Across all schools in the UK, there are 10,028,578 pupils and 624,520 full-time teachers in UK schools
In the UK, 30.5% of these teachers are male, and 69.5% are female
59% of staff have considered quitting teaching over the past 12 months due to pressures on their mental health and wellbeing
Japan and Kazakhstan are the only countries with a higher workload for teachers than England
Teacher-to-pupil ratio in UK schools
Across all schools in the UK, there are 10,028,578 pupils
8,890,357 in England
469,176 in Wales
794,364 in Scotland
341,402 in Northern Ireland
There are 624,520 full-time teachers in UK schools
530,172 teachers working in England
23,594 teachers working in Wales
52,247 teachers working in Scotland
18,506 teachers working in Northern Ireland
Country
No. of pupils
No. of teachers
Pupils for every teacher
England
8,890,357
530,172
16.8
Scotland
794,364
52,247
15.2
Wales
469,176
23,594
19.9
Northern Ireland
341,402
18,506
18.4
Number of teachers per type of school in the UK
There are 624,520 full-time teachers in UK schools
264,804 work in primary schools
247,378 work in secondary schools
76,442 work in independent schools
27,883 work in special schools
There are:
20.6 pupils per teacher in nurseries and primary schools
16.7 in secondary schools
6.3 in special schools
Type of school
No. of teachers
Secondary schools
247,378
Primary schools
264,804
Independent schools
76,442
Special schools
27,883
Breakdown of employees in English schools
In England, there are 18 teachers (qualified and unqualified) for every pupil
There are a total of 968,079 employees working in English schools
50% of those are teachers
30% are teaching assistants
20% fulfill other roles such as administrators or janitors
UK teacher gender and race statistics
In the UK, 30.5% of these teachers are male, and 69.5% are female
In primary schools, 82,4% of teachers are female
14.5% of teachers identify as ethnic minorities – an increase from the previous year
However, 21.5% of the working-age population identify as ethnic minorities which indicates that minorities are still under-represented in the teaching profession
Number of schools in each UK country
There are 32,121 schools in the UK
24,413 schools in England
1,553 schools in Wales
5,052 schools in Scotland
1,123 schools in Northern Ireland
UK teacher workload and well-being
59% of staff have considered quitting teaching over the past 12 months due to pressures on their mental health and wellbeing
78% of all school staff experienced mental health symptoms that have been attributed to their work
4,000 more teachers quit last year than had in the 12 months prior
8.1% of state school staff quit teaching or moved to the private sector
12.5% of newly-qualified teachers quit the profession within 12 months
52% of teachers say their workload is “unmanageable”
Over the last year, there has been a 40% increase in teacher vacancies across the UK
Japan and Kazakhstan are the only countries with a higher workload for teachers than England
Secondary school teachers in England work an average of 46.9 hours per week
Primary school teachers in England work even longer hours, with an average of 48.3 hours per week
England has the second-highest workload for primary school teachers, after Japan
Teachers and educational professionals work an average of 11.9 hours of unpaid overtime per week
It is estimated there will be a 20% increase in pupil numbers over the next decade, while applications for teacher training have fallen by 5%.
An additional 47,000 secondary school teachers will need to be recruited by 2024 to meet the need the country has for teachers
