Summary statistics for schools in Scotland no. 10: 2019 edition

Results of the annual pupil and teacher census and early learning and childcare provision conducted in September 2019 and attendance, absence and exclusions for the 2018 to 2019 school year.


Chapter 4: Classes and pupils

12.3% of P1-P3 pupils were taught in classes of 18 or fewer compared to 12.1% in 2018.

23.5 Average class size for pupils in primary school - this has remained the same since 2016.

Table 4.1 shows average class sizes for pupils in primary school alongside the overall primary school average. In 2019 the overall average for primary remained at 23.5, unchanged since 2016. The average class size for P1-P3 remained the same as 2017 and 2018 at 23.2. The average class size for P4-7 also remained the same as 2018 at 25.9. Data on class sizes in the secondary sector are not collected as class size varies widely across subjects.

Table 4.1: Average class size of primary school pupils(1)

Headcount

Stage 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
P1 21.2 21.2 21.1 21.2 21.0 20.9 21.0
P2 24.0 23.9 24.1 24.0 23.9 23.9 23.9
P3 24.5 24.7 24.8 24.7 24.7 24.6 24.7
P4 25.7 25.9 26.0 26.0 26.0 25.7 25.7
P5 25.7 25.8 26.0 26.1 26.1 26.1 26.0
P6 25.3 25.5 25.8 26.0 26.1 26.0 26.0
P7 25.2 25.4 25.4 25.8 25.9 26.0 25.9
P1-P3 23.2 23.3 23.3 23.3 23.2 23.2 23.2
P4-P7 25.5 25.7 25.8 26.0 26.0 25.9 25.9
Primary 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.5 23.5 23.5

(1) Data refers to the average class size of pupils in each stage, not the average class size of single stage classes. The total primary average class size is calculated on a different basis to all the other class sizes shown, see background notes for details.

Table 4.2 shows the number of P1-P3 pupils in publicly funded schools in various class sizes.

The percentage of pupils that were taught in classes of 18 or fewer increased to 12.3% in 2019 from 12.1% in 2018. While the number of pupils taught in classes of 18 or fewer reduced slightly from 20,613 in 2018 to 20,591 in 2019, a reduction in the number of P1-P3 pupils meant that this represented a higher proportion of pupils. The number of pupils taught in classes of 26 or more decreased from 44,712 (26.3%) in 2018 to 43,634 (26.0%).

Table 4.2: P1-P3 pupils by class size(1)

Headcount

Class Size 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
0 - 18 22,992 22,138 20,999 21,906 20,997 20,613 20,591
19 - 25 102,849 103,968 104,426 104,517 106,023 104,453 103,326
26 - 30 42,908 45,539 46,489 45,486 44,340 44,362 43,410
31 or more 736 470 658 807 625 350 224
% in classes of 18 or fewer or in two-teacher classes of 36 or fewer 13.6 12.9 12.2 12.7 12.2 12.1 12.3

(1) The percentage of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer includes two-teacher classes with 36 or fewer. Classes taught by two teachers at all times are treated as two classes of half the size.

Legislation limits class sizes to 25 for P1 pupils and to 30 for P2 and P3 (see background notes for more information). Table 4.3 shows the number of P1 pupils by class size. Some P1 pupils may be in classes of over 25 due to the inclusion of one or more 'excepted pupils' (see background note). In 2019 the number of pupils in classes of 26 or more was 267; this was a reduction from 511 in 2018. In 2019, there were 11 classes with 26 or more pupils and at least one P1 pupil. This compares to 19 such classes in 2018.

Table 4.3: P1 pupils by class size

Headcount

Class size 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
0 - 18 11,968 11,558 11,213 11,737 11,925 11,326 11,393
19 - 25 44,864 45,544 45,307 45,102 44,195 43,254 43,525
26 or more 560 451 637 698 631 511 267

Table 4.4 shows that the percentage of P1-P3 pupils in classes of 18 or fewer varies considerably between local authorities and years. One of the main reasons for this was the differing proportions of schools with a small number of pupils between local authorities.

Table 4.4: P1-P3 pupils in classes of size 18 or fewer or in two teacher classes with a pupil teacher ratio of 18 or fewer

