Teacher numbers have fallen in Scotland for the third year in a row despite the Scottish government pledging to increase the number of teachers working in schools by 3,500 by 2026.
Official figures published today show teacher numbers down overall by 621 on 2023 - with most of the drop accounted for by primary staff.
There were 629 fewer primary teachers working in Scottish schools this year compared with 2023, according to the government’s Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland 2024 publication.
Teacher numbers down in early years and secondary
Teacher numbers also fell in secondary and the early years; there were 61 fewer teachers working in secondaries compared with last year and 23 fewer in the early years. Now, there are just 679 teachers working in the early years in Scotland; in 2018 there were 821.
In special schools, however, there was a rise in teacher numbers on 2023 (up by 62 full-time equivalent posts, or FTE); there was also a rise in teachers centrally employed by councils (up 29 FTE).
Overall, in 2024, there were 53,412 teachers working in Scotland in primary, secondary, special schools, the early years and in centrally employed council roles, compared with 54,033 in 2023.
Since 2022, teacher numbers in Scotland have been falling, leading to 873 fewer teachers in the system. In 2021, the Scottish government committed to employing at least 3,500 teachers and 500 classroom assistants over this Parliament, which ends in 2026.
Responding to the figures, a Scottish government spokesperson said the decline was “disappointing” while welcoming other figures out today showing the attainment gap for literacy is the lowest on record.
The spokesperson added that education secretary Jenny Gilruth would be “setting out her response in a statement to Parliament later today”.
The proportion of new teachers finding secure work, meanwhile, dropped again this year.
Of the primary probationers who completed the Teacher Induction Scheme in 2023-24, just 12.8 per cent were in a permanent job by September 2024. The figure for secondary was 47 per cent.
In 2023, 16.6 per cent of new primary teachers were in permanent work the September after completing their probation. In 2017, almost 60 per cent of primary and secondary post-probationers were in permanent work the September after completing probation.
Ms Gilruth has been withholding £145.5 million from councils because they refused to agree to protect teacher numbers this year.
Teacher numbers fall in most local authorities
Today’s figures reveal that teacher numbers fell in 26 of the 32 local authorities in Scotland between 2023 and 2024.
The largest proportional decreases were 3.4 per cent in West Dunbartonshire (31 FTE), followed by Aberdeenshire (3.2 per cent, 88 FTE) and Angus (3 per cent, 34 FTE).
Councils argue that keeping teacher numbers artificially high if there is a fall in pupil numbers has an impact on the number of support staff schools can employ, as well as other council services such as social work and leisure. They say they should be judged on maintaining the pupil-teacher ratio, as opposed to the total number of teachers.
However, the pupil-teacher ratio in primary increased this year to 15.5 pupils per teacher, up from 15.3 in 2023. This is the highest pupil-teacher ratio in primary since 2019.
In secondary schools, the pupil-teacher ratio this year is 12.6, up from 12.5 in 2023 and the highest since 2004.
Overall, the pupil-teacher ratio increased in 2024 to 13.3, from 13.2 in 2023.
New high in ASN numbers
This rise in the number of pupils per teacher is happening at a time when the proportion of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) is also rising.
Now, 40.5 per cent of Scottish pupils (284,448) have an ASN, according to today’s statistics. This is 3.8 percentage points higher than in 2023 when 36.7 per cent of pupils had an ASN, and is the highest figure ever recorded.
The struggle new teachers are having - particularly in primary - securing work has been hotly debated in recent times, with campaigners calling for intake onto teacher education courses to be cut to take account of those still trying to secure permanent contracts.
Today’s figures support their arguments and concerns.
New teachers struggling to find permanent posts
As indicated above, just 12.8 per cent of new primary teachers were in permanent posts - either full time or part time - by September 2024 after completing the Teacher Induction Scheme in 2023-24 and becoming fully qualified.
A further 41.8 per cent of the 2023-24 cohort of primary probationers had secured temporary contracts - but 45.3 per cent were classed as “other”; it used to be only around one in 10 fell into this category, which includes those working in independent schools or as supply teachers but also those who are unemployed or who have left teaching.
Meanwhile, the proportion of new secondary teachers in permanent work was higher than for primary but also moving in the wrong direction, according to the data, which goes back to the 2016-17 probationer cohort.
In total 47 per cent of secondary post-probationers were in permanent posts - either full time or part time - by September 2024 after completing the Teacher Induction Scheme in 2023-24 and becoming fully qualified. A further 34.4 per cent were in temporary posts and 18.7 per cent were classed as “other”.
In 2017, almost 60 per cent of primary and secondary post-probationers were in permanent jobs the September after completing the Teacher Induction Scheme in 2016-17: 57.6 per cent of primary post-probationers were in permanent work; the figure was 58.7 per cent for secondary post-probationers.
The proportion falling into the “other” category was also far lower in 2017: around one in 10 for both primary (11.6 per cent) and secondary (11 per cent).
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