Attainment, attendance and teacher numbers rise
The number of pupils reaching expected levels of literacy and numeracy in Scotland’s schools is at the highest level on record, latest statistics show.
In primary schools, expected levels in literacy have increased to the highest level ever (74.5%), while for numeracy the figure of 80.3% is the same as last year’s record high. In secondary, the proportions of S3s reaching the expected level in literacy (89.8%) and numeracy (90.9%) are also the highest on record, according to the Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels 2024-25.
The last year has also seen a narrowing of the poverty-related attainment gap to a record low at all levels.
Meanwhile, attendance rates increased in schools to 91% in 2024-25, up from 90.3% the previous year, while absences, both authorised and unauthorised, are down, according to separate figures published today.
Teacher numbers have also increased nationally in 2025, with the pupil-teacher ratio improving, while average primary class sizes also reduced, according to the latest Pupil and Teacher Characteristics 2025.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “The Scottish Government has been determined to drive forward educational improvements in Scotland’s schools and these statistics show clear progress is being made across several measures.
“Attainment levels are at record highs in literacy and numeracy following Scottish Government investment of £1.75 billion in the Scottish Attainment Challenge over the past decade – aimed at improving outcomes for children and young people impacted by poverty.
“We know that better engagement leads to better outcomes, so it’s hugely encouraging to see the improvement in attendance and a fall in absences, including a noticeable reduction in persistent absence levels, after the work being done to address this since the pandemic.
“The rise in teacher numbers reflects our investment in the workforce, which means that Scotland continues to have the lowest pupil-teacher ratio and the best paid teachers in the UK.
“We recognise there is more work needed to return these numbers to their 2023 levels and we will continue to work with councils towards this.
“This evidence further underlines the strong recovery we are seeing in schools following the pandemic, after this year’s national exam results showed the poverty-related attainment gap narrowing at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels.
“It is testament to the hard work of pupils, teachers and staff in schools and I am committed to working with them to deliver further improvements.”
The Educational Institute of Scotland has noted yesterday’s flurry of education statistic releases from the Scottish Government, and highlighted that the figures confirm the Scottish Government’s failure to meet its commitments on the employment of additional teachers as a means to tackle excessive teacher workload.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Scottish Government education statistics releases are increasingly like buses – you wait a long time for one to turn up, then five arrive all at once.
If this is an attempt to bury any bad news in a quagmire of statistics, it does not appear to be a successful tactic.
The figures released today confirm that the Scottish Government has absolutely failed in the delivery of their 2021 manifesto commitment to recruit 3,500 additional teachers into Scotland’s schools during the term of this parliament – we now have almost a thousand fewer teachers than when the pledge was made, so we are more than 4,000 teachers down on the level that was promised in that 2021 manifesto commitment.”
Ms Bradley continued, “The Scottish Government’s associated pledge to reduce teachers’ class contact time, supported by the recruitment of the additional teachers, was a clear recognition of the need to tackle excessive teacher workload in our schools.
“The failure of government and local authorities to recruit additional teachers, and the failure to deliver any meaningful progress on the commitment to reduce teachers’ class contact time, has led to the current workload dispute.
“The EIS is currently running a statutory industrial action ballot over these failures, and encourages all our members to use their vote in this important ballot and to vote Yes to both strike action and action short of strike.
“We must send a very clear message to the Scottish Government, and also to local authorities, that class contact time must be reduced, as promised, as a means to reducing excessive teacher workload.”
Ms Bradley added, “Compounding this, the high level of employment precarity for newly qualified and recently qualified teachers is a national scandal, with large numbers of new teachers offered only unstable short-term contracts, if they are fortunate enough to be offered teaching work at all.
“Scotland needs more teachers in our schools, to deliver an enhanced learning experience for students, to help reduce excessive teacher workload by delivering the Scottish Government’s commitment to lower teachers’ class contact time, and to ensure that the increasingly diverse learning needs of all students can be met.
“There are now 43% of pupils in our schools with an identified Additional Support Need, and this huge increase has not been matched by an increase in resource to meet those needs. We desperately need more teachers in our schools.”
Ms Bradley concluded, “The newly and recently qualified teachers are available for permanent employment to help to address all of these issues , but they are not being offered secure teaching jobs, with the result that many will either look to other countries for employment or opt, reluctantly, to leave teaching entirely and pursue other career options.
“It shouldn’t be this way, and it doesn’t have to be this way – the Scottish Government and local authorities must ensure that many, many more newly and recently qualified teachers are employed in Scotland’s schools.”
