Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2024
Headline statistics on teachers, pupils, attendance, and early learning and childcare provision in Scotland.
Please note that the text in the Attendance and absence section under Persistent absence has been corrected from the version initially published.
Headline statistics
In 2024 there was a decrease in both the number of pupils and in teacher full-time equivalents (FTE). 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 to 13.3.
Teacher numbers increased in the special sector and for centrally employed but the combined decreases in primary, secondary and ELC sectors were large enough to result in a reduction in teacher FTE overall. There was a decrease in both teachers and pupils in the primary sector but the primary PTR increased to 15.5, the highest since 2019. In secondary schools there was an increase in pupils alongside the decrease in teachers. This caused an increase in pupils per teacher which resulted in the secondary PTR increasing from 12.5 to 12.6, the highest since 2004.
Figure 1 Publicly funded schools, Scotland, 2018 to 2024
|
Sector |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Primary |
2,012 |
2,004 |
2,005 |
2,001 |
1,994 |
1,988 |
1,978 |
|
Secondary |
357 |
358 |
357 |
357 |
358 |
361 |
360 |
|
Special |
133 |
114 |
114 |
111 |
109 |
107 |
107 |
Figure 2 Pupils by sector, Scotland, 2018 to 2024
|
Sector |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Primary |
400,276 |
398,794 |
393,957 |
390,313 |
388,920 |
384,725 |
379,354 |
|
Secondary |
286,152 |
292,063 |
300,954 |
306,811 |
309,133 |
313,061 |
315,072 |
|
Special |
6,823 |
7,132 |
7,286 |
7,599 |
7,821 |
7,742 |
8,002 |
|
Total |
693,251 |
697,989 |
702,197 |
704,723 |
705,874 |
705,528 |
702,428 |
Figure 3 Teachers by sector, Scotland, 2018 to 2024 [Note 1]
|
Sector |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
ELC |
821 |
798 |
728 |
704 |
734 |
702 |
679 |
|
School based |
50,099 |
50,477 |
51,663 |
52,593 |
52,422 |
52,221 |
51,593 |
|
Primary |
24,899 |
25,027 |
25,651 |
25,807 |
25,451 |
25,096 |
24,468 |
|
Secondary |
23,317 |
23,522 |
24,077 |
24,782 |
24,874 |
25,049 |
24,988 |
|
Special |
1,883 |
1,927 |
1,934 |
2,005 |
2,097 |
2,075 |
2,138 |
|
Centrally employed (school) |
1,039 |
972 |
1,009 |
988 |
1,037 |
1,111 |
1,140 |
|
Total school (excluding ELC) |
51,138 |
51,449 |
52,672 |
53,581 |
53,459 |
53,331 |
52,733 |
|
Total (including ELC) |
51,959 |
52,247 |
53,400 |
54,285 |
54,193 |
54,033 |
53,412 |
Note 1: ELC teachers include ELC home visiting
Figure 4 Pupil teacher ratios (PTR) by sector, Scotland, 2018 to 2024
|
Sector |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
|
Publicly funded schools |
13.6 |
13.6 |
13.3 |
13.2 |
13.2 |
13.2 |
13.3 |
|
Total based in schools |
13.8 |
13.8 |
13.6 |
13.4 |
13.5 |
13.5 |
13.6 |
|
Primary |
16.1 |
15.9 |
15.4 |
15.1 |
15.3 |
15.3 |
15.5 |
|
Secondary |
12.3 |
12.4 |
12.5 |
12.4 |
12.4 |
12.5 |
12.6 |
|
Special |
3.6 |
3.7 |
3.8 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
3.7 |
3.7 |
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