School Workforce Census results: as at November 2022
Statistics on the size and characteristics of the school workforce as at November 2022.
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Introduction
These are experimental statistics relating to information collected in the School Workforce Annual Census (SWAC) for Wales at November 2022. The SWAC collects information on teachers and support staff in local authority maintained schools in Wales.
Between 2021 and 2022, the number of teachers working in local authority-maintained schools has decreased by 0.6% but the number of support staff has increased by 2.8%. The decrease in teachers may be due to the temporary nature and changes to the Recruit, Recover and Raise Standards (RRRS) funding. Welsh Government provided the RRRS funding to schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to recruit extra staff to support pupils. Most of the staff funded as part of the RRRS should have been employed on a temporary basis and the amount distributed has decreased since the initial funding in 2020-21.
The accompanying StatsWales tables and dashboards include more detailed information on the school workforce, including breakdowns by local authority and sector.
At this time, the Pupil Level School Census (PLASC) should continue to be used as the official source of statistics on the school workforce. Once SWAC data has been fully quality assured, SWAC will replace the workforce elements of PLASC.
Please see the ‘School Workforce Annual Census: Background Information’ for more details on the SWAC collection and comparison of data items collected in SWAC and PLASC (relating to qualified teachers, teacher sickness absence and teacher recruitment and retention).
Teachers
The data below is collected as part of the SWAC School return. The SWAC School returns are completed by all local authority-maintained schools and reflect the workforce at Census date which is normally in early November. The census date was at 8 November 2022. The SWAC School data will not include local authority centrally employed staff who are not contracted to a specific school. These staff are included in the teachers’ pay section. As part of the SWAC School return the full-time equivalents (FTE) is recorded which indicates the proportion of full-contract time they spend in each role and school.
Teachers: roles
- In November 2022, there were 26,445 teachers in local authority maintained schools in Wales, a decrease of 0.6% on November 2021.
- The full-time equivalence [footnote 1] of all teachers was 24,640, down 0.2% from 2021.
- Based on the full-person equivalent [footnote 2], 22,215 teachers (84.0%) worked as a qualified classroom teacher.
- Most teachers worked in Primary schools (48.5%) or Secondary schools (41.0%).
Teachers: characteristics
- 19,695 teachers (74.5%) were female. Females accounted for 64.6% of teachers in leadership [footnote 3].
- There was a greater proportion of female teachers in Primary schools (83.1%) compared to Secondary schools (65.0%).
- 15,905 teachers (60.1%) identified as Welsh.
- 325 teachers (1.2%) were of Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnicity [footnote 4]. There was a smaller proportion of teachers from an ethnic minority background in leadership (0.6%).
- 190 teachers (0.7%) reported having a physical or mental health condition expected to last 12 months or more.
Teachers: Welsh language
- 6,610 teachers (25.0%) were teaching/working through the medium of Welsh in their current post, with a further 1,620 (6.1%) able to teach/work through the medium of Welsh but not doing so in their current post.
- 10,230 teachers (38.7%) reported having Welsh skills at intermediate level or above [footnote 5]. The proportion varied between sectors, from 31.3% in Secondary schools to 56.8% in Middle schools. At the local authority level, the proportion ranged from 12.2% in Blaenau Gwent to 93.2% in Isle of Anglesey.
Figure 1: Proportion of teachers with Welsh skills at intermediate level or above by local authority, November 2022 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 1: This map shows Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd and Ceredigion have the highest proportion of teachers with Welsh skills at intermediate level or above. Whilst Blaenau Gwent, Newport and Monmouthshire have the lowest proportion.
Source: SWAC School
Teachers Welsh language ability by local authority on StatsWales
[Note 1] Includes intermediate, advanced and proficient Welsh skills based on the ‘Welsh Language Competency Framework for Education Practitioners’.
Teachers: subjects taught
This data reflects subjects taught to pupils in years 7 to 13 in a typical two-week timetable.
- The greatest proportion of schools’ teaching timetable was spent teaching Mathematics (13.5%), English (13.1%), Science [footnote 6] (10.2%), Welsh (7.4%) and Physical Education (6.8%).
- On average, 1 in 5 teaching hours (21.3%) were taught bilingually or through the medium of Welsh.
- Individuals teaching Mathematics spent the greatest proportion of their timetable teaching that subject (82.7%) [footnote 7]. For those teaching Modern Foreign Languages the proportion was 77.9%, for English 77.2% and for Welsh 76.1%.
Figure 2: Number of teachers by measure (headcount and full-person equivalent) and subjects taught, November 2022
Description of Figure 2: This bar chart shows the five subjects with the greatest number of teachers teaching the subjects as at November 2022. These are Mathematics, English, Science, Welsh and Physical Education. Headcount ranged from 1,960 teaching English to 1,135 teaching Welsh. And full-person equivalent ranged from 1,530 of teachers teaching Mathematics to 820 of teachers teaching Physical Education.
