The government says it hopes to cover the cost of training apprentices in mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, computing and modern foreign languages, subjects which have the highest teacher shortages.
As part of a drive to recruit 6,500 new teachers, postgraduate teaching apprenticeship courses will also be slashed from 12 months to nine, aligning to the school year and getting newly trained teachers working sooner.
Courses will still offer the same content possessor reduced length with teachers gaining qualified teacher status after they’ve completed the programme, going on to holds to build successful careers in teaching.
The government says the changes build on wider steps already being taken to support teacher recruitment and retention including last summer’s 5.5% pay award and a targeted retention incentive, worth up to £6000 after tax for early career teachers working in shortage subjects.
“Recruiting and keeping high quality teachers in our classrooms is the single biggest driver of high standards in schools, which is why our plan for change has a clear commitment to recruit an additional 6500 expert teachers by the end of this Parliament,” said schools minister Catherine McKennell.
