Pupils in failing schools to benefit as part of £200m Budget boost
3 min read
Teachers in some of the country's failing schools are to be given millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to improve their classroom skills, Philip Hammond will announce in the Budget.
An estimated 42,000 teachers in select schools will each be given a £1,000 training budget to take advantage of "high-quality professional development opportunities".
Ministers hope the £42m pilot "teacher development premium" scheme will boost the standard of education pupils receive.
In addition, the Chancellor will also announce an additional £177m to promote maths, including a project which will see schools and sixth form colleges receive £600 for every additional pupil who studies maths or further maths A Levels, or core maths.
Official figures show that that students who study A Level maths earn up to 10% more in their early 30s compared to those who took up other subjects. However, nearly three-quarters - 72% - of students who gain a GCSE in maths at C or above last year did not take the subject at a higher level.
Some £84m will also be provided to triple the number of fully-qualified computer science teachers.
A Treasury source said: "More people than ever before are studying computer science, therefore it is crucial those teaching the subject keep up with the ever-advancing curriculum."
'OPPORTUNITIES'
Mr Hammond will use his Budget to say the Government will "look forwards, to embrace change, to meet our challenges head on, and to seize the opportunities for Britain".
"Because for the first time in decades, Britain is genuinely at the forefront of a technological revolution, not just in our universities and research institutes, but this time in the commercial development labs of our great companies and on the factory floors and business parks across the land," he will say.
"So we must invest to secure a bright future for Britain, and at this Budget that is what we choose to do.
"A prosperous and inclusive economy where everybody has the opportunity to shine wherever in the UK they live, whatever their background.
"An outward looking, free-trading nation, a force for good in the world, a country fit for the future."
But Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner scoffed: “The Chancellor has already overseen the steepest cuts to school funding in a generation and a cap on public sector pay that has led to teachers leaving the classroom in record numbers.
"The Tories have missed their recruitment targets five years running and for two years in a row more teachers have left the profession than joined.”
“If Philip Hammond was serious about addressing the challenges in our schools he would reverse the cuts his Government have imposed since 2015, protect their budgets in real terms, and abolish the public sector pay cap entirely so we can retain and recruit the teachers and support staff that our schools desperately need.”
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