Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Teacher Recruitment

Monday 21 July 2025 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 1

Key points

  • Ministerial commitment to recruit 6500 new teachers, more than a third of the way through.
  • Response acknowledges challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers in disadvantaged areas.
  • Government plans to provide three years of evidence-based training for new teachers, including support for neurodiverse students.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Bambos Charalambous Lab Southgate and Wood Green
Education
Context

Public Accounts Committee report showed that schools with high proportion of disadvantaged pupils experienced worst teacher shortages.

Question

I congratulate the Secretary of State on the Department for Education being more than a third of the way through recruiting those 6,500 teachers. However, the Public Accounts Committee reported that schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils faced the worst teacher shortages. Will she reassure me that extra effort will be put into recruiting and retaining teachers at these schools?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

I give my hon. Friend that assurance and thank him for all the work he does for schools right across his constituency. Recruiting and retaining more teachers—particularly in the most disadvantaged areas—is critical to our opportunity mission, but I am also delighted that initial teacher training acceptances are up 12% in secondary education.

Answered
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Q2 Juliet Campbell Lab Broxtowe
Education Children & Families
Context

Dyslexic children leave school with disproportionately lower attainment levels, over-represented in criminal justice system.

Question

I thank the Secretary of State for her response and for the Government’s commitment to recruiting 6,500 new teachers. However, dyslexic children tend to leave school or education with disproportionately lower attainment levels. They are also over-represented in the criminal justice system and often have low self-esteem, much of which comes from their experience in educational settings. Will she outline how she will ensure that the recruitment of new teachers brings in those who can meet the education needs of dyslexic and neurodiverse children?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

I thank my hon. Friend for her question and for all her work to support neurodiverse students in Broxtowe and beyond. From September, thanks to this Labour Government’s reforms, all new teachers will receive three years of evidence-based training, including significantly enhanced content on supporting children with additional needs.

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Q3 Tristan Osborne Lab Chatham and Aylesford
Education
Context

School buildings can help with student progress and teacher retention.

Question

As a former teacher, I know that new school buildings not only help student progress but encourage teacher retention. Can the Minister confirm that new school buildings are indeed part of this Government’s programme for change? Will she commit to visiting Bradfields academy in my constituency, a specialist SEND school investing millions as part of the schools rebuilding programme?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

I am grateful to my hon. Friend; I know he cares deeply about outcomes for children in Chatham and Aylesford, and that he brings real experience to this House. He is right to demonstrate the important role of the specialist sector. Bradfields academy has already secured a place on the schools rebuilding programme; with the approval of the trust, I would be delighted to arrange for me or one of my colleagues to visit and see the brilliant work they are doing.

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Q4 Esther McVey Con Tatton
Education Taxation
Context

Increase in costs due to employer national insurance contributions and misallocation of funds.

Question

This Government are hampering schools’ recruitment of new teachers. First they hiked up the cost through the increase in employer national insurance contributions; then the money promised to state schools from charging VAT on private school fees was spent on housing instead. Can the Secretary of State tell the House how much the increase in employer national insurance contributions will cost schools in total over this Parliament?

Answer from The Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson)

We are investing record sums in our state schools. The Conservative party wants to take money out of our state schools to give tax breaks back to private schools. That tells us everything we need to know about their priorities.

Not answered

Not addressed: Financial impact of increased NI costs for schools.

How: Changing The Subject

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