Special Educational Needs: Teachers
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of fully-qualified SEND teachers in England on 12 March 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
High quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, which is why sufficient high quality teachers is key to delivering the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity.
All teachers are teachers of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and the Teachers’ Standards sets clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.
As of November 2023, which is the latest date for which data is available, there were 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England. Of these, around 6% (28,200) were in special schools and state-funded alternative provision schools, including pupil referral units.
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers entering and leaving service in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
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