School teacher workforce

Department:
Department for Education
Published:
Last updated:
24 September 2018, see all updates
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017
Area covered:
England
Time period:
2017

The main facts and figures show that:

  • there were 498,100 teachers in state-funded schools in England in 2017 (including classroom teachers, headteachers, and deputy and assistant heads) – when part-time work was taken into account, this amounts to the equivalent of 451,900 full-time teachers
  • 86.2% of all teachers whose ethnicity was known were White British – around 401,400 teachers – with 13.6% coming from all other ethnic groups (including White minorities); at the time of the 2011 Census, 78.5% of the working age population was White British
  • teachers from the Other White ethnic group made up the next largest group after White British teachers, making up 3.8% of teachers whose ethnicity was known (around 17,800 teachers)
  • 93.0% of headteachers whose ethnicity was known were White British (around 20,700 headteachers)
  • 376,300 teachers were female, and there were more female than male teachers in all ethnic groups
Things you need to know

The numbers shown here are based on a headcount of the total number of teachers in England whose ethnicity was known, regardless of whether they worked part time or full time. Full-time equivalent numbers can be found in the tables included in the school workforce in England statistical release.

What the data measures

This data measures the number of school teachers (including headteachers) in all state-funded schools in England, broken down by ethnicity, gender and grade.

The data includes teachers employed both directly by the school and centrally by the local authority in all state-funded schools. These include:

  • nursery, primary, secondary and special schools run by local authorities
  • academies
  • free schools

The data doesn’t include the following types of school:

  • independent schools
  • sixth form colleges
  • further education establishments

The data doesn't include the following individuals:

  • teaching assistants
  • occasional teachers (on contracts of less than one month)
  • teachers for whom ethnicity is not known – in 2017 this relates to 6.6% of teachers in state funded schools.

The data was collected from schools and local authorities in November 2017 as part of the annual school workforce census.

The ethnic categories used in this data

The 16 categories used in this data are those listed in the 2001 Census. The categories are broadly the same as those used in the 2011 Census, except that:

  • the 2001 Census categorised Chinese people within ‘Other ethnic group’
  • the 2001 Census did not list Gypsy and Irish Travellers or Arab people

The 2001 categories are:

White:

  • English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British
  • Irish
  • Any Other White background

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

  • White and Black Caribbean
  • White and Black African
  • White and Asian
  • Any Other Mixed/Multiple ethnic background

Asian/Asian British:

  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Bangladeshi
  • Any Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

  • African
  • Caribbean
  • Any Other Black/ African/ Caribbean background

Other ethnic group:

  • Chinese
  • Any Other ethnic group

Ethnic groups and how data on ethnicity is collected

School teacher workforce by ethnicity

Location:
England
Time period:
2017
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017

* Not applicable

Download chart (PNG)

Number of school teachers and percentage of the workforce by ethnicity

Ethnicity % of teacher workforce Teachers % of working age population (2011)
Asian
Bangladeshi 0.5 2,500 0.8
Chinese 0.2 800 0.9
Indian 1.9 8,600 3.0
Pakistani 1.1 5,100 2.0
Asian other 0.6 2,900 1.7
Black
Black African 0.8 3,800 1.9
Black Caribbean 1.0 4,800 1.2
Black other 0.3 1,500 0.5
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.3 1,600 0.5
Mixed White/Black African 0.1 600 0.2
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.3 1,600 0.6
Mixed other 0.5 2,300 0.5
White
White British 86.2 401,400 78.5
White Irish 1.6 7,500 1.0
White Gypsy/Traveller N/A* N/A* 0.1
White other 3.8 17,800 5.6
Other
Arab N/A* N/A* 0.4
Any other 0.6 2,600 0.7
Unknown N/A* 32,600 N/A*

* Not applicable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017, the majority of school teachers in England (whose ethnicity was known) were White British, at 86.2% of the workforce (around 401,400 teachers); by comparison, 78.5% of the working age population of England was White British at the time of the 2011 Census
  • 3.8% of teachers whose ethnicity was known were from the Other White ethnic group (around 17,800 teachers), followed by 1.9% from the Indian ethnic group (around 8,600 teachers) and 1.6% from the White Irish group (around 7,500 teachers); this compares with 5.6%, 3.0% and 1.0% of the working age population of England in 2011, respectively

School teacher workforce by ethnicity and gender

Location:
England
Time period:
2017
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017

Number of school teachers and percentage of the workforce by ethnicity and gender