Percentage Headcount

Local Authority 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Aberdeen City 16.1 11.2 10.6 11.0 13.0 9.9 13.5
Aberdeenshire 14.9 13.3 12.4 14.7 17.7 16.0 20.0
Angus 21.0 23.1 22.4 19.6 16.5 20.1 19.2
Argyll and Bute 45.4 34.9 24.2 27.2 27.1 34.6 28.5
City of Edinburgh 7.0 7.2 6.1 5.7 6.0 5.2 4.5
Clackmannanshire 16.1 17.8 11.8 19.7 14.1 11.8 16.5
Dumfries and Galloway 12.0 16.4 13.6 17.1 22.0 20.2 17.7
Dundee City 9.4 2.8 3.4 2.6 4.4 3.1 5.9
East Ayrshire 7.6 13.0 9.5 11.1 9.9 8.3 12.0
East Dunbartonshire 21.8 11.3 10.6 12.9 10.3 10.5 9.3
East Lothian 4.3 6.3 6.0 4.2 6.5 8.8 6.1
East Renfrewshire 7.6 15.7 9.5 16.5 12.6 11.9 18.3
Falkirk 4.9 6.3 8.5 5.6 7.9 8.8 10.6
Fife 24.1 22.9 20.8 20.8 11.6 7.1 3.7
Glasgow City 3.8 3.7 3.6 4.2 5.5 6.5 8.0
Highland 18.4 18.1 20.5 19.1 18.1 18.8 16.7
Inverclyde 9.3 10.0 7.5 6.5 5.0 6.1 8.0
Midlothian 7.7 11.7 10.3 16.7 11.2 16.2 9.4
Moray 8.9 14.1 10.8 8.0 8.1 9.0 11.0
Na h-Eileanan Siar 39.8 48.0 51.3 57.8 52.3 56.4 60.4
North Ayrshire 7.2 7.6 10.8 13.0 9.9 10.9 16.4
North Lanarkshire 8.1 7.7 8.6 9.8 11.4 8.9 9.4
Orkney Islands 27.2 29.6 22.6 19.8 24.7 24.8 30.6
Perth and Kinross 15.7 15.1 14.3 14.7 11.0 11.8 16.7
Renfrewshire 6.9 10.8 11.9 13.3 14.4 16.1 13.7
Scottish Borders 21.6 12.7 14.3 10.3 14.4 12.5 10.6
Shetland Islands 26.5 31.2 25.5 33.9 32.2 36.2 31.3
South Ayrshire 20.2 17.8 24.6 19.5 20.1 15.4 14.1
South Lanarkshire 22.9 17.7 16.1 15.5 16.8 19.2 18.1
Stirling 17.4 15.2 17.4 14.9 11.3 10.0 13.9
West Dunbartonshire 9.9 13.3 13.6 16.2 14.0 19.2 15.7
West Lothian 20.3 17.0 13.6 16.3 14.7 17.1 13.6
Scotland(1) 13.6 12.9 12.2 12.7 12.2 12.1 12.3

(1) The statistics for Scotland include one grant-aided mainstream school.

Table 4.5 shows the pupil characteristics primarily used in equalities monitoring. In 2019, 83.9% of pupils were recorded as being White-Scottish or White-other British. The largest other ethnic backgrounds include White-Other (5.6%), Asian Pakistani (2.0%) and mixed (1.4%).

215,897 pupils (30.9% of all pupils) had an additional support need (ASN) recorded. This was an increase of 2.2 percentage points on 2018 (199,065 pupils with an ASN record, 28.7% of all pupils). The number of pupils identified with ASN has increased markedly since 2010 and there continue to be year on year increases. These increases were likely due in part to continued improvements in recording and the introduction of the additional need types 'Child plans' and 'Other' in 2011.

Statistics on additional support needs include pupils in special schools and those in mainstream schools who are assessed or declared disabled or have a Co-ordinated Support Plan (CSP), Individualised Education Programme (IEP), Child Plan or some other type of support. Pupils may have more than one type of ASN, therefore the totals for ASN do not equal the sum of individual types of ASN.

Table 4.5: Pupil characteristics(1)

Headcount

Female Male Total
Total Pupils 342,551 355,438 697,989
Ethnicity
White - Scottish 267,282 276,959 544,241
White - Other British 20,185 21,140 41,325
White - Gypsy/Traveller 668 719 1,387
White - Other 19,167 19,972 39,139
Mixed 5,080 4,986 10,066
Asian - Indian 3,237 3,361 6,598
Asian - Pakistani 6,897 7,204 14,101
Asian - Bangladeshi 600 595 1,195
Asian - Chinese 2,156 2,171 4,327
Asian - Other 2,090 2,118 4,208
Caribbean/Black 624 674 1,298
African 4,277 4,273 8,550
Other 3,560 3,956 7,516
Not known 5,083 5,425 10,508
Not disclosed 1,609 1,800 3,409
English as an Additional Language 22,398 24,553 46,951
Additional support needs (ASN)
CSP (Co-ordinated Support Plan) 639 1,068 1,707
IEP (Individualised Education Programme) 11,306 24,350 35,656
Child Plans 15,613 27,168 42,781
Assessed/Declared Disabled 5,873 12,592 18,465
Other(2) 73,554 97,081 170,635
All pupils with ASN(3) 89,709 126,188 215,897
All pupils with ASN (excluding Other type)(3) 26,497 48,813 75,310

(1) Statistics for ethnicity and English as an Additional Language do not include grant-aided special schools as this information is not collected. There were 121 pupils at grant-aided special schools in 2018.

(2) See the background notes for further information on what the other category includes.

(3) Pupils may have more than one type of ASN, therefore the totals for ASN may not equal the sum of individual types of ASN.

Contact

Email: Alasdair.Anthony@gov.scot

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