Workington MP Sue Hayman has pressed the Government for answers over teacher recruitment in West Cumbria. 

Mrs Hayman raised the issue in the House of Commons last year and has once again pressed the Minister of State for Schools, Nick Gibb MP, on what the Government is doing to improve teacher retention and recruitment in schools in rural areas such as the Workington constituency.

She asked: "Last year I spoke to the minister about the difficulty of recruiting and retaining teachers in my constituency, which is partly due to its remoteness.

"He has talked a great deal about the recruitment of teachers, but what specifically is being done to encourage them to come to remote areas such as west Cumbria?"”

The minister responded: "The National Teaching Service was established to second high-performing teachers to parts of the country with a history of recruitment problems.

"When a remote rural school is part of a multi-academy trust, that helps to recruit teachers, because they know that they can move, within the trust, from a rural to an urban school and back again. That makes recruitment and retention far easier."

Mrs Hayman said: "In rural Cumbria, we continue to struggle with teacher recruitment and retention, and I would appreciate it if the minister could set out how the Government will improve the situation in Cumbria.

"I was perplexed with his response that multi-academy trusts are the answer, particularly with regard to large ‘urban’ areas, which are few and far between in Cumbria.

“We must to ensure that every school has adequate teaching staff.

"The pupils and parents in my constituency deserve nothing less.

"I urge the minister to do everything in his power to ensure that children and young people in West Cumbria receive the best possible education."