Schools in England now have more teachers than ever before, but there has been an increase in the number of teacher vacancies and temporarily filled posts, according to the latest data from the School Workforce Census.
The report reveals that there are currently 468,371 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in schools across the country. This represents a rise of 2,800 teachers since last year and an increase of 27,000 since the inception of the school workforce census in 2010.
The census data also indicates that there has been a rise in the number of teaching assistants. Currently, there are 281,094 FTE teaching assistants, marking an increase of 5,300 compared to the previous year. Since the census began collecting support staff information in 2011, the number of teaching assistants has risen by an 59,600.
The pupil to teacher ratios remains consistent with the previous year's figures. In nurseries and primary schools, there are an average of 20.7 pupils per teacher, while secondary schools have an average of 16.8 pupils per teacher. Special and Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) schools have an average of 6.4 pupils per teacher.
Although there has been a slight 0.1 increase in each school phase, the ratios overall remain stable.