FOI release

Number of schools, teachers and students in England

Published 10 January 2014

Applies to England

  • Date requested: 5 April 2013
  • Date responded: 26 April 2013

1. Request

  • How many schools are there in England? How many teachers? How many students?
  • What is the education policy?
  • What are the departments in the ministry of education?
  • What is the goal of education?
  • How is the budget given to the schools?

2. Release

The number of pupils and schools in England is published as part of the annual statistical first release ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’. The latest data is for January 2012.

Table 2a shows that, in January 2012, there were 8.2 million pupils attending 24,372 schools in England (including nursery schools, state-funded primary schools, state-funded secondary schools, special schools, pupil referral units and independent schools.)

The number of teachers in schools in England is published as part of the annual statistical first release ‘School workforce in England’. The latest data is for November 2011. Table 1 shows that, in November 2011, there were 438,000 teachers in state-funded schools in England on a full-time equivalent basis. In response to the questions relating to education policy, the structure of the department and school funding.

The Department for Education, alongside other government departments, has published a business plan covering its vision, government priorities, structural reform plans, departmental expenditure and information on how it is going to become more transparent.

The ‘Department for Education business plan: 2012 to 2015’ is refreshed annually to reflect the latest priorities.

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) is the department’s delivery agency for funding and compliance. The agency provides revenue and capital funding for education for learners between the ages of 3 and 19, or the ages of 3 and 25 for those with learning difficulties and disabilities. Information about the EFA is available online.