Government accused of ‘mockery’ after number of school teachers falls in a year

The government insists on continuing to recruit extra teachers after it was accused of “making a mockery” of its promise.

Department for Education (DfE) figures released on Thursday showed that the number of teachers in all state-funded schools in England, excluding further education settings, has fallen by around 1,900 in a year.

There were 466,372 teachers in November 2025; There was a decrease from 468,279 teachers in the same period of the previous year.

National Education Union General Secretary Daniel Kebede said: “The overall number of teachers has decreased by 1,900, making a mockery of the government’s promise of 6,500 extra teachers.

“The government risks squandering the opportunity provided by falling student numbers.

“It could continue on its current trajectory: failing to repair the damage done by years of underfunding, locking in high class sizes, leaving school staff exhausted and schools empty.

“Or it can begin to undo the damage caused by fifteen years of neglect, create smaller, more inclusive classrooms, and address the crisis in the system. There is no room for complacency.”

One of Labour’s manifesto aims was to recruit and retain an additional 6,500 teachers after coming to power in the summer of 2024.

The DfE said it had “delivered on this promise” and had delivered more than two-thirds of its commitment since 2023-2024, recruiting 4,654 teachers, including 978 more secondary teachers, 2,030 more special school teachers and 1,646 in further education.

Education minister Bridget Phillipson said: “We are making real progress where it is needed most: more than two-thirds of our commitment to recruit 6,500 additional teachers has already been met, records show fewer teachers are leaving the profession and more are choosing to build long, rewarding careers in teaching.

“But we know there is more to do. We will continue to work to make teaching the valued, well-rewarded profession it should be, so that every child, whatever their background or needs, has the excellent teacher they deserve.”

The government announced in April that the commitment did not cover primary schools or early years.

Jack Worth of the National Foundation for Educational Research tried to explain the difference with numbers.

He said: “The government has chosen the November 2023 School Workforce Census (SWC) as the baseline for the 6,500 teacher target, with the increase of 2,300 teachers captured in the November 2024 SWC counting towards the target.

“But the Labor government only came into office in July 2024, so its policies are unlikely to have a meaningful impact on these figures.”

Between November 2024 and November 2025, the number of teachers decreased by 1,907.

A breakdown of the data showed there were 2,857 fewer kindergarten and primary school teachers and 457 fewer secondary school teachers, but an increase of 1,127 private school teachers and 280 centrally employed teachers.

The DfE said the declines reflected the context of declining nursery and primary pupil populations and the beginning of a decline in secondary school pupil numbers.

According to student population figures, there were 1,567 fewer kindergarten students, 84,611 fewer primary students and 11,919 fewer secondary students between January 2025 and January 2026.

But there were a further 8,208 children in private schools, both state-supported and non-maintained settings.

The DfE said the government was “rebalancing and targeting investment where it is needed most”.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “These figures show a mixed picture for recruitment and retention, but the reality is that many primary and secondary school leaders are still struggling to recruit and retain the staff they need. With the best will in the world, this inevitably impacts on children’s education.”

“These challenges create greater pressure and workload on teachers and leaders who remain in post and can lead to disruptive use of supply teachers and extra-subject specialists, larger class sizes and less time to support pupils who need more help, including children with special educational needs.”

Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “This is a broken promise from Labor and will only put more pressure on state schools. A government focused on outcomes rather than headlines will realize this approach does not work.”