§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of non-monetary special incentives to attract teachers back into the profession. [73201]
§ Ms Estelle Morris[holding answer 1 March 1999] We are aware of the large pool of qualified teachers who are currently not active in the profession, and we are keen to maximise the number who are attracted back into teaching. Around 12,000 people do re-enter teaching in England and Wales every year. Over time, the proposals for better rewards, support and training in our Green 612W Paper, "Teachers—Meeting the challenge of change", will be key in boosting our ability to draw back former teachers.
In the shorter term, the Teacher Training Agency funds a number of courses specifically designed to update the skills of returners and ease their way back into teaching. Last year, 618 returners made use of TTA-funded courses, and we have just increased the amount of funding available for these courses. The new network of local recruitment advisers I announced last October are working to promote these courses and find other creative ways of targeting returners. We also changed the pensions abatement provision last year to introduce greater flexibility for retired teachers considering a return to work. It is too early to assess the impact of these initiatives, but we will be evaluating their effect later this year.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 3 February 1999,Official Report, column 664, how many and what percentage of teachers in secondary schools in England do not have a first degree. [73639]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisFull and part-time teachers in maintained secondary schools in England at March 19971 without a first degree2 are as follows:
Number of teachers
- Full-time: 45,800
- Part-time: 10,400.
Percentage of all teachers
- Full-time: 26
- Part-time: 39.
1Data for 1997 are provisional.
2Some teachers who did not have a first degree at the time they received qualified teacher status, or in the case of teachers no trained in England or Wales when they entered the teaching profession, will have obtained a degree later, but are counted as without a first degree in the answer.