Teacher Recruitment and Retention

HC Deb 16 July 2003 vol 409 cc354-5W

Bob Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what special(a) measures and (b) funding are available for the retention and recruitment of teaching staff; and to which areas of Essex these apply. [125022]

Mr. Miliband

Essex as a whole has benefited from the full range of Government measures introduced since 1997 to improve teacher recruitment and retention. These measure include: Training Bursaries, Golden Helios, extra pay flexibilities, an enhanced Graduate Teacher Programme, assistance to purchase homes through the Starter Homes Initiative, the repayment of student loans and funding for Recruitment Managers within local education authorities. These initiatives have helped full-time equivalent teacher numbers rise across Essex from 12,580 in 1997 to 13,650 in 2002.

In addition, twenty-one Essex schools are benefiting this year from the £125,000 Leadership Incentive Grant (LIG).