Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord Pickles (Conservative) on Monday, 20 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 August 2026. It was answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern (Labour) on Wednesday, 5 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of teachers in England who qualified in each year since 2018 remained in the profession five years later.

Answer

The department has now achieved 71.6% of the 6,500 additional teachers target. There are 4,654 more teachers - 3,008 more teachers in secondary and special schools in 2025/26 and 1,646 more teachers in further education, than in 2024/25. Latest data also reported one of the lowest leaver rates on record of 8.5% and a record 17,740 teachers returning to the classroom.

While the department does not routinely publish recruitment and retention rates at a regional level, trends in the full-time equivalent teacher workforce suggest that regions have broadly followed the national pattern over time.

Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher recruitment and retention, is published annually in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical release, available on GOV.UK.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2348
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Labour turnover Teachers
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk