Teachers and the workforce
Education chapter 8. Who works in state schools, counted in full-time equivalents — and why that is not the same as counting people.
There were 466,372 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in 2025/26, against 441,440 in 2010/11 — a rise of 5.6%.
Teachers
466,372
Teachers (FTE)
2025/26, up 5.6% since 2010/11
25.3%
Teachers working part-time
Which is why FTE and headcount diverge
73,168
Leadership teachers (FTE)
Heads, deputies and assistant heads
Full-time equivalent, not headcount. Two part-time teachers count as one FTE, so a rise in FTE and a rise in the number of people are different statements, and the workforce has become steadily more part-time over this period.
Source: DfE, School workforce in England. Full-time equivalent, all state-funded schools.
View as table
| Period | Teachers in state-funded schools |
|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 441k |
| 2011/12 | 439k |
| 2012/13 | 445k |
| 2013/14 | 450k |
| 2014/15 | 455k |
| 2015/16 | 457k |
| 2016/17 | 457k |
| 2017/18 | 452k |
| 2018/19 | 453k |
| 2019/20 | 454k |
| 2020/21 | 461k |
| 2021/22 | 466k |
| 2022/23 | 468k |
| 2023/24 | 469k |
| 2024/25 | 468k |
| 2025/26 | 466k |
Teachers without qualified teacher status are in this count
Teachers without qualified teacher status are counted in the teacher totals. Academies and free schools may employ them; local authority maintained schools generally may not. A change in the mix of school types therefore moves this number without any change in who is standing in front of a class.
No pupil–teacher ratio is computed here
Pupil–teacher ratios are not computed on this page. Doing it properly needs the pupil count and the teacher count on the same census date and the same school coverage, and the two collections do not align cleanly enough for a ratio this site would stand behind. The Department publishes its own ratio, and that is the one to use.
Support staff
There were 295,183 full-time equivalent teaching assistants in 2025/26 — 0.6 for every teacher.
Teaching assistants are the largest group of staff working directly with children with SEND in mainstream schools, which is why they appear in both this chapter and the SEND chapter.
Dark bars: the first measure. Grey bars: teachers (FTE).
Source: DfE, School workforce in England.
View as table
| Period | Teaching assistants, against teachers | teachers (FTE) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 0k | 441k |
| 2011/12 | 222k | 439k |
| 2012/13 | 235k | 445k |
| 2013/14 | 247k | 450k |
| 2014/15 | 257k | 455k |
| 2015/16 | 265k | 457k |
| 2016/17 | 267k | 457k |
| 2017/18 | 264k | 452k |
| 2018/19 | 266k | 453k |
| 2019/20 | 266k | 454k |
| 2020/21 | 272k | 461k |
| 2021/22 | 276k | 466k |
| 2022/23 | 281k | 468k |
| 2023/24 | 283k | 469k |
| 2024/25 | 289k | 468k |
| 2025/26 | 295k | 466k |
The whole workforce, 2025/26
View as table
| Group | Full-time equivalent |
|---|---|
| All staff | 984,610 |
| Teachers | 466,372 |
| — of which classroom teachers | 393,204 |
| — of which leadership | 73,168 |
| — of which without qualified teacher status | 14,653 |
| All support staff | 518,238 |
| — of which teaching assistants | 295,183 |
Specialists
The Children and Families Act requires a local authority carrying out an EHC needs assessment to seek psychological advice. This workforce is therefore part of the statutory process, not a general staffing statistic. These figures count psychologists employed centrally by local authorities; those working privately or through other arrangements are not in this count, so it is not the whole profession.
Full-time equivalent and headcount are both shown because they move differently. A headcount rising faster than FTE means more people each working fewer hours, which is a different thing from more capacity.
Dark bars: the first measure. Grey bars: headcount.
Source: DfE, School workforce in England. 2010/11–2025/26.
View as table
| Period | Educational psychologists employed by local authorities | headcount |
|---|---|---|
| 2010/11 | 1,724 | 1,895 |
| 2011/12 | 1,434 | 1,728 |
| 2012/13 | 1,463 | 1,721 |
| 2013/14 | 1,594 | 1,721 |
| 2014/15 | 1,362 | 1,633 |
| 2015/16 | 1,404 | 1,741 |
| 2016/17 | 1,368 | 1,617 |
| 2017/18 | 1,206 | 1,478 |
| 2018/19 | 1,655 | 2,145 |
| 2019/20 | 1,694 | 2,013 |
| 2020/21 | 1,699 | 2,047 |
| 2021/22 | 1,817 | 2,162 |
| 2022/23 | 1,939 | 2,325 |
| 2023/24 | 2,102 | 2,546 |
| 2024/25 | 2,192 | 2,726 |
| 2025/26 | 2,332 | 3,023 |
Why this workforce is in a statistics chapter at all
An educational psychologist’s advice is a statutory requirement of every EHC needs assessment. The size of this workforce is therefore a structural feature of the SEND process rather than a general staffing statistic, which is why it appears in both chapters.
Two series near each other is not a finding
The number of educational psychologists and the number of EHC plans are two separate published series covering different things. Placing them near each other invites a conclusion neither dataset supports: nothing here shows that assessment capacity caused any change in timeliness, or that it did not. The two are shown because both are part of the statutory process, not because the data links them.
These figures count psychologists employed centrally by local authorities for 28 days or more. Those working privately or through other arrangements are not counted, so this is not the whole profession.
Last verified 2026-08-16. Data: DfE, School workforce in England.
Related chapters
- In this sectionWhat education costsStaff are the largest single item in school expenditure.
- In this sectionSpecial educational needsWhere the educational psychologist workforce sits in the statutory process.
- Leaves this sectionJobs and payHow teaching compares with the wider labour market.
- In this sectionEducationThe other chapters, and how this section is built.
Scope and definitions
England, not the UK
Education is devolved. Every figure on this page is England only. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate different frameworks with different legal definitions, and their figures are not directly comparable.
Full-time equivalent is not a headcount
Full-time equivalent, not headcount. Two part-time teachers count as one FTE, so a rise in FTE and a rise in the number of people are different statements, and the workforce has become steadily more part-time over this period.
Population
These figures cover schools and staff in England as recorded in the annual censuses: the school census for pupils and schools, and the school workforce census for staff. They count institutions and employees, not children with any particular characteristic, and they are not the 0–25 population used in the SEND chapter.