This data may be out of date — the source may have published a newer figure.
Check Department for Education →
Historical trend
Trend summary
The teacher vacancy rate in state-funded schools in England was 1.5% in November 2023, down from a peak of 1.7% in 2022.
Trend
- Teacher vacancy rates rose from around 0.9% in 2017 to a peak of 1.7% in 2022–23, driven by recruitment difficulties in secondary schools and STEM subjects.
- Secondary schools and schools in London consistently show higher vacancy rates than primary schools and schools in other regions.
- STEM and modern foreign languages subjects have persistently higher vacancy rates than other subjects.
Context
- DfE publishes school workforce statistics annually; vacancy figures are a snapshot from a single census day in November.
- Vacancy statistics cover full-time equivalent teacher vacancies; they do not capture unfilled hours covered by supply or non-specialist teachers.
Commentary contains no editorial judgement — describes direction, magnitude, and official projections only.
About this indicator
- Source
- Department for Education
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Last updated
- 27 June 2024 Data may be out of date
- Licence
- OGL v3
- Direction
- ↓ Falling
Statistics
- Latest
- 1.5 %
- Period high
- 1.7 %
- Period low
- 1.5 %
- Period average
- 1.6 %