Men Women
Ethnicity % Teachers % Teachers
Asian
Bangladeshi 0.6 700 0.5 1,800
Indian 1.5 1,700 2.0 6,900
Pakistani 1.1 1,200 1.1 3,900
Asian other 0.7 800 0.6 2,200
Black
Black African 1.3 1,500 0.7 2,300
Black Caribbean 1.0 1,100 1.1 3,700
Black other 0.4 500 0.3 1,100
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.4 400 0.3 1,100
Mixed White/Black African 0.1 200 0.1 400
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.3 400 0.3 1,200
Mixed other 0.4 500 0.5 1,800
White
White British 86.2 97,600 86.3 303,700
White Irish 2.0 2,200 1.5 5,300
White other 3.3 3,700 4.0 14,100
Other inc Chinese
Chinese 0.2 200 0.2 600
Any other 0.6 700 0.6 2,000
Unknown N/A* 8,400 N/A* 24,200

* Not applicable

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017, around 3 out of 4 school teachers were female (around 376,300 teachers)
  • 86.2% of male teachers and 86.3% of female teachers were White British (around 97,600 and 303,700 teachers respectively)
  • Black African teachers made up 1.3% of male teachers and 0.7% of female teachers (around 1,500 and 2,300 teachers respectively)
  • there were 6 ethnic groups where the percentage of male teachers was greater than female teachers from the same ethnic group; the largest difference was in the Black African group, where men made up 1.3% of male teachers and women made up 0.7% of female teachers (a difference of 0.6 percentage points)
  • the percentage of female teachers was greater than male teachers in both the Indian and Other White ethnic groups (with differences of 0.5 and 0.7 percentage points respectively); for all other ethnic groups the percentages of male and female teachers from the same ethnicity were very similar

School teacher workforce by ethnicity and type of role

Location:
England
Time period:
2017
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017

Number of school teachers and percentage of the workforce by ethnicity and type of role

Classroom and others Deputies and assistants Heads
Ethnicity % Teachers % Teachers % Teachers
Asian
Bangladeshi 0.6 2,300 0.2 100 0.1
Indian 2.0 7,800 1.5 700 0.8 200
Pakistani 1.2 4,700 0.7 300 0.3 100
Asian other 0.7 2,700 0.4 200 0.2
Black
Black African 0.9 3,600 0.4 200 0.2
Black Caribbean 1.1 4,200 1.0 500 0.7 200
Black other 0.3 1,400 0.2 100 0.1
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.3 1,400 0.3 100 0.2
Mixed White/Black African 0.1 500 0.1 0.1
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.4 1,400 0.3 100 0.2
Mixed other 0.5 2,000 0.4 200 0.2
White
White British 85.4 339,800 90.0 41,900 93.0 19,700
White Irish 1.6 6,400 1.7 800 1.8 400
White other 4.1 16,300 2.4 1,100 1.8 400
Other inc Chinese
Chinese 0.2 700 0.1 0.1
Any other 0.6 2,400 0.4 200 0.2
Unknown N/A* 29,100 N/A* 2,500 N/A* 1,100

* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017, there were around 426,900 classroom teachers, 49,000 deputy or assistant headteachers and around 22,200 headteachers
  • White British people accounted for 93.0% of headteachers, 90.0% of deputy or assistant headteachers and 85.4% of classroom teachers, where ethnicity was known
  • classroom teachers were least likely of all roles to be Mixed White and Black African – 0.1% of classroom teachers were from this group
  • deputy and assistant headteachers were least likely of all roles to be Mixed White and Black African, or Chinese – 0.1% of deputy and assistant headteachers were from each of these groups
  • headteachers were least likely of all roles be Mixed White and Black African, Bangladeshi, Chinese or from Other Black backgrounds – 0.1% of headteachers were from each of these groups
  • the White Irish ethnic group is the only one with a higher percentage of headteachers (1.8%) than deputy and assistant head teachers (1.7%) or classroom teachers (1.6%)

School teacher workforce by ethnicity and type of school

Location:
England
Time period:
2017
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017

Number of teachers, and percentage of the workforce, by ethnicity and type of school

