

Teaching continues to represent an attractive choice for top graduates and career changers – last year we recruited over 1,000 more secondary teachers than the previous year, and we exceeded our target for new primary teachers.

Our best schools have a crucial role to play in training the next generation of outstanding teachers. That is why we introduced the School Direct training programme, which gives schools the opportunity to recruit and select their own trainee teachers, and to play a central part in both the design and delivery of teacher training. School Direct is only one of a range of routes through which new teachers can choose to train.

We initially piloted the School Direct programme with a cohort of 351 trainees in the academic year 2012/13; thanks to its popularity with schools the scheme rapidly expanded to deliver 6,676 training places the following year. This has continued to rise each year, and provisional data show that 10,252 trainees have commenced School Direct programmes in the current academic year. This represents 39 per cent of all postgraduate teacher training places in the current year, and makes a significant contribution to the 51 per cent of all postgraduate training places that are now school-led.

We recognise that recruitment to teacher training is becoming increasingly challenging as the economy improves and the graduate labour market strengthens. That is why we are giving schools greater direct involvement in selecting and training the high-quality teachers they need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of hours a week worked by (1) teachers, and (2) school leaders.

Lord Nash

Removing unnecessary workload for teachers is a priority for this Government. On 6 February 2015, we published the response to our Workload Challenge alongside the findings in an independent research report. In response, a comprehensive programme was put in place to help address the complex issues raised. This included a commitment to continue to track teachers’ workload by carrying out a large scale survey every two years. This will start in spring 2016. Three review groups are also in progress to address the causes of unnecessary workload in relation to three of the biggest issues emerging from the Workload Challenge, namely: marking, planning, resources and data management. The groups will report to the Secretary of State in the spring of 2016 with principles for teaching practice and recommendations for the Department, schools and headteachers on how to eliminate unnecessary workload.

Information on hours worked by teachers was collected in the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Study.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of current morale in the teaching profession.

Lord Nash

According to the OECD’s ‘Teaching and Learning International Survey’ (2013), 82 per cent of teachers surveyed in England either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that ‘all in all, I am satisfied with my job.’ This information is published in the attached research report ‘Teachers in England’s Secondary Schools: Evidence from TALIS 2013’.

In addition, the latest statistics (School Workforce Census, November 2014) show that teacher retention rates one year after qualifying have remained stable for the past two decades, at around 90 per cent. Furthermore, 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later, and the long-term retention rate is also stable, with over 60 per cent of teachers remaining in the classroom 10 years after qualifying.

The Government is committed to raising the status of the teaching profession. We are supporting the establishment of a new, independent College of Teaching, and are offering postgraduate bursaries of up to £30,000 for trainee teachers starting initial teacher training in 2016/17, depending on their degree classification and the subject they plan to teach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategy they have in place to increase retention of teachers in the profession.

Lord Nash

Teacher retention rates have remained stable for over a decade and the turnover rate in teaching is lower than for the economy as a whole. Approximately 90% of all teachers are still in service in the year after they qualify and 72% of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over 60 percent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

The Government recognises that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made policy interventions in areas such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.

The Department has appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

Three groups have been established to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. All three groups are due to report in Spring 2016 and the Department is commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in Spring 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, broken down by region and subject, of the current levels of qualified teachers.

Lord Nash

The information requested is not available.

Latest figures show that 96 per cent of full-time equivalent teachers in service in state funded schools in England (November 2014) have qualified teacher status.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many teachers have left the profession within five years of qualifying in each year since 2009.

Lord Nash

Of the full and part-time teachers who gained qualified teacher status in 2009 (and were in service by March 2010), 72% were still in service in a state funded school in England five years after qualification. The rate of retention five years after qualification has remained broadly stable since 1996.