WIREDGOV

An accredited official statistics publication for Scotland.

The number of teachers in Scotland decreased to 53,412 full-time equivalents (FTE), a drop of 621 FTE compared to the previous year. Pupil numbers also decreased compared to last year, dropping by 3,100. However, the proportional decrease in teachers was greater than for pupils so the pupil teacher ratio (PTR), which gives a measure of the size of the teaching workforce relative to the pupil population, increased from 13.2 to 13.3.

The proportion of Teacher Induction Scheme probationers that secured a (permanent or temporary) teaching post in a Scottish school in the year following their probation decreased to 65% from 71% for the previous cohort.

The overall average class size in primary schools was 23.3, up from 23.2 in 2023.

The attendance rate in 2023/24 was 90.3% which is an increase from 90.2% in 2022/23 but the second lowest rate since comparable figures began in 2003/04. The persistent absence rate for 2023/24 was 31.4%, meaning that 31.4% of pupils in Scotland were absent for 10% or more of the school year (equivalent to 19 days or more).

The number of teachers, graduate staff and staff working towards graduate level qualifications related to delivering funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) was 5,860 – the second highest figure since the Scottish Government started collecting graduate data in the ELC census in 2017 and a decrease of 46 FTE from 2023.

Child registrations for funded ELC decreased this year to 90,321, down from 92,182 in 2023. The estimated uptake rate for children aged three and four decreased from 97% in 2023 to 95% in 2024. The proportion of two year olds registered for funded ELC remained 13%, which is estimated to be around 59% of those eligible for funded ELC at age two. The percentage of children eligible to defer entry to primary one who did so increased from 33% in 2023 to 34% in 2024.

Background

Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland brings together a wide range of information on school education and early learning and childcare provision in Scotland and covers: pupils (including attendance), teachers and early learning and childcare.

The complete set of statistics over time, as well as statistics containing more detailed breakdowns, are available for pupils, teachers, attendance and exclusions. A limited release of the 2024 edition of these supplementary statistics is available now and the full updates are scheduled for March.

Additional Early Learning and Childcare Tables were published today.

A dashboard with further breakdowns of post-probationer teacher statistics was published today.

Official statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.