Nursery and Primary Secondary Special Centrally employed
Ethnicity % Teachers % Teachers % Teachers % Teachers
Asian
Bangladeshi 0.5 1,100 0.6 1,300 0.2 0.2
Indian 1.6 3,800 2.2 4,500 1.0 200 1.0
Pakistani 1.0 2,300 1.3 2,700 0.5 100 0.5
Asian other 0.5 1,100 0.8 1,700 0.4 100 0.2
Black
Black African 0.4 1,000 1.3 2,600 0.9 200 0.1
Black Caribbean 0.9 2,000 1.2 2,400 1.5 300 0.7
Black other 0.2 500 0.4 900 0.4 100 0.2
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.3 700 0.4 800 0.3 100 0.3
Mixed White/Black African 0.1 200 0.1 300 0.1 0.1
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.3 800 0.3 700 0.4 100 0.3
Mixed other 0.5 1,100 0.5 1,100 0.4 100 0.4
White
White British 88.9 208,400 83.0 169,200 86.7 20,100 90.6 3,600
White Irish 1.4 3,200 2.0 4,000 1.4 300 0.7
White other 2.9 6,900 4.7 9,600 5.1 1,200 3.9 200
Other inc Chinese
Chinese 0.1 300 0.2 500 0.1
Any other 0.4 1,000 0.7 1,500 0.6 100 0.5
Unknown N/A* 14,400 N/A* 15,900 N/A* 1,500 N/A* 900

* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017, there were around 248,900 nursery and primary school teachers, 219,700 secondary school teachers, 24,700 special school teachers and 4,900 teachers who were centrally employed by the local authority
  • of those whose ethnicity was known, 88.9% of nursery and primary school teachers were White British (around 208,400 teachers), and 11.1 % were from all other ethnic groups combined (including White ethnic minorities)
  • 83.0% of secondary school teachers were White British (around 169,200 teachers), and 16.7 % were from all other ethnic groups combined (including White ethnic minorities)
  • 86.7% of special school teachers were White British (around 20,100 teachers), and 13.3% were from all other ethnic groups combined (including White ethnic minorities)
  • 90.6% of teachers who were centrally employed by the local authority were White British (around 3,600 teachers)
  • teachers from the Other White group were the next largest group after White British across all types of school (where ethnicity was known) – they made up 2.9% of nursery and primary school teachers, 4.7% of secondary school teachers, 5.1% of special school teachers and 3.9% of centrally employed teachers
  • across all types of schools, teachers were least likely to be from Mixed White and Black African, or Chinese, backgrounds

Headteacher workforce by ethnicity and gender

Location:
England
Time period:
2017
Source:
School workforce in England: November 2017

Number of headteachers and percentage of the headteacher workforce by ethnicity and gender

Men Women
Ethnicity % Teachers % Teachers
Asian
Bangladeshi 0.1
Indian 0.6 0.8 100
Pakistani 0.3 0.3
Asian other 0.2 0.2
Black
Black African 0.1 0.2
Black Caribbean 0.5 0.8 100
Black other 0.1 0.2
Mixed
Mixed White/Asian 0.3 0.2
Mixed White/Black African 0.1
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 0.1 0.3
Mixed other 0.1 0.3
White
White British 93.1 6,500 93.0 13,200
White Irish 2.2 200 1.7 200
White other 2.0 100 1.7 200
Other inc Chinese
Chinese 0.1
Any other 0.1 0.2
Unknown N/A* N/A* 700

* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017, there were around 22,200 headteachers, and over two-thirds of those were female (14,900)
  • male headteachers were more likely to be White (including White ethnic minorities), at 97.3%, compared with female headteachers (at 96.4%)
  • there were 8 ethnic groups where the percentage of female headteachers was greater than male headteachers from the same ethnic group; the largest difference was in the Black Caribbean ethnic group, where women made up 0.8% of female headteachers and men made up 0.5% of male headteachers (a difference of 0.3 percentage points)

Methodology

Methodology

Data shown here is based on administrative data collected from schools and local authorities in November 2017 as part of the seventh annual school workforce census.

The census also collects detailed information on teachers, teaching assistants and other non-classroom based school support staff.

Data on independent schools, sixth form colleges and further education establishments is not included.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Estimates based on fewer than 50 teachers have been suppressed to ensure that only reliable findings are reported. Numbers of teachers are shown to the nearest 100.

Rounding

Numbers of teachers are shown to the nearest 100. Percentages have been calculated using unrounded numbers.

Quality and methodology information

Data sources

Source

School workforce in England: November 2017

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The school workforce census data informs policy on pay and is used to monitor the effectiveness and diversity of the school workforce.

It's also used by other government departments, local authorities, external agencies and educational researchers.

Download the data

school-teacher-workforce.csv

This file contains the following variables: Measure, Year, Time_type, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Geography, Broad ethnicity, Gender, Gender_type, Teacher, Teacher_type, School, School_type, Value, Value_type, Value_note, Headcount

Publication release date: 24 September 2018

full page history
  1. Updated with the latest data (for 2017)

From: Department for Education

Previous edition:
  1. 30 May 2018

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