Teachers and support staff up 20,100 on last year

There are now 20,100 more teachers and support staff in schools than 12 months ago, official figures have revealed.

According to government figures, the overall school workforce now stands at 767,600 - with 1,900 more full-time equivalent teachers, 13,100 teaching assistants and 5,100 other support staff in authority maintained schools, Academies and City Technology Colleges since last year.

The overall pupil-adult has dropped year-on-year in primary and secondary schools. Pupil-adult ratio - which includes teachers, teaching assistants and support staff - has fallen in primaries from 12.4 pupils for every staff member to 12 and in secondaries from 11.4 to 11.

Schools minister Jim Knight said: "There are now more teachers, teaching assistants and support staff and more staff per pupil than ever before. The huge rise in teaching assistants shows we've put our money where our mouth is on school workforce reforms, developed hand-in-hand with the majority of teaching unions."