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Written question asked by Shivani Raja (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Georgia Gould (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Religion: Education

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the number of Religious Education teachers.

Answer

Our plan to deliver 6,500 new expert teachers sets how we will recruit the secondary, special school and further education teachers, including religious education (RE) teachers, over the course of this parliament. It focuses on three key themes, attracting, retaining and developing teachers, to ensure that we have enough highly-skilled teachers in our schools and colleges to allow every child to achieve and thrive.

There were more postgraduate RE trainee teachers in 2025/26, with 492 entrants to initial teacher training, compared to 462 in 2024/25. The data can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2025-26.

From September 2026, teachers and leaders will receive a pay award of 3.5%, followed by a further 3% increase from September 2027, which means teachers will have seen a 17% increase in pay since this government took office. We have also taken action to reduce workload and promote flexible working and improve wellbeing, so even more teachers stay in the profession and thrive.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
22514
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Education Qualifications Teachers Religion
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk