Schools in Scotland - summary statistics: 2020
Headline statistics from the annual pupil and school staff censuses and early learning and childcare provision.
Chapter 2: Overview
90,126 registrations in 2,587 early learning & childcare centres (ELC)
702,197 pupils in 2,476 schools
53,400 teachers (full-time equivalent, including ELC)
13.3 pupil teacher ratio in schools
The overall number of pupils and teachers both increased in 2020. The pupil teacher ratio (PTR) in schools, which gives a measure of the size of the teaching workforce relative to the pupil population, decreased to 13.3.
| 2014 | 2015(1) | 2016 | 2017 | 2018(6) | 2019 | 2020 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | ||||||||
| ELC(2) | 2,449 | 2,492 | 2,514 | 2,532 | 2,544 | 2,576 | 2,587 | |
| Primary | 2,048 | 2,039 | 2,031 | 2,019 | 2,012 | 2,004 | 2,005 | |
| Secondary | 362 | 361 | 359 | 360 | 357 | 358 | 357 | |
| Special | 145 | 144 | 141 | 135 | 114 | 114 | 114 | |
| Pupils | ||||||||
| ELC(2) | 101,463 | 97,262 | 96,961 | 95,893 | 96,549 | 96,375 | 90,126 | |
| Primary | 385,212 | 391,148 | 396,697 | 400,312 | 400,276 | 398,794 | 393,957 | |
| Secondary | 284,762 | 281,939 | 280,983 | 281,993 | 286,152 | 292,063 | 300,954 | |
| Special(3) | 6,940 | 6,871 | 6,668 | 6,654 | 6,823 | 7,132 | 7,286 | |
| Total (excluding ELC)(3) | 676,914 | 679,958 | 684,348 | 688,959 | 693,251 | 697,989 | 702,197 | |
| Teachers | ||||||||
| ELC(2) | 1,200 | 1,038 | 985 | 921 | 821 | 798 | 729 | |
| School based | 48,335 | 48,395 | 48,746 | 49,463 | 50,099 | 50,477 | 51,663 | |
| Primary | 22,960 | 23,425 | 23,920 | 24,477 | 24,899 | 25,027 | 25,651 | |
| Secondary | 23,401 | 23,059 | 22,957 | 23,150 | 23,317 | 23,522 | 24,077 | |
| Special | 1,974 | 1,911 | 1,869 | 1,836 | 1,883 | 1,927 | 1,934 | |
| Centrally employed (school) | 1,186 | 1,283 | 1,239 | 1,129 | 1,039 | 972 | 1,009 | |
| Total school (excluding ELC) | 49,521 | 49,679 | 49,985 | 50,592 | 51,138 | 51,449 | 52,672 | |
| Total (including ELC) | 50,720 | 50,717 | 50,970 | 51,513 | 51,959 | 52,247 | 53,400 | |
| Pupil Teacher Ratios | ||||||||
| Publicly funded schools(4) | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 13.3 | |
| Total based in schools(5) | 14.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 13.6 | |
| Primary | 16.8 | 16.7 | 16.6 | 16.4 | 16.1 | 15.9 | 15.4 | |
| Secondary | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12.5 | |
| Special | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.8 | |
(1) The pupil teacher ratio for Total based in schools in 2015 was amended in October 2017. See background notes for details.
(2) ELC centre count includes local authority and partnership centres, and ELC teacher figures include ELC home visiting.
(3) Special and total pupil count were updated for 2011-2016 in October 2017. See background notes for details.
(4) Includes all school based and centrally employed teachers. Includes grant-aided pupils and teachers.
(5) Excludes centrally employed teachers.
(6) Prior to 2018, special schools with no pupils or where no pupils were on roll but pupils from other schools attended were included in school counts in this table. From 2018, they have been excluded.
The numbers of teachers increased across all sectors except early learning & childcare. The decrease in primary pupils combined with the increase in primary teachers meant there were fewer pupils per teacher and consequently the primary PTR decreased to 15.4. This is the lowest ever PTR for primary schools. In secondary schools the number of pupils grew at a faster rate than the number of teachers meaning there were more pupils per teacher, so the secondary PTR increased to 12.5. This is the highest PTR in secondary schools since 2004, when the PTR was 12.7. (Statistics pre-2014 are available from the supplementary statistics and historical time series).
52,672 teachers in schools compared to 51,449 in 2019 (excludes ELC)
13.3 pupil teacher ratio in local authority schools
85% of teachers on the 2019/20 Teacher Induction Scheme were in employment the following school year
Contact
Email: school.stats@gov.scot
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