In June Tes revealed that international teachers working in British schools were being deported because they couldn’t get visas.

The investigation sparked a national campaign - #LetThemTeach - to get the whole teaching profession added to the ‘shortage occupation’ list, which gives higher priority for visas each month.

The campaign has galvanised the education community and drawn support from across the political spectrum. Here’s how #LetThemTeach has unfolded so far:

• 22 June 2018 - Tes exposed the plight of non-EU foreign teachers facing deportation from the UK.
• 25 June - Tes editor, Ann Mroz, wrote an open letter to the education secretary, Damian Hinds, and the home secretary, Sajid Javid. The letter was co-signed by the leaders of all of England’s main education unions.
• 26 June - The Association of Colleges announces its support for the campaign. The University and College Union also backed the campaign. 
• 27 June - Damian Hinds is quizzed by MPs about #LetThemTeach during an appearance at the House of Commons education select committee.
• 29 June - The Chartered College of Teaching throws its support behind the campaign.
• 3 July - A parliamentary petition is created calling on the government to add the entire teaching profession to the shortage occupation list. To date the petition has received more than 5,000 signatures.
• 10 July - Robert Halfon, the Conservative chair of the education select committee, joins the campaign, urging the government to “make sure that Britain is open to the best teachers around the world”.
• 13 July - The Scottish government announces its support, saying the current visa system is “not meeting Scotland’s needs”. #LetThemTeach is also supported by all of Scotland’s key professional associations.
• 17 July - Tes creates a pro forma letter allowing readers to lobby their MPs to put pressure on the government to change the visa regulations. On the same day Tes hosts a Facebook Live roundtable to discuss the issue.
• 19 July - The Liberal Democrats back the campaign.
• 23 July - The entire education select committee writes a letter to Sajid Javid, urging him to change the visa rules.
• 6 August - Damian Hinds indicates that the government could take action to stop international teachers being turned away.

There have been some signs recently that the government’s decision to remove NHS workers from the monthly visa cap has freed up some additional places for teachers.

However, with the number of visa applications - and the salary threshold - changing from month to month, teachers still have no certainty whether they will qualify.

And even if the monthly cap is not exceeded, the current minimum salary requirement of £30,000 to qualify for a visa excludes a large swathe of the profession.

In the primary sector, 30-40 per cent of teachers earn less than £30,000, and in the secondary sector the figure is 20-25 per cent.

With term starting again - and the teacher recruitment crisis showing no sign of abating - the #LetThemTeach campaign will step up a gear to press the government to relax its teacher visa restrictions.

In the coming days, more big names from the worlds of politics and education will be announcing their support for the campaign.

If you have not already done so, then please add your name to our petition, and stay tuned for further news on #LetThemTeach.