To ask the Minister of Education for an update on (i) the action contained within his TransformED Delivery plan to put in place medium and long-term strategic monitoring of teacher supply to anticipate and remediate issues; and (ii) any cost incurred as a result of this action.

The TransformED Strategy sets out a clear commitment to make teaching in Northern Ireland a high status, fulfilling profession that attracts talented individuals, supports their development and retains them through meaningful opportunities for growth.

This requires a comprehensive workforce strategy to address supply, recruitment and retention. A working group led by the Department, will be established in summer 2026 to identify key data requirements; establish appropriate data collection mechanisms; and put in place appropriate annual monitoring and analysis of supply and demand trends. The working group will be supported by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), the Education Authority (EA) and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).

No costs have been incurred to date.