Overview
- Department for Education data show 32,175 entrants to initial teacher training in 2025-26, up from 28,898 last year yet still below the 2019 pre-pandemic level of about 34,300.
- Postgraduate initial teacher training reached 99% of its goal after the target was cut by 19% to 26,920, with postgraduate primary at 126% of target and secondary at 88%.
- Eight of 18 secondary subjects met recruitment goals, while physics rose to 77% of target from 30% last year and modern foreign languages reached 93%, but business studies hit just 30%.
- School leaders welcomed the improvement but said many secondary subjects remain short and warned that one better year will not resolve ongoing staffing gaps.
- Analysts pointed to teaching’s perceived resilience to AI-related job losses as an additional draw, and most trainees will qualify to enter classrooms from September 2026.