£31k FE teacher training bursaries to continue in 2026-27

Experts say bursaries are 'very effective for recruiting more teachers and retaining additional teachers long-term' amid Labour's 6.5k pledge

Experts say bursaries are 'very effective for recruiting more teachers and retaining additional teachers long-term' amid Labour's 6.5k pledge

Tax-free bursaries worth up to £31,000 to further education trainee teachers in key STEM shortage subjects will continue to be offered next year, the government has confirmed.

The decision is part of education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s drive to recruit and retain 6,500 additional teachers by the end of this Parliament in 2029.

Bursaries were increased to £31,000 in 2025-26 for FE trainee teachers in computing, engineering or manufacturing, mathematics, and science, including biology, chemistry, or physics.

SEND-specialist trainees are also being offered £15,000 this year, while £10,000 is on offer for those training to teach English.

The Department for Education suggested these bursaries will continue in 2026-27 at the same rate in the same subjects, in a notice to the press this evening.

It said: “As part of today’s package, bursaries for teacher trainees in further education will also be available, with £31,000 for those teaching in key shortage STEM subjects, £15,000 for SEND-specialist trainees and £10,000 for those training to teach English. 

“This reflects the importance that the government places on supporting colleges and other FE institutions to train and recruit high-quality teachers.”

Full confirmation of the STEM subjects that attract £31,000 bursaries is expected tomorrow morning (October 7).

A DfE spokesperson said the department will also offer schools up to £29,000 to “cover the cost of training apprentices in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and computing, as well as £20,000 in modern foreign languages, meaning apprentices pay nothing for their training and will earn a salary while they are training before moving on to a qualified teacher salary”. 

The Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship (PGTA) funding “will, for the first time, will be equivalent to the initial teacher training incentives in all subjects”.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We welcome the fact that the government recognises the need to get more specialist teachers into the classroom. 

“The recruitment and retention system is badly broken, with the majority of schools and colleges suffering from teacher shortages. Bursaries and scholarships may be helpful in some areas, but it is hard to see how they will turn the tide of this crisis on their own.”

Jack Worth, education workforce lead at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), added: “Our research has shown bursaries are very effective for recruiting more teachers and retaining additional teachers long-term, particularly in shortage subjects such as physics and maths.

“This announcement could go a long way towards helping the government meet its pledge to recruit and retain 6,500 additional teachers.”

The government has committed to publishing the full details of how it will deliver on its pledge for 6,500 more teachers by December, a year and a half after being elected.

Forecasts suggest up to 12,400 more teachers will be needed in colleges alone by 2028.

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