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19 ^th April, 2005

A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

Education Series ISSN 1479-7569
ISBN 0 7559 3995 6 (Web only publication)

This document is also available in pdf format (223k)
The tables are also available in Excel Format (120k)

This document contains the results of the annual census of independent schools in Scotland. The results relate to September 2004.

The main findings are:

• There were 30,254 pupils in independent schools in Scotland, 90 fewer than in 2003. This net difference consists of a decrease of 169 in mainstream schools and an increase of 79 in special schools.
• Four per cent of all school pupils in Scotland were in independent schools. Numbers in independent schools have been falling at a slightly slower rate than in publicly funded schools ( Chart 1).

Primary schools

• There were 63 independent primary schools in 2004. The number of schools had previously declined from 74 in 1997 to 62 in 2003 ( table 7).
• There were 11,568 pupils in independent primary schools in 2004, a decrease of one per cent from 2003. Numbers have fluctuated between 11,559 and 11,844 in recent years ( table 7).
• There were 903 teachers ( FTE) in independent primary schools in 2004, a similar number to 2003. There were 12.8 pupils per teacher in 2004, compared to 13.0 in 2003 ( table 7).

Secondary schools

• There were 55 secondary schools in 2004, the same as in 2003. The number of independent secondary schools has declined from 63 in 1999 ( table 15).
• There were 17,554 pupils in independent secondary schools in 2004, a reduction of 51 from 2003, in line with the slight downward trend in recent years ( table 15).
• There were 2,065 teachers ( FTE) in independent secondary schools in 2004, a similar number to 2003. There were 8.5 pupils per teacher in 2004, the same as in 2002 and 2003 ( table 15).

Special schools

• There were 34 independent special schools in 2004, compared to 33 schools in 2003, and 32 in 2002 ( table 21).
• There were 1,132 pupils in independent special schools in 2004, an increase of eight per cent over 2003 ( table 21).
• There were 334 teachers ( FTE) in independent special schools in 2004, a 17 per cent increase from 2003. There were 3.4 pupils per teacher in 2004, a decrease from 3.7 in 2003 ( table 21).

Special Educational Needs

• There were 1,349 pupils with a Record of Needs and/or an Individualised Educational Programme. This is an increase of 105 (eight per cent) from 2003. The largest categories of main difficulty of learning were social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (22.6 per 1,000 pupils) and specific learning difficulties in language and/or mathematics - including dyslexia (6.7 per 1,000 pupils).

Tables

All Sectors
1 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent schools, 2003 and 2004
2 Size of school roll, 2004
3 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2004
4 Integration of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2004
5 Location of Independent Schools, 2004
6 Age profile of pupils in independent schools, 2004

Primary
7 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent primary schools, 1996-2004
8 Pupils by stage, 1996-2004
9 Average class sizes by type of class and stage, 1999 - 2004
10 Number of mainstream classes by size and type of class, September 2004
11 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2004
12 Integration of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2004
13 Teachers ( FTE) by gender and grade, 2004
14 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2004

Secondary
15 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent secondary schools, 1996-2004
16 Pupils by stage, 1996-2004
17 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2004
18 Integration of pupils with Record of Needs or Individualised Educational Programmes, 2004
19 Teachers ( FTE) by gender and grade, 2004
20 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2004

Special
21 Schools, pupils and teachers in independent special schools, 1996-2004
22 Pupils in special schools by gender and age, 2004
23 Pupils by gender and mode of attendance, 1996-2004
24 Main difficulty of learning of pupils with a Record of Needs or an Individualised Educational Programme, 2004
25 Teachers ( FTE) by gender and grade, 2004
26 Teachers (number) by mode of working and grade, 2004

Charts

Chart 1 Proportion of pupils in independent schools
Chart 2 Age of pupils at independent schools

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. Results of the census of publicly funded schools is available from the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00412
   Information on leaver destinations for independent schools are published in http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00380-00.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 2004, 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. 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.
7. 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.
8. The following symbol is used:
   - = zero or rounds to zero
   n/a = not available
9. 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
10. The team responsible for producing this document was: Mal Cooke, Debbie Hall and Colin Gallacher.
11. All tables are available on the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00414

Enquiries

12. Public enquiries (non-media) about the information contained in this notice should be addressed to Mal Cooke, Education and Children Statistics Unit, Area 1-B, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ, tel. 0131 244 1689
    or email school.stats@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
13. Media enquiries about the information in this notice should be addressed to:

Rona Dunbar, tel. 0131 244 2670
Statistics Publication Notice

19 ^th April, 2005

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