IET comments on government levelling up premium payments for STEM teachers

The IET welcomes the government’s recent announcement that from September up to £6,000 will be available through levelling up premium payments for teachers delivering STEM subjects. 

. This is a positive step towards fixing the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, which is particularly severe for STEM subjects.

However, we are disappointed that Design and Technology is not one of the eligible subjects. Design and Technology is the subject most closely aligned to engineering, which is currently not in the UK national curriculum, teaching invaluable creative problem-solving skills and real-world applications for maths and science.

In our Engineering Kids’ Futures report we called on the Government to review the national curriculum to embed engineering into school education. By teaching children vital skills in engineering from an early age we can empower more young people to think about a possible career in engineering and technology to futureproof the next generation of engineers and technologists.