Retraining physics teachers 'more cost-effective' than bursaries

Retraining teachers to become physics specialists could cost eight times less than increasing trainee bursaries, analysis by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has found.

One additional year of specialist physics teaching costs the government around £5,200 by retraining a serving teacher, compared with £41,000 through a £1,000 increase in the physics trainee bursary.

The EPI wants the government to fund at least one programme that enables existing teachers to teach physics, including at A level.

Since 2010-11, the only science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subject that did not lose teaching time from qualified staff was computing, researchers found, with physics teaching time falling by 9 per cent.

According to the EPI, just 55 per cent of physics teaching hours are currently delivered by someone with a “relevant degree”.

The shortage is also most pronounced in disadvantaged schools: fewer than one in five physics teachers hold a relevant degree in disadvantaged schools outside of London, the researchers note.

Retraining is ‘more cost-effective’ route

Last year, the Institute of Physics called for “urgent action” to tackle the shortage of physics teachers after it found that more than 700,000 GCSE students could be without a specialist teacher.

Introducing and funding a specialist training programme should be a government “priority” to address shortages, according to the EPI.

James Zuccollo, EPI director for school workforce, said: “The government has two levers to close the specialist shortage: increasing bursaries for trainee teachers in shortage subjects, or retraining teachers already in the classroom.

“Our analysis shows retraining is the more cost-effective route, yet no funded programme trains serving teachers to specialist depth in physics.”

Introducing such a programme should be a “priority”, but any success would depend on “removing the barrier that stops teachers taking part” - Mr Zuccolo cited, for example, the cost of releasing teachers from timetabled lessons.

Students missing out on specialist teaching

To address the shortage of physics teachers, existing bursaries should be maintained alongside the retraining schemes, as neither route alone would “close the physics shortage”, the EPI said.

The research follows the government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers in its 2024 manifesto.

The latest Department for Education workforce data indicates that the number of teachers working in schools in England fell by 1,900 this year, but the government claims to be on track to deliver the pledge.

The EPI analysis was commissioned by the Gatsby Foundation, whose head of Stem in schools, Jenni French, said too many students were missing out on specialist physics teaching.

Teachers with stronger subject knowledge give students confidence in the subject, she added.

“We need to keep recruiting new physics teachers, but recruitment alone will not solve the problem,” said Ms French.

She added: “There are also talented teachers already in schools who, with the high-quality subject-specific training and the right support, could help build the specialist physics teaching capacity we urgently need. This research makes a strong case for investing in them.”

Access to triple science is ‘unequal’

Meanwhile, a survey of 2,000 science teachers, released by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), has revealed that just a third of educators working in schools in England with a higher proportion of students eligible for free school meals (FSM) expect to be able to offer all three sciences to GCSE students.

In contrast, half of teachers in areas of low FSM eligibility expect universal access to GCSE triple science.

Laura Daly, education policy programme manager at the RSC, said: “Young people’s access to different science pathways should not depend on where they go to school.

“These findings suggest access to triple science remains unequal; every young person deserves access to a high-quality science education, regardless of where they go to school.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said: “While the idea of a triple science entitlement is welcome in principle, these findings underline the scale of the challenge the government will face in ensuring schools have the teachers, resources and facilities needed.”

The DfE has been contacted for comment.