Pupils to benefit from more specialist teachers in classrooms as up to £31k tax free training incentives announced

• Aspiring teachers supported into the profession, with bursaries and scholarships worth up to £31,000 tax free on offer to train to teach – as government ramps up efforts to get more excellent teachers into classrooms
• Package will build on the significant progress made already to deliver on the government's pledge to recruit and retain 6,500 additional teachers, after over 2,300 more teachers were recruited in the last year
• Getting more expert subject teachers in classrooms is part of the government's Plan for Change to drive up standards across our schools and boosting outcomes, so every young person can achieve and thrive.

Talented people with the potential to become brilliant teachers are being offered bursaries and scholarships worth up to £31,000 to train to teach in subjects including chemistry, maths, physics, and computing that will help boost outcomes for young people across the country.

The government has made tangible progress to fix the foundations of education through its Plan for Change - attendance is up, with over five million fewer days of absence this year compared to last, and teacher recruitment and retention is also up, with over 2,300 more teachers in secondary and special schools across England.

In particular, the government has seen an increase in those training in Physics and Computing up by 33 per cent and 42 per cent, alongside languages and maths up by around 15 per cent compared to last year.

As part of today's package, bursaries for teacher trainees in further education will also be available, with £31,000 for those teaching in key shortage STEM subjects, £15,000 for SEND-specialist trainees and £10,000 for those training to teach English. This reflects the importance that the government places on supporting colleges and other FE institutions to train and recruit high-quality teachers.

We are also offering schools up to £29,000 to cover the cost of training apprentices in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and computing, as well as £20,000 in modern foreign languages, meaning apprentices pay nothing for their training and will earn a salary while they are training before moving on to a qualified teacher salary. The Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA), a popular route into teaching, has seen a 55 per cent growth offering a brilliant way for people to gain the hands-on skills and experience they need in the classroom from day one to become expert teachers and build a successful career in teaching. PGTA funding will for the first time, will be equivalent to the ITT incentives in all subjects.

Getting more exceptional teachers in front of every classroom with a passion to inspire the next generation will drive high and rising standards in schools and boost outcomes for every young person, so no child is left behind. Recent data shows that more than one in ten maths lessons in the last year was taught by a non-specialist teacher, whilst only 72.2 per cent of physics lessons were taught by a teacher with a relevant post A-level qualification. Funding announced today will make sure that children and young people have high-quality, specialist teachers in these key shortage subjects.

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:

“Inspirational teachers changed my life and change the lives of millions of children every day - this government is determined that we have more brilliant teachers, in more schools, improving the life chances of more children and young people.

“Through our Plan for Change we've already begun to move the dial, with more teachers in our schools this year than last, and big increases in people accepting teaching training places in subjects including chemistry, physics, and maths.

“But there is more to do, and we need talented people with the passion and drive to inspire the next generation - working their magic, making school a place pupils want to be, boosting outcomes and transforming the lives of our young people.”

Action is already being taken to tackle the systemic challenges that the sector faces which drive high workload and poor wellbeing, with the government announcing teacher pay awards of almost 10% over two years and working with schools and colleges to improve staff wellbeing and workload through the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, setting out commitments from government, schools, and colleges.

The launch of the new teacher training incentives today, comes ahead of the Education Secretary addressing teachers and school leaders from across the Southwest of England to highlight that there are still groups of children for whom school just isn't working.  

This includes children with special educational needs and disabilities, children from disadvantaged communities and white working-class children who have historically poor outcomes year on year, with wide variations in outcomes across the country. Too many pupils feel disengaged from school and that education just isn't for them.

She will call on teachers and leaders to work together to break that cycle and set these children up for success.

Plans to make sure every young person, wherever they grow up, have the opportunity to succeed will be set out in the Schools White Paper later this autumn. This will drive a once in a generation reset between those left behind, pupils and schools, to give every child the opportunities they deserve in life.

Notes To Editors

• Funding guidance for schools and ITT providers including bursaries, scholarships and salaried route grant: Funding: initial teacher training (ITT) - GOV.UK (to be updated at 9:30am Tuesday 7 October).
• Bursary and scholarship information on Get into Teaching: Teacher training bursaries | Get Into Teaching GOV.UK (to be updated at 9:30am Tuesday 7 October).
• Increased shortage subject teacher data can be found in our latest School Workforce Census: School workforce in England, Reporting year 2024 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
• Data on specialist subject teachers: 'Subjects taught and Specialist teachers and hours' from 'School workforce in England', Permanent data table - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
• In May 2025, the government announced that PGTA courses will be slashed from twelve months to nine, aligning to the school year and getting newly trained teachers into the classroom sooner.   
• As well as the PGTA, there are a range of apprenticeships available to individuals who are considering entering the teaching profession including a new degree level teacher apprenticeship as well as teaching assistant apprenticeships.