§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on the Fast 591W Track scheme for teacher recruitment and how many teachers were recruited into Fast Track in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [86234]
§ Mr. MilibandThe Fast Track teaching programme is an accelerated development programme for teachers, designed to recruit, retain and rapidly develop transformational school leaders of the future. In 2001–02 the Department invested £8,265,344 in developing and implementing the Fast Track programme. This included the cost of recruiting 161 highly qualified and talented individuals. As numbers on the programme grow over time the unit cost will reduce, as there are fixed costs associated with establishing the infrastructure for this new nationwide programme.
The numbers on the Fast Track teaching programme are as follows:
Fast Track teaching programme Number In teaching posts in 102 schools 110 of whom, NQTs 88 In initial Teacher Training in nine providers 117 Currently deferred for one year 22 Total on Fast Track 249