HC Deb 03 May 1974 vol 872 cc299-300W
Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the overall shortage of teachers in England.

Mr. Prentice

Statistical returns in January 1974 on the employment of their teacher quotas which were received from all but six of the local education authorities in England indicated no overall shortage of teachers. Nevertheless some authorities were employing more and others less than their quotas and in many areas there were shortages of certain kinds of specialist teachers. Statistics in September 1973 from all authorities in England indicated a similar situation.

Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many people entered the teaching profession in the latest year for which figures are available (a) after initial training and (b) as re-entrants; and how many of these were graduates.

Mr. Prentice

Admission of teachers to grant-aided schools and establishments including colleges of education and further education in the year ending March 1972 totalled 43,638 new entrants and 15,457 re-entrants. These included 12,195 graduate entrants and 3,888 graduate re-entrants, of whom 2,546 and 1,028 respectively entered as untrained graduates.

Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the cost in the last financial year of advertising to attract people into teaching.

Mr. Prentice

The total expenditure by the Central Office of Information in 1973–74 on behalf of the Department of Education and Science in advertising to attract people into teaching was £22,000. Of this, £13,071 was spent on a national campaign to attract graduates of mathematics and science into teaching or teacher training; and £8,929 was spent on a campaign to attract suitably qualified people to training courses for craft design and technology teachers in regions where there is a shortage of such teachers.

Mr. Bates

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the overall shortage of teachers in Wales.

Mr. Prentice

The latest statistical returns from local education authorities on the employment of their annual teacher quotas show that there was no overall shortage of teachers in Wales at the end of January 1974 and only one authority was employing less than its quota. However, in many areas there were shortages of certain kinds of specialist teachers.