New data shows that there’s a record number of teachers in England’s schools.
It’s true that the number of full-time equivalent teachers in England is the highest since comparable records began in 2010/11. But pupil numbers have increased at a faster rate, meaning there are now fewer teachers relative to the number of pupils than in 2010.
“New data shows that there's a record number of teachers in England’s schools - 468,371!”
In a tweet shared on 8 June the Department for Education (DfE) claimed that “new data shows that there's a record number of teachers in England’s schools”.
It’s true that data published last week shows that, as of November 2022, there are 468,371 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state schools in England—an increase of 2,800 since the previous year, and the highest number since comparable records began in 2010/11.
But these figures don’t show how the number of teachers has changed in relation to the number of pupils.
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In January 2023, there were 9,073,832 pupils—an approximately 12% increase since 2010/11.
By comparison, the government says the number of FTE teachers has increased by around 6% since 2010/11 (from around 441,000).
This means that, although there are more teachers overall than in 2010, there are fewer teachers in relation to the number of pupils than there were when the Conservative party entered government.
This is illustrated by the pupil to teacher ratio (PTRs) figures, which show that while the number of pupils per teacher in nursery and and primary schools has remained roughly the same (20.4 in 2010/11, compared to 20.7 in 2022/23), the number of pupils per teacher in secondary schools has increased, from 14.8 to 16.8.
The number of pupils per teacher in special and pupil referral unit (PRU) schools has also increased, from 5.8 to 6.4.
The DfE says nursery and primary PTRs have been fairly consistent since 2010/11, and that pupil numbers among this group are expected to decrease over the next seven years, having peaked in 2019.
It adds: “The secondary school population began rising in 2016 and is projected to rise until 2024 followed by a gradual drop. The increase in pupils has been partially offset by an increase in teachers.”
Image courtesy of Pixabay
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