Specialist vs non-specialist teaching

In short

A specialist teacher holds a relevant post-A-level qualification in the subject they teach. The DfE estimates the share of teaching hours in each secondary subject taught by a specialist – about 87% across all subjects, but far lower in some.

Not every lesson is taught by someone who studied that subject to a high level. In shortage subjects, schools often cover lessons with a capable teacher whose specialism lies elsewhere – a “non-specialist”. The DfE measures this as the percentage of teaching hours delivered by a teacher with a relevant post-A-level qualification.

The national figure is around 87%, but it ranges widely: modern foreign languages, physics and religious education rely most on non-specialists, and specialist teaching has fallen in several subjects since 2010. This is one reason a subject can look fine on recruitment yet still be under real pressure in the classroom.

📊 See specialist teaching by subject

Sources & how this was made

Key official sources: the Department for Education’s Get Into Teaching and Teach in Further Education services, and GOV.UK guidance on initial teacher training, qualified teacher status, FE initial teacher education funding and the Early Career Teacher Entitlement; the Society for Education and Training on QTLS; and DfE statistics (School Workforce in England, the ITT Census, Teacher demand and postgraduate trainee need, and the Further education workforce releases) on Explore Education Statistics, under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Last reviewed: 15 August 2026. Teacher training rules, funding and figures change – always confirm current details with Get Into Teaching and GOV.UK.

How this was made: developed and cross-checked with AI assistance alongside expert human review by tutor2u. It is an independent, plain-English guide, not official DfE guidance.