Source: SWAC School
[Note 1] The headcount counts teachers once for each subject taught.
[Note 2] The full-person equivalent splits teachers according to the proportion of time spent teaching each subject. A teacher that spends half of their time teaching Maths and half of their time teaching English would be recorded as 0.5 in each category.
Teachers: recruitment and retention
Data relates to the 2021/22 academic year.
The methodology to calculate the number of vacancies advertised and the average applications per post advertised has been revised since last year so that each post advertised is only counted once. More information on this can be found in the ‘School Workforce Annual Census: background information’.
- On average, 9.1 applications were received per post advertised. The average was lower for Welsh medium posts (4.6) compared to English medium posts (10.5). The average was also lower for Secondary school posts (5.5) compared to Primary school posts (14.1).
- At the end of the 2021/22 academic year, 2,037 of posts advertised were filled (88.9%).
- Of the 1,080 teachers that left the profession, 360 (30.7%) retired (at normal or early retirement age).
Teachers: pay and allowances
The following data on teachers’ pay and allowances and teacher sickness absence are collected as part of the SWAC Pay, HR and Absences return. This is completed by local authorities and schools which have opted-out of payroll and/or human resource (HR) service level agreements with their local authority. Most members of the workforce will be recorded in both the SWAC School and SWAC Pay, HR and Absences parts of the collection, however there are some exceptions. Teachers that are centrally employed by the local authority will be recorded in the SWAC pay, HR and absences return but not the SWAC school return. Further information on this can be found in the School Workforce Annual Census: background information. As part of the SWAC HR, Pay and Allowances return FTE shows individuals counted for the proportion of full-contract time they are paid on a particular pay range and will differ to the FTE figures for teacher characteristics data from the SWAC School return.
The teachers’ pay award for academic year 2022/23 was not finalised and implemented until after the SWAC census date. As a result, figures on teachers’ pay in this release do not fully reflect the pay uplift for 2022/23. See the School Workforce Annual Census – background information for further information.
- The full-time equivalence (FTE) of all teachers was 25,885, with 15,405 (59.5%) paid on the upper pay range.
- The average (mean) FTE salary of all teachers was £43,740, an increase of £1,660 (3.9%) on 2021.
- Classroom teachers received an average salary of £40,546. Average classroom teacher salary ranged from £40,383 in Primary schools to £40,809 in Secondary schools.
- The average salary of headteachers (a) was considerably higher in Secondary schools (£96,979) compared to Primary schools (£67,752).
- On average, males (£45,421) were paid £2,260 more than females (£43,162). For classroom teachers, females (£40,602) were paid more than males (£40,309). However, in leadership roles, males (£67,732) were paid more than females (£62,405) on average.
- Between November 2021 and 2022, 8,580 teachers (29.6%) received a Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) allowance with an average value of £4,830.
| Male | Female | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unqualified teacher | £26,881 | £25,642 | £26,066 |
| Classroom teacher | £40,309 | £40,620 | £40,546 |
| Leading practitioner | £55,084 | £55,829 | £55,594 |
| Headteacher [Note 1] | £76,795 | £70,234 | £72,774 |
| Other leadership [Note 2] | £61,472 | £58,227 | £59,292 |
| Total leadership | £67,732 | £62,405 | £64,269 |
| Total | £45,421 | £43,162 | £43,740 |
Description of Table 1: This table shows the average FTE salary by post and sex at November 2022. The average salary for all teachers was £43,740. Headteachers average salary was £72,000, whilst classroom teachers lowest average salary was £40,546.
Source: SWAC HR, Pay and Absences
[Note 1] Includes executive headteacher.
[Note 2] Includes acting, deputy and assistant headteacher.
Teachers: sickness absence
Data relates to 2021/22 academic year.
- 39,000 sickness absence records were opened or closed during the year.
- 18,065 teachers (65.2%) took at least one period of sickness absence.
- These figures are considerably higher than 2020/21 but are similar to those collected in previous years before the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020/21 data covered a period affected by COVID-19 which affected how schools operated and periods of school closures. Therefore, this may have affected the number of sickness absences recorded.
- An average of 5.9 working days were lost per absence. The average number of working days lost per teacher that had taken a period of sickness absence was 12.8, up from 11.9 in 2020/21.
Figure 3: Number of teacher sickness absence records opened by month and absence type, 2021/22
Description of Figure 3: The line graph shows the number of short-term and long-term absences opened throughout the school year in each month. The number of short-term absences are significantly higher than long term absences, with peaks reached in November, January and March. During the academic year 2021/22 there was a significant decrease in absences during the month of April, explained by the Easter break, and then again in July at the end of the school year.
