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INDEPENDENT SCHOOL CENSUS, SEPTEMBER 2003

June 1, 2004
A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

This document is also available in pdf format (192k)
The tables are available as an Excel Spreadsheet

The results of the census of independent schools are published today by the Scottish Executive Education Department. The results relate to September 2003. This is the first time results of the independent school census have been published separately.

The main findings for September 2003 are:

• There were 30,344 pupils in independent schools in Scotland. This is about four per cent of pupils in Scotland, a proportion which has remained fairly constant over the past decade ( chart 1).

Primary schools

• There were 62 independent primary schools in 2003. This figure has been declining steadily in recent years ( table 7).
• There were 11,686 pupils in independent primary schools in 2003, a slight decrease from 2002. Numbers have fluctuated between 11,000 and 12,000 in recent years ( table 7).
• There were 901 teachers in independent primary schools in 2003, a four per cent increase from 2002 but a similar level to 2001. There were 13.0 pupils per teacher in 2003, compared to 13.7 in 2002 and 13.0 in 2001 ( table 7).

Secondary schools

• There were 55 secondary schools in 2003, the same as in 2002. The number of independent secondary schools has declined from 63 in 1999 ( table 15).
• There were 17,605 pupils in independent secondary schools in 2003. Numbers have stayed roughly the same since 2002. ( table 15).
• There were 2,071 teachers in independent secondary schools in 2003, the same as in 2002. There were 8.5 pupils per teacher in 2003, a similar level to 2001 and 2002 ( table 15).

Special schools

• There were 33 independent special schools in 2003, compared to 32 schools in 2002 ( table 21).
• There were 1,053 pupils in independent special schools in 2003, an increase of five per cent from 2002 ( table 21).
• There were 286 teachers in independent special schools in 2003. There were 3.7 pupils

Tables

All Sectors
1 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent schools, 2003
2 Size of school roll, 2003
3 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2003
4 Integration of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2003
5 Location of Independent Schools, 2003
6 Age profile of pupils in Independent Schools, 2003

Primary
7 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent primary schools, 1996-2003
8 Pupils by stage, 1996-2003
9 Average class sizes by type of class and stage, 1999 - 2003
10 Number of mainstream classes by size and type of class, September 2003
11 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2003
12 Integration of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2003
13 Teachers (FTE) by gender and grade, 2003
14 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2003

Secondary
15 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent secondary schools, 1996-2003
16 Pupils by stage, 1996-2003
17 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2003
18 Integration of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2003
19 Teachers (FTE) by gender and grade, 2003
20 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2003

Special
21 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent special schools, 1996-2003
22 Pupils in special schools by gender and age, 2003
23 Pupils by gender and mode of attendance, 2003
24 Main difficulty of learning, 2003
25 Teachers (FTE) by gender and grade, 2003
26 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2003

BACKGROUND NOTES

1. Under The Registration of Independent Schools (Scotland) Regulations 1957 as amended, independent schools are required each year to supply certain statistics to the Scottish Executive. This census covers independent primary, secondary and special schools.

2. This is a new publication following requests for more of the information from the independent school census to be published. Results of the census of publicly funded schools will be published later this month. Information on attainment levels and leaver destinations for independent schools are published in
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00331-00.asp http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00306-00.asp

3. Where a school has more than one department, for example a secondary school with a primary department, these are counted as separate schools. Where numbers of pupils/students are given, these relate to pupils based at the school. Pupils/students who are attending the school but are based at another centre (for example, students from a Further Education College who are taking some classes at a school) are not included.

4. A class is a group of pupils normally supervised by one teacher. The group may occasionally be supervised by more than one teacher, for example, when pupils are receiving learning support from a teacher who is not the class teacher.

5. A composite class is a class of pupils from two stages, multi-stage composites include pupils from more than two stages. In 2003, there were a small number of multi-stage composites, mostly in the very smallest primary schools. Mainstream classes do not include the small number of classes for pupils with learning difficulties.

6. Three joint primary/secondary schools did not provide a sector split of their teachers (95 teachers in total). In these cases an estimate of the FTE number of teacher in the primary sector was obtained from the class information, with one teacher per class assumed unless stated otherwise by the school. Teachers from these schools were then excluded from the tables relating to grade.

7. A Record of Needs (RoN) is provided for a child who has "pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs which require continuing review". The RoN contains the child's details; the details of the parent/guardian and "named person" (someone to represent them); an assessment profile; a summary of the child/young person's impairments; a description of the special educational needs arising from the impairments; a statement of the measures proposed by the education authority; the name of the school to be attended; a summary of the views of the parent/guardian; the date the record was opened and a summary of the reviews of the record; and a note of who is allowed to access the record.

8. Individualised Educational Programmes (IEPs) are written plans setting targets that a child, with special educational needs, is expected to achieve. Targets should be limited in number and focus on key priorities of learning. They should be simple, clearly expressed and measurable.

9. The following symbol is used:
- = zero or rounds to zero
n/a = not available

10. This is a National Statistics publication. National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference

11. The team responsible for producing this document was : Mal Cooke, Bianca Heggie, Colin Gallacher, Aileen Kirchen, Douglas White.

12. All tables are available on the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00340-00.asp

Enquiries

13. Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this notice should be addressed to Mal Cooke, Education and Children Statistics Unit, Room 1A, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ. Telephone 0131 244 1689 or e-mail school.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

14. Media enquiries about the information in this notice should be addressed to: Michael Bargeton: 0131 244 2087

Statistics Publication Notice
June 1, 2004

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