Graduates applying to train as teachers in high priority subjects
will receive increases to tax-free cash bursaries and
scholarships from next year under government plans to recruit and
retain top talent.
For aspiring teachers starting their training in September 2023,
bursaries worth £27,000 and scholarships worth £29,000 will draw
talented trainees into the highest-priority STEM (science,
technology and mathematics) subjects of mathematics, physics,
chemistry and computing.
£25,000 bursaries and £27,000 scholarships will be offered to
prospective languages teachers – up £10,000 on this academic
year.
Bursary and scholarship eligibility is being extended to all
non-UK national trainees in physics and languages.
The generous package is worth £181 million in total, up £52
million on the current academic year, and will help ensure there
are excellent teachers across the country, developing the
pipeline of skills that the future UK economy will need.
A new relocation premium for overseas nationals coming to England
to teach or train in these subjects was confirmed earlier this
year in the Schools
White Paper, which will help with visa costs and other
expenses.
Teachers in the first five years of their career teaching
mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing
in disadvantaged schools are also able to claim the
Levelling Up Premium,
worth up to £3,000 tax free.
Schools Minister said:
As a former teacher, I know that investing in our teachers is
investing in young people. These generous bursaries and
scholarships will attract the brightest and the best into
teaching.
Shoring up the talent pipeline to teach vital subject areas such
as STEM and languages will, in turn, equip young people with the
knowledge and skills they need to secure a bright future, and
ensure that our economy remains globally competitive.
Further bursaries available include those for aspiring geography
teachers, who will receive £25,000, an increase of £10,000, while
£20,000 bursaries for biology and design & technology
represent increases of £10,000 and £5,000 respectively on the
current academic year. A £15,000 tax-free bursary for English
will also be reintroduced.
The funding available is the latest step towards the Government’s
intention, set out earlier this year in the Schools White Paper,
for every child to be taught by an excellent teacher.
It is also part of broader work to raise the profile of teaching.
Earlier this year the Government announced the highest pay awards
for teachers in a generation – 8.9 percent increases for new
teachers and five percent for experienced teachers and leaders –
in recognition of their hard work and supporting with the cost of
living, while also reflecting the need for the sound management
of schools’ budgets.
Louis Barson, Director of Science, Innovation and Skills at the
Institute of Physics said:
Great physics teaching opens up career opportunities in a broad
and growing range of career paths: from developing new cancer
treatments to tackling climate change.
We are pleased to be delivering the government’s scholarships
programme for physics teachers, helping tackle the physics
teacher shortage and focussing on areas with the greatest need
for specialists, enhancing the life chances of local pupils.
Scholars will benefit from additional financial
support, access to experienced professional coaching,
high-quality resources and a mutually supportive community.
