§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage mathematics graduates to become teachers. [138723]
§ Mr. MilibandSince September 2000, £6,000 training bursaries have been available to postgraduate trainee teachers and £4,000 golden hellos for those who go on to teach priority subjects, including mathematics, in a maintained school. Since September 2002, these incentives have been reinforced by the Repayment of Teachers' Loans pilot scheme for new teachers of priority subjects. Recruitment to postgraduate courses of initial teacher training in mathematics has accordingly risen by 68 per cent. between 1999/2000 and 2003/04. Partly as a result of this increase, the number of unfilled vacancies for mathematics teachers in maintained secondary schools has fallen by 22 per cent. in only two years.
781WThe Government will build on these achievements over the coming years. The Teacher Training Agency is currently developing a number of new initiatives to bring more mathematics specialists into the classroom. These include enhancement courses designed to allow prospective teachers of mathematics to bring their subject-knowledge up to the required level for entry onto a postgraduate teacher training course.