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Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 2 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026. It was answered by Josh MacAlister (Labour) on Friday, 10 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Further Education: South Basildon and East Thurrock

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a) staff vacancies and b) turnover on post-16 education in South Basildon and East Thurrock.

Answer

Further education (FE) providers are responsible for assessing the impact of staff vacancies and turnover in light of their local circumstances.

The government is taking action to strengthen recruitment and retention across the FE workforce and is committed to recruiting 6,500 additional teachers across FE colleges, secondary schools and special schools during this Parliament.

We recently announced additional funding of around £120 million in 2026/27, rising to around £365 million in 2027/28, to help colleges recruit and retain excellent teachers.

Our national recruitment campaign promotes careers in FE, while targeted retention incentives of up to £6,000 after tax are available for early-career teachers in priority shortage subjects. We also offer teacher training bursaries worth up to £31,000.

In addition, the Taking Teaching Further programme supports industry professionals moving into teaching. We will continue to monitor workforce recruitment and retention trends through the FE Workforce Data Collection.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
15617
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Further education Labour turnover Vacancies South Basildon and East Thurrock
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk