Twenty-five areas across England, including Bradford, Derby and Salford, have been selected to run a pilot programme to reimburse student loan repayments for modern foreign languages and science teachers in the early years of their careers.
The announcement was made by education secretary Justine Greening in a speech to delegates at a Teach First conference in London earlier today.
First outlined in the Conservatives’ election manifesto and confirmed at the party’s conference earlier this month, the scheme is aimed at attracting and retaining teachers in the subjects and areas of the country where they are needed most.
The local authorities covered by the pilot are:
- Barnsley
- Blackpool
- Bracknell Forest
- Bradford
- Cambridgeshire
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Doncaster
- Halton
- Knowsley
- Luton
- Middlesbrough
- Norfolk
- North East Lincolnshire
- North Yorkshire
- Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Oldham
- Peterborough
- Portsmouth
- Salford
- Sefton
- St Helens
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Suffolk
Around 800 modern foreign language and 1,700 science teachers a year will be eligible for the scheme.
The new student loan repayments pilot and the increased student loan repayment threshold of £25,000 will mean £720 “cash in pocket” (the equivalent of an approximate £1,000 increase in salary) for a teacher on £29,000 a year, according to the Department for Education.
Speaking at Teach First’s Impact Conference this afternoon, Ms Greening said: “I want to make sure that everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their ambitions, regardless of where they are growing up or their background.”
Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First commented:“Covering teachers’ student loan repayments is a positive step that will be welcomed by graduates, teachers and schools. At a time when schools in low-income communities are struggling to recruit this has the potential to bring more graduates into the profession, and support teachers to stay working in the schools we need them in the most”.
The education secretary also announced two new projects that will receive a share of the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund.
Anvil Education Ltd will deliver an extensive whole school Behaviour Improvement Programme with well-known behavioural expert Tom Bennett.
Mr Bennett said: “Good behaviour is fundamental to every outcome we value in education: academic outcomes, social skills, employability, citizenship, creativity, critical thinking, and more.
“Teachers and leaders can make a huge difference by creating fantastic cultures in their rooms and schools where learning, civility and community are valued.
“Our training offers school staff the tools to do exactly that, in ways that have been tested in some of the best schools in the UK and beyond.”
In the second project, EdisonLearning will run an “NAHT Aspire” programme, billed as “an intensive one-year development programme including foundational and conceptual learning strategies through to the leadership of learning and teaching in schools, enabling everyone in the school community to participate”.
Jerry Baker, managing director of EdisonLearning, commented: “We are delighted that the success of the NAHT Aspire Programme has been recognised in the award of the TLIF contract.
“We look forward to continuing this success with the TLIF schools and building new Aspire networks across the country over the next two years”.
