Summary Statistics For Schools In Scotland 2021

Summary statistics for schools in Scotland

14 December 2021

This annual statistical publication provides information on:

• The annual census of pupils and teachers in publicly funded schools in Scotland, conducted on 15 September 2021
• Early learning and childcare provision in Scotland, collected in the week commencing 13 September 2021

The statistics in this bulletin supersede all previously published statistics

Supplementary data tables for early learning and childcare can be found at:

Early learning and childcare statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Supplementary statistics on school staff and pupils for 2021 are scheduled for publication in March 2022. Supplementary statistics for previous years can be found at:

School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Further breakdowns of post-probationer teacher statistics can be found here:

Post-probationer teacher employment dashboard - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A school information dashboard is also available:

School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Summary Infographic

Summary Infographic - Alternative Text

Pupils

• 704,723 Pupils – up 2,526 from 2020
• 390,313 Primary – down 3,644 from 2020
• 306,811 Secondary – up 5,857 from 2020
• 7,599 Special – up 313 from 2020
• The average primary class size increased from 23.1 in 2020 to 23.2 in 2021.

Teachers

• 54,285 Teachers – up 885 from 2020
• 25,807 Primary – up 155 from 2020
• 24,782 Secondary – up 704 from 2020
• 2,005 Special - up 70 from 2020
• 988 Centrally Employed – down 21 from 2020
• 704 ELC – down 24 from 2020
• The pupil teacher ratio decreased from 13.3 in 2020 to 13.2 in 2021
• The percentage of Teacher Induction Scheme probationers teaching in publicly funded schools the following year decreased from 85% in 2020 to 80% in 2021.

Early learning and Childcare

• 91,603 Registrations – up 1,477 from 2020
• 97% uptake for age 3&4 – up 2 percentage points from 2020
• 3,150 graduate staff – up 429 from 2020

Attendance

• The attendance rate, excluding periods of COVID-19 related school closures, was 92.0%. This is a decrease from 93.0% in 2018/19

Exclusions

• 8,323 cases of exclusion in the 2020/21 school year - down 6,667 from 2018-19.
• Cases of exclusion have fallen from 40 cases per 1,000 pupils in 2010/11 to 11.9 cases per 1,000 pupils in 2020/21.