Teaching Staff & Teacher/Pupil Ratio

In 2009, there were 46,921 full time teachers in ISC schools; there were 15,834 part time teachers working a total of 236,778 hours.

The pupil/teacher ratio fell slightly to 9.5:1, down from 9.6:1 in 2008. The weighted pupil/teacher ratio (with each sixth former counted as two) was 11.0:1, down from 11.2:1 in 2008. This compares to a ratio of 26.2 for maintained primary schools and 20.9 for maintained secondary schools. The low pupil/teacher ratio in the independent sector reflects many schools' commitment to teaching a wide range of subjects, even if class sizes are small and it is uneconomic to do so. Low pupil/teacher ratios are also important to many parents with children at independent schools. They allow many children to receive a uniquely supported and bespoke education

Teacher turnover, as a proportion of the number of full-time staff employed, remained relatively constant at 12.9% in like-for-like terms. A total of 2,192 teachers from maintained schools took up posts in ISC schools, while 564 moved from ISC schools into the maintained sector, giving a net gain of 1,628.