HC Deb 27 July 1979 vol 971 cc518-21W
Mr. Madel

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what the actual shortage of mathematics and science teachers is in maintained schools in England; what proportion of those currently teaching these subjects is inadequately trained or not trained at all to teach these subjects; and if he will make a statement.

Dr. Boyson

Preliminary information from the 1977 survey of secondary school

Number of teachers teaching named subject Number of teachers qualified in named subject who teach it Percentage of tuition provided by teachers qualified in named subject Number of teachers without a qualification in named subject but teaching it Percentage of teachers teaching named subject but not holding a qualification in it
Mathematics 43,400 30,600 84 12,800 29.5
Science 41,900 36,900 96 5,000 11.9
including:
Physics 12,500 8,500 78 4,000 32
Chemistry 12,200 9,600 90 2,600 21.3
Biology 13,900 11,600 91 2,300 16.5

Note:

Teachers with qualifications in more than one subject are listed under each.

Mr. David Young

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what was the extent of teacher unemployment in primary education in each of the last five years and his projections for the next five years; and how he proposes to use the skills of these teachers now unemployed in this sector:

(2) how many secondary education teachers were unemployed in each of the

June 1975 June 1976 June 1977 June 1978 June 1979
Primary 502 1,238 2,341 2,908 3,164
Secondary 942 1,969 3,510 3,861 4,089

It is not possible to project teacher unemployment in future years.

Mr. David Young

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many primary teachers were employed in each of the last 10 years; and what are his projections of teacher employment in the primary sector in each of the next five years;

(2) how many teachers were employed in secondary education in each of the last 10 years; and what are his projections for secondary teacher employment in each of the next five years.

Primary Secondary Divided Service
1969 181,725 163,276 1,097
1970 183,529 170,936 1,191
1971 192,449 178,361 1,369
1972 199,385 189,033 2,586
1973 207,385 201,411 3,381
1974 212,574 217,351 3,734
1975 216,293 224,301 4,864

staffing in England and Wales in contained in the table below. Information about the number of inadequately qualified teachers and the numbers required to make good the shortages will be available later.

last five years; and what are his projections for the next five years, taking account of the use of the teachers trained and awaiting jobs.

Dr. Boyson

The numbers of teachers in England and Wales registered with the Department of Employment as unemployed and seeking teaching posts in primary and secondary education for the last five years were:

Dr. Boyson

The number of teachers in—terms of full-time equivalents—employed in primary and secondary schools in January for each year since 1969 is given below together with the number of teachers who divide their service between primary and secondary schools. The numbers to be employed in the next five years depend upon decisions by the Government yet to be announced about the availablity of financial resources for education, and the way LEAs allocate resources.

Primary Secondary Divided Service
1976 217,525 232,788 5,719
1977 213,851 241,191 7,179
1978 211,293 246,295 7,384
1979 210,528 250,779 8,511

Note: Figures for 1969–71 are at February. Middle schools are included as deemed except for 1969–71 when all middle school teachers have been included with secondary schools.