Source: SWAC HR, Pay and Absences
Number of teacher sickness absences opened by month and absence type on StatsWales
[Note 1] More than 20 working days lost.
Support staff
The data below are collected as part of the SWAC School return are completed by all local authority-maintained schools and reflect the workforce at Census date. More information can be found in the School Workforce Annual Census: background information.
Support staff: roles
- In November 2022, there were 30,860 support staff, an increase of 2.8% on November 2021.
- The full-time equivalence [footnote 8] of all support staff was 24,160, up 3.7%.
- Based on the full-person equivalent [footnote 9], 15,660 support staff (50.7%) worked as a teaching assistant, with a further 1,590 (5.1%) working as a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA).
- Most support staff worked in Primary schools (61.8%) or Secondary schools (23.7%).
Support staff: characteristics
- 27,910 support staff (90.4%) were female, compared to 74.5% of teachers.
- 17,020 support staff (55.1%) identified as Welsh.
- 890 support staff (2.9%) were of Black, Asian, Mixed or Other ethnicity [footnote 10], compared to 1.2% of teachers.
- 395 support staff (1.3%) reported having a physical or mental health condition expected to last 12 months or more.
Support staff: Welsh language
- 6,315 support staff (20.5%) reported having Welsh skills at intermediate level or above [footnote 5], compared to 38.7% of teachers.
- The proportion of support staff with Welsh skills at intermediate level or above [footnote 5] ranged from 2.6% in Blaenau Gwent to 84.0% in Gwynedd.
Figure 4: Proportion of support staff with Welsh skills at intermediate or above level by local authority, November 2022 [Note 1]
Description of Figure 4: This map shows Isle of Anglesey and Gwynedd have the highest proportion of support staff with Welsh skills at intermediate level or above, whilst over half of the local authorities have less than 20%of support staff with Welsh skills at intermediate level or above.
Source: SWAC School
Support staff Welsh language ability by local authority on StatsWales
[Note 1] Includes intermediate, advanced and proficient Welsh skills based on the ‘Welsh Language Competency Framework for Education Practitioners’.
Support staff: recruitment and retention
This data relates to teaching assistants, higher level teaching assistants, foreign language assistants, Additional Learning Need (ALN) coordinators and ALN support staff only for 2021/22.
- On average, 6.6 applications were received per post advertised. The average was lower for Welsh medium posts (3.6) compared to English medium posts (7.7). The average was also lower for Secondary school posts (3.9) compared to Primary school posts (7.0).
- At the end of the academic year, 1,482 (87.7%) of posts advertised were filled.
- Of the 1,850 support staff that left the profession, 580 (31.4%) moved to employment outside of education.
Quality and methodology information
The information collected in 2022 has not undergone a formal final validation process. However, various stages of automated validation and sense-checking have been built in to ensure the collection of high-quality data to inform policy making.
Our ‘School Workforce Annual Census: background information’ report provides further quality and methodology information.
Footnotes
[1] The full-time equivalent is the proportion of full-contract time spent in a role. An individual working one day a week in a leadership role and one day a week in a classroom teacher role would be recorded as 0.2 against each role.
[2] The full-person equivalent is the proportion of working time spent in a role. An individual working one day a week in a leadership role and one day a week in a classroom teacher role would be recorded as 0.5 against each role.
[3] Including executive headteachers, headteachers, acting headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers.
[4] Including Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, Asian/Asian British, Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups and Other ethnic groups.
[5] Includes intermediate, advanced and proficient Welsh skills based on the ‘Welsh Language Competency Framework for Education Practitioners’.
[6] Science excludes Biology, Chemistry and Physics where they are taught as separate subjects.
[7] This is the full-person equivalent divided by the headcount. The greater the similarity between the headcount and full-person equivalent, the greater the proportion of time individuals spend teaching that subject. If an individual spends a high proportion of time teaching a particular subject, they may be more likely to be a specialist in that subject.
[8] The full-time equivalent is the proportion of full-contract time spent in a role. An individual working one day a week in a teaching assistant role and one day a week in a SEN/ALN support staff role would be recorded as 0.2 against each role.
[9] The full-person equivalent is the proportion of working time spent in a role. An individual working one day a week in a teaching assistant role and one day a week in a SEN/ALN support staff role would be recorded as 0.5 against each role.
[10] Including Black/African/Caribbean/Black British, Asian/Asian British, Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups and Other ethnic groups.
Contact details
Statistician: Gareth Thomas
Email: educationworkforcedata@gov.wales
Media: 0300 025 8099
SFR 55/2023