Key points

Pupils

• 705,528 pupils – down 346 from 2022
• 384,725 primary – down 4,195 from 2022
• 313,061 Secondary – up 3,928 from 2022
• 7,742 Special – down 79 from 2022
• The pupil teacher ratio remained at 13.2
• The average primary class size decreased from 23.3 in 2022 to 23.2 in 2023

Teachers

• 54,033 Teachers – down 160 from 2022
• 25,096 Primary – down 354 from 2022
• 25,049 Secondary – up 175 from 2022
• 2,075 Special - down 22 from 2022
• 1,111 Centrally employed – up 73 from 2022
• 702 ELC – down 32 from 2022
• The percentage of Teacher Induction Scheme probationers teaching in publicly funded schools the following year increased from 70% in 2022 to 71% in 2023

Early learning and Childcare

• 92,182 Registrations – down 433 from 2022
• 97% Uptake for age 3&4 – down 2 percentage points from 2022
• 4,500 Teachers and graduate staff – up 339 from 2022

Attendance

• The attendance rate was 90.2%. This is a decrease from 92.0% (excluding periods of COVID-19 related school closures) in 2020/21

Exclusions

• 11,676 cases of exclusion in the 2022/23 school year – up 3,353 from 2020/21
• Cases of exclusion have fallen from 40 cases per 1,000 pupils in 2010/11 to 16.6 per 1,000 pupils in 2022/23