§ 28. Liz BlackmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what plans she has to recruit more teachers. [899]
§ Mr. TimmsOur recruitment and retention measures have already secured more teachers than for over a decade and the number of trainee teachers has risen for the first time in eight years. We have pledged at least 10,000 extra teachers by 2006.
To achieve this, we have announced a teacher retention and recruitment fund to support schools in areas where there are difficulties; an extension to English of the £4,000 golden hellos for newly-qualified teachers of shortage subjects; an expansion of the Graduate Teacher Programme; and new courses for those returning to teaching. We are also proposing a welcome back bonus for people returning to teaching this year and a scheme to help pay off, over time, the student loans of new teachers in shortage subjects who commit themselves to a career in the maintained sector.