DfE maintains it is on course to meet pledge of recruiting 6,500 additional teachers
The latest school workforce statistics show that the number of teachers in state schools has reduced for the second consecutive year, driven by declining pupil numbers, especially in primary schools but also now in secondary settings as well. The latest annual school workforce census shows that, excluding further education settings, there are 466,300 teachers in state schools this academic year, down by around 1900 on the previous year. There were 8,920,227 pupils at schools in England at the time of the 2025/26 census, a decrease of 112,200 from 2024/25.
Despite this fall in overall teacher numbers, the government has said it is ‘on track’ to meet its pledge of recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers during this parliament. Due to declining primary rolls in recent years, the pledge focuses specifically on mainstream secondary schools, special schools and further education (FE) colleges. The Department for Education (DfE) says it has added 4,600 teachers compared with its 2023 baseline. This includes a net increase of 1,000 secondary teachers, around 2,000 special needs and pupil referral unit teachers, as well as an additional 1,600 FE teachers. However, Jack Worth, education workforce lead at the National Foundation for Educational Research, said the DfE was including 2,300 additional teachers recorded in November 2024, only a few months after Labour took power, meaning it was ‘highly unlikely that its policies could have had a meaningful impact on those figures’.
Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, said: ’Every child should be taught by an exceptional teacher — and this government is determined to make that a reality in classrooms across the country. We’re making real progress where it’s needed most: over two thirds of our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers has already been met, fewer teachers are leaving the profession than at any point on record, and more are choosing to build long, rewarding careers in teaching. But we know there is more to do. We will keep working to make teaching the valued, well-rewarded profession it ought to be — so that every child, whatever their background or need, has the brilliant teacher they deserve’
Meanwhile, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said that the fall in the overall number of teachers ‘made a mockery’ of the government’s pledge to recruit additional teachers, but that falling pupil numbers presented the government with an opportunity: ‘The Government stands at a crossroads on education. Falling pupil numbers mean there is an opportunity to drastically improve children’s opportunities by increasing school staffing levels and reducing class sizes, as the previous Labour government did 25 years ago.’. However, Mr Kebede also warned that the government was at risk of squandering that opportunity: ‘It can continue its current course: failing to address the damage from years of underfunding, locking in high class sizes, leaving school staff burnt out and schools running on empty. Or it can begin to undo the harm caused by a decade and a half of neglect, create smaller, more inclusive classes and address the crisis in the system. There is no room for complacency. The Government must implement the fully funded above inflation pay rises and improvements in workload that are urgently needed to tackle teacher shortages and protect our education service.’
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, also called for more to be done on funding and class sizes, saying: ‘The government must look again at the funding model which puts the sustainability of schools experiencing falling rolls at risk, and instead take the opportunity to help protect existing staffing levels, enable schools to offer smaller classes, and support them to deliver more targeted help for pupils who need it most.’