Well, I would just like to put on record that, although the department absolutely regrets the quality of the initial Explanatory Memorandum, there was no intent to hinder.
I turn to the wider issues and the content of the statutory instrument. As your Lordships know, qualified teacher status is seen as a gold standard globally. When fully rolled out, these regulations will introduce a level playing field in the recognition of overseas professional teaching qualifications. They will replace a system where some teachers can have their qualifications recognised with ease while others who may be equally qualified cannot. We initially projected that up to 1,200 more overseas teachers could be awarded qualified teacher status through these changes, but it is already clear that this is likely to be a conservative estimate; I will talk more about that in a moment.
The noble Baroness, Lady Twycross, said that she regretted the impact that this could have on the teaching profession overseas. We are taking a more cautious approach to the rollout of our policy and will initially allow applications only from teachers who are qualified in mathematics, the sciences and languages in certain countries. Of course, we will monitor very closely the actual level of migration to teaching posts in England by teachers from newly eligible countries. We are in close contact with the regulators in those countries to monitor and discuss the impact of this.
Since we launched the Apply for QTS service on 1 February, we have seen a very high number of applications from many teachers able to apply for the first time. This has been driven by news coverage of the scheme overseas, some of which has been inaccurate and led to some misunderstanding of the scheme as offering candidates a job directly. Our initial review suggests that there will be a large number of candidates who do not meet the eligibility criteria, which rightly prioritises quality and subject need. But the significant level of interest from those who will meet the eligibility criteria is positive and shows that international recruitment can help boost teacher recruitment in shortage subjects. We will be able to provide a fuller picture of award numbers in the coming months, once applicants have gone through our assessment process. That will mean that the information we provide gives a true picture of the numbers of teachers who may apply for jobs in our schools.
Further, to attract the very best teachers from around the world we have also introduced an international relocation payment worth £10,000 to help overseas teachers and trainees in physics and languages to relocate to England, for the reasons that both noble Lords set out, and we have made bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 available to non-UK trainees in the same subjects.
The noble Baroness questioned whether we had a coherent and holistic plan for the teaching workforce in England, and I say that international candidates are just one element of our plan. In 2019, we launched the first ever integrated strategy both to recruit and retain more teachers; that has been developed alongside, and welcomed by, teachers, education unions and professional bodies. We have made good progress on this: we opened the National Institute of Teaching, published the department’s first ever Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, refreshed the content of teacher training, and introduced the early-career framework, with all the support that that offers to early-career teachers.
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We are also transforming training and support for teachers. By the end of 2024, we will deliver 500,000 training opportunities so that teachers can access world-class training and professional development at every stage of their career. We are implementing the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for 2022-23 in full, meaning that starting salaries outside London have increased by 8.9% this year to £28,000, keeping us on track to deliver our manifesto commitment of a £30,000 starting salary. Experienced teachers received at least a 5% increase, which is the highest pay award in the last 30 years. This year, we expect that around 40% of classroom teachers will have received pay rises of between 8.5% and 15.9%, when you take into account their pay award and the increases they receive through progression or promotion.
I also remind the House that the absolute number of teachers remains high, with over 465,000 full-time equivalent teachers working in state-funded schools across the country—24,000 more than in 2010. We are supporting teachers and leaders at all levels with their development. However, we know that there is further to go to improve recruitment in some subjects, as your Lordships pointed out. That is why, in addition to our international policies, we are boosting recruitment and retention in priority subjects through our £181 million teacher training financial incentives package, which is a 40%—£52 million—increase on the last cycle. As I mentioned earlier in relation to international teachers, in addition to the bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000, the levelling-up premium is worth £3,000 tax-free for eligible maths, physics, chemistry and computing teachers. To be clear: the bursaries and scholarships apply in those priority subjects and for international trainees in languages and physics, as I mentioned earlier.
We have the largest number of qualified teachers since the school workforce census began in 2010-11, but we are absolutely clear that there is more we can do. Our commitment to attracting, retaining and developing highly skilled teachers, including those from overseas, who can inspire the next generation of students is a top priority for us. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions.