Schools in Scotland - summary statistics: 2020

Chapter 3: School teachers

Table 3.1: Teachers in Scotland by sector and local authority, 2020

Full Time Equivalents (FTE)
Local Authority	Primary	Secondary	Special	Centrally employed	Total
Aberdeen City	891	751	36	48	1,725
Aberdeenshire	1,403	1,234	46	37	2,720
Angus	596	575	#	25	1,197
Argyll and Bute	425	406	8	8	846
City of Edinburgh	1,652	1,594	157	114	3,518
Clackmannanshire	291	233	27	3	554
Dumfries and Galloway	654	664	21	75	1,413
Dundee City	656	593	59	31	1,340
East Ayrshire	593	545	77	18	1,233
East Dunbartonshire	589	686	51	40	1,366
East Lothian	496	485	#	27	1,008
East Renfrewshire	620	665	35	2	1,322
Falkirk	804	804	72	7	1,688
Fife	1,862	1,592	91	82	3,627
Glasgow City	2,738	2,261	307	140	5,446
Highland	1,046	1,145	43	50	2,284
Inverclyde	344	362	43	2	751
Midlothian	492	434	27	31	985
Moray	433	418	#	21	873
Na h-Eileanan Siar	150	151	#	11	312
North Ayrshire	688	634	44	45	1,412
North Lanarkshire	1,807	1,641	232	63	3,742
Orkney Islands	114	126	#	7	247
Perth and Kinross	687	626	17	16	1,346
Renfrewshire	856	811	90	21	1,778
Scottish Borders	498	523	39	5	1,065
Shetland Islands	162	154	#	13	329
South Ayrshire	523	514	28	35	1,101
South Lanarkshire	1,661	1,628	150	0	3,438
Stirling	436	480	21	17	954
West Dunbartonshire	465	436	49	14	964
West Lothian	997	855	119	0	1,971
All local authorities	25,630	24,030	1,886	1,009	52,555
Grant aided	21	48	48	#	117
Scotland	25,651	24,077	1,934	1,009	52,672

Table 3.2 shows that total teacher numbers (primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) rose in each year from 2014 to 2020. The number of teachers increased by 1,224 between 2019 and 2020, the biggest recorded annual increase since 1975. (Statistics pre-2014 are available from the supplementary statistics and historical time series).

Additional teachers have been recruited in the 2020/21 school year to support the recovery of education following the disruption caused by COVID-19. These additional teachers are likely to be a major contributing factor to the increase in teacher numbers, reduction in overall PTR, decrease in average primary class sizes, increase in proportion of teachers on temporary posts and the overall proportion of the 2019/20 cohort of Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) probationers in teaching posts.

Further information on COVID-19 Education Recovery grant funded teachers, and on teachers funded through the Attainment Scotland Fund, can be found in the background notes.

Although the number of teachers has increased since 2019, this was not the case for each local authority. In 27 local authorities the number of teachers increased, with the largest increase of 8% seen in East Dunbartonshire; followed by Clackmannanshire and Renfrewshire, with an increase of 6%. The other five local authorities saw small decreases in teachers this year, of up to 2%.

Table 3.2: Teachers (all sectors excluding ELC) ⁽¹⁾

Full Time Equivalents (FTE)
Local Authority	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Aberdeen City	1,623	1,632	1,603	1,624	1,636	1,675	1,725
Aberdeenshire	2,593	2,650	2,655	2,675	2,650	2,696	2,720
Angus	1,140	1,136	1,125	1,133	1,160	1,172	1,197
Argyll and Bute	866	844	841	825	861	834	846
City of Edinburgh	3,159	3,193	3,213	3,281	3,346	3,452	3,518
Clackmannanshire	495	490	528	513	512	520	554
Dumfries and Galloway	1,481	1,479	1,466	1,470	1,436	1,436	1,413
Dundee City	1,372	1,375	1,367	1,330	1,321	1,316	1,340
East Ayrshire	1,139	1,151	1,149	1,189	1,185	1,205	1,233
East Dunbartonshire	1,191	1,204	1,217	1,245	1,248	1,269	1,366
East Lothian	902	920	913	935	960	973	1,008
East Renfrewshire	1,201	1,213	1,227	1,265	1,277	1,306	1,322
Falkirk	1,578	1,581	1,605	1,620	1,634	1,629	1,688
Fife	3,469	3,476	3,494	3,498	3,503	3,530	3,627
Glasgow City	4,803	4,779	4,869	5,020	5,263	5,352	5,446
Highland	2,331	2,357	2,355	2,365	2,388	2,300	2,284
Inverclyde	725	734	735	738	745	730	751
Midlothian	847	866	873	892	930	941	985
Moray	881	874	848	856	868	866	873
Na h-Eileanan Siar	323	324	321	327	327	313	312
North Ayrshire	1,325	1,332	1,371	1,396	1,393	1,376	1,412
North Lanarkshire	3,452	3,406	3,474	3,502	3,545	3,590	3,742
Orkney Islands	254	255	260	253	250	251	247
Perth and Kinross	1,337	1,337	1,329	1,329	1,346	1,329	1,346
Renfrewshire	1,576	1,596	1,633	1,656	1,676	1,674	1,778
Scottish Borders	1,063	1,049	1,052	1,055	1,070	1,038	1,065
Shetland Islands	322	323	318	323	322	320	329
South Ayrshire	1,062	1,063	1,043	1,056	1,048	1,065	1,101
South Lanarkshire	3,147	3,176	3,202	3,282	3,298	3,341	3,438
Stirling	932	921	942	925	934	938	954
West Dunbartonshire	911	921	928	961	956	980	964
West Lothian	1,868	1,880	1,899	1,924	1,924	1,909	1,971
All local authorities	49,368	49,538	49,858	50,464	51,012	51,327	52,555
Grant aided	153	141	127	127	126	122	117
Scotland	49,521	49,679	49,985	50,592	51,138	51,449	52,672

(1) Includes centrally employed teachers.

Table 3.3 shows pupil teacher ratios (PTRs) which give a measure of the size of the teaching workforce relative to the pupil population. The national PTR had remained stable at 13.6 between 2017 and 2019. In 2020, the PTR decreased to 13.3, the lowest national PTR since 2009. (Statistics pre-2014 are available from the supplementary statistics and historical time series).

Across Scotland, 26 local authorities have decreased or maintained their PTR from 2019. Since 2014, Clackmannanshire and Renfrewshire have had the largest decrease in PTR at 1.3. The largest increases in PTR since 2014 were in Orkney Islands and Dundee City at 0.8, however Orkney Islands’ current PTR still remains below the national average.

Table 3.3: Pupil teacher ratio ( PTR) (all sectors excluding ELC) ⁽¹⁾

Pupils per teacher
Local Authority	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Aberdeen City	13.6	13.6	14.0	14.0	14.1	13.8	13.7
Aberdeenshire	13.5	13.3	13.4	13.3	13.5	13.3	13.4
Angus	13.3	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.1	13.0	12.8
Argyll and Bute	12.2	12.4	12.3	12.5	12.0	12.2	12.0
City of Edinburgh	14.9	14.9	15.1	15.1	15.1	14.9	14.8
Clackmannanshire	13.3	13.4	12.5	12.9	13.0	12.8	12.0
Dumfries and Galloway	12.7	12.7	12.7	12.8	13.1	13.1	13.2
Dundee City	12.9	13.0	13.2	13.7	13.8	13.9	13.7
East Ayrshire	14.0	13.9	13.9	13.3	13.5	13.4	13.2
East Dunbartonshire	13.6	13.6	13.5	13.4	13.6	13.5	12.7
East Lothian	15.2	15.1	15.4	15.2	15.1	15.1	14.8
East Renfrewshire	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.5	13.5	13.2	13.2
Falkirk	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.4	13.5	13.0
Fife	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.2	14.2	13.9
Glasgow City	13.6	13.8	13.8	13.5	13.1	13.0	12.9
Highland	13.2	13.1	13.1	13.0	12.9	13.5	13.5
Inverclyde	13.8	13.5	13.5	13.4	13.2	13.6	13.1
Midlothian	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.2	13.8	14.0	13.7
Moray	13.7	13.7	14.1	13.9	13.7	13.8	13.9
Na h-Eileanan Siar	10.4	10.3	10.5	10.3	10.2	10.6	10.7
North Ayrshire	13.7	13.6	13.3	13.1	13.1	13.1	12.8
North Lanarkshire	14.2	14.4	14.1	14.0	13.8	13.7	13.2
Orkney Islands	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.8	11.1	11.1	11.3
Perth and Kinross	13.3	13.3	13.6	13.5	13.3	13.6	13.5
Renfrewshire	14.7	14.6	14.3	14.2	14.1	14.2	13.4
Scottish Borders	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.6	14.0	13.6
Shetland Islands	10.0	10.0	10.2	10.0	10.1	10.2	10.0
South Ayrshire	13.2	13.2	13.4	13.3	13.3	13.2	13.0
South Lanarkshire	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.1
Stirling	13.2	13.4	13.2	13.5	13.5	13.5	13.4
West Dunbartonshire	13.6	13.5	13.4	13.1	13.1	12.8	13.0
West Lothian	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.0	14.1	14.3	13.9
All local authorities	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.3
Grant aided(2)	8.1	8.6	9.2	9.3	9.4	9.6	10.0
Scotland	13.7	13.7	13.7	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.3

(1) Includes centrally employed teachers.

(2) The pupil teacher ratio for grant aided schools in 2011-2016 was amended in October 2017. See background notes for details.

One of the most important uses of the data collected in the school staff census is in modelling future changes in the workforce to provide guidance on the number of new teachers to train. Chart 1 shows that the age profile of teachers has changed much over the past 10 years. The prominent peak of teachers aged in their fifties, as seen in 2010, no longer exists. In 2020, teacher numbers were highest between the ages of 25 and 41.

The average (mean) age of primary, secondary and special school teachers was 40 in 2020, compared to 43 in 2010, so teachers were, on average, younger in 2020 than in 2010.

Table 3.4 shows that there are many more female teachers than male. In both primary and secondary sectors the proportion of teachers who were female fell at each level of seniority. In primary schools, 89% of teachers at all grades were female compared to 84% of head teachers. In secondary schools 64% of teachers at all grades were female compared to 42% of head teachers. However the rates were higher in special schools, where 77% of teachers at all grades were female compared to 81% of head teachers.

Teaching posts were classified into three employment types for the purposes of the school staff census: Permanent, Temporary and Teacher Induction Scheme. Teachers may be employed on a permanent contract but be recorded in the staff census as temporary if they are working in a post classified as a temporary employment type, for example while covering a vacancy. The proportion of teachers in temporary posts was 12% (compared with 11% last year). This increase in temporary posts was seen across all school types. Further details on the recording of employment types is included in the background notes.

In 2020, the percentage of teachers working part-time, as a proportion of all FTE, was 17%. There was a higher rate amongst females (20%) than males (7%).

Table 3.4: Teacher characteristics

Percentage of Full Time Equivalents (FTE)
Characteristic	School Type				Total
	Primary	Secondary	Special	Centrally Employed
Sex
Female	89	64	77	83	77
Male	11	36	23	17	23
Age (years)
Under 25	7	5	1	1	6
25 to 34	32	29	17	10	29
35 to 44	28	28	32	25	28
45 to 54	23	23	31	32	23
55 or over	11	15	19	32	13
Average Age	39	41	45	48	40
Ethnicity(1)
White - Scottish	69	62	65	54	65
White - other British	22	25	23	26	24
White - other	2	4	5	5	3
Minority ethnic group	1	2	2	5	2
Not known	3	4	3	7	4
Not disclosed	2	3	2	3	2
Post employment type
Permanent	79	85	86	84	82
Temporary	14	10	14	16	12
Teacher Induction Scheme	7	6	0	0	6
Grade
Head teacher	7	1	5	3	4
Percentage female	84	42	81	77	77
Depute head teacher	6	5	7	2	5
Percentage female	87	58	76	86	74
Principal teacher	7	22	11	10	14
Percentage female	87	63	73	78	69
Teacher or chartered	81	72	78	85	77
Percentage female	90	66	77	84	79
All - percentage female	89	64	77	83	77
Mode of working (2)
Full-time	80	87	80	69	83
Percentage female	88	61	74	80	75
Part-time	20	13	20	31	17
Percentage female	95	84	87	90	91

(1) More information on the ethnicity categories can be found in the Ethnicity section in the background notes.

(2) The mode of working is the percentage of FTE by working pattern in a school sector at a particular grade. See background notes for more details.

Teachers provisionally registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) (for example those that have recently completed their initial teacher education) are required to complete a period of probation before becoming eligible for full registration. Probation can be completed through either the one year full time Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) or a flexible route.

Table 3.5 shows the percentage of previous TIS probationers who were in teaching posts in a publicly funded school in Scotland in the year following their probation. The percentage of teachers in such employment in the first year following probation increased from 80% for the 2013/14 cohort to 88% for the 2016/17 cohort. That percentage decreased to 84% for the 2018/19 cohort, before rising slightly for the most recent cohort to 85%. Teachers not in a post in a publicly funded school may be teaching elsewhere (including abroad or in the independent sector), in non-teaching employment or unemployed.

The proportion of TIS probationer cohort in a full-time permanent post at the time of the following year’s census increased between 2013/14 and 2016/17, however it has decreased for the last three years. For the 2019/20 cohort it was 38%, down from 48% for the previous cohort. A higher proportion of the TIS probationer cohort are in full-time temporary post at the time of the following year’s census, rising from 27% in 2015/16 to 42% in 2019/20.

Table 3.5: Teacher Induction Scheme post-probationers teaching in the year following their probation

Percentage of headcount
	TIS probationer cohort
	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
Full-time permanent	39	45	55	57	55	48	38
Full-time temporary	33	35	27	28	27	30	42
Part-time permanent	2	2	2	1	2	2	1
Part-time temporary	6	4	2	2	3	5	3
Other(1)	20	14	13	12	13	16	15
All teaching post types’	80	86	87	88	87	84	85
Headcount of teachers in cohort	2,215	2,448	2,524	2,630	2,852	2,836	3,076

(1) The “Other” category includes those teaching elsewhere, including in the independent sector, those who have found supply work, and those who are unemployed or who have left teaching, although this detail is not included in the census data.

Table 3.6 shows the percentage of TIS probationers in teaching posts up to six years following their probation. Since the 2014/15 TIS probationer cohort there has been a trend for the employment rate to reduce in each year after the first year following probation. For example, 86% of the 2014/15 cohort were in a teaching post in a publicly funded school in their first year after probation but this reduced to 79% by 2019. This trend has not continued into 2020 with the employment rate for the 2018/19 TIS cohort increasing from 84% in 2019 to 85% in 2020.

Table 3.6: Long-term employment of Teacher Induction Scheme probationers

Percentage headcount
	Sep-14	Sep-15	Sep-16	Sep-17	Sep-18	Sep-19	Sep-20
2013/14 cohort	80	81	79	78	77	76	75
2014/15 cohort		86	83	82	80	79	79
2015/16 cohort			87	84	83	81	80
2016/17 cohort				88	85	83	83
2017/18 cohort					87	84	84
2018/19 cohort						84	85
2019/20 cohort							85

14.0% of P1-P3 pupils were taught in classes of 18 or fewer compared to 12.3% in 2019.

23.1 Average class size for pupils in primary school – this has decreased from 23.5 in 2019.