People · Scotland
Children
National school census first, including EAL competence levels, then the looked-after care series. Glasgow’s city roll sits below. This is not asylum support stock. Unaccompanied children as an asylum caseload are not added into the pupil total, the EAL counts, or the looked-after total.
This page
Pupil census totals by sector; EAL by LA cited as secondary children series (NOT asylum children). | Includes looked-after (CSW) series; pupil census; EAL. UASC depth → Asylum Gold pointer only.
Pupils total 2025
695,923Published
Publicly funded schools census (approx September census date). Total excludes ELC.
Children looked after at 31 July 2025 (publication headline)
11,824Published
Main-points headline 11,824. Placement-type tables cover 11,818. Distinct from UASC — asylum depth → Asylum Gold / HO FOIs only.
Pupils in publicly funded schools by sector
Scotland. Blank years are missing, not zero. Source
- 2016396,697 · 280,983 · 6,668 · 684,348
- 2017400,312 · 281,993 · 6,654 · 688,959
- 2018400,276 · 286,152 · 6,823 · 693,251
- 2019398,794 · 292,063 · 7,132 · 697,989
- 2020393,957 · 300,954 · 7,286 · 702,197
- 2021390,313 · 306,811 · 7,599 · 704,723
- 2022388,920 · 309,133 · 7,821 · 705,874
- 2023384,725 · 313,061 · 7,742 · 705,528
- 2024379,354 · 315,072 · 8,002 · 702,428
- 2025372,331 · 315,503 · 8,089 · 695,923
September pupil census publicly funded schools excl. ELC. Years held 2016–2025 (10). 2016–2018 from Summary Statistics 2021 revised Table 2.1; 2019–2025 from Pupil and teacher characteristics.
Children looked after at 31 July (Scotland)
Scotland. Blank years are missing, not zero. Source
- 2015-0715,400 · 3,925 · 5,740 · 4,206 · 1,529
- 2016-0715,317 · 3,870 · 5,643 · 4,327 · 1,477
- 2017-0714,897 · 3,766 · 5,449 · 4,173 · 1,509
- 2018-0714,554 · 3,789 · 5,130 · 4,123 · 1,512
- 2019-0714,262 · 3,569 · 5,010 · 4,235 · 1,448
- 2020-0714,458 · 3,563 · 4,929 · 4,530 · 1,436
- 2021-0713,200 · 2,853 · 4,586 · 4,494 · 1,267
- 2022-0712,447 · 2,584 · 4,271 · 4,330 · 1,262
- 2023-0712,083 · 2,435 · 4,029 · 4,334 · 1,285
- 2024-0711,778 · 2,298 · 3,797 · 4,359 · 1,324
- 2025-0711,818 · 2,411 · 3,518 · 4,506 · 1,383
11 years 2015–2025 from Publication Tables Chart Data. Care-experienced / looked-after children social work series. NOT UASC depth (asylum pointer only). Headline 2025 main points 11,824 vs Chart Data total 11,818 (placement recorded).
Pupils EAL competence levels (Scotland)
Scotland. Blank years are missing, not zero. Source
- New to English10,476
- Early Acquisition13,061
- Developing competence19,621
- Competent15,629
- Fluent14,972
- English as "first language"617,314
- Not known4,850
Secondary children series from machinery H2. NOT asylum children.
Scotland school census 2025
Pupils
695,923Published
Down 6,505 on 2024
Teachers FTE
53,475Published
Pupil–teacher ratio
13.2Published
Primary
372,331Published
Secondary
315,503Published
Special
8,089Published
Attendance 2024/25: 91%. Source: Pupil and teacher characteristics 2025.
Glasgow school roll
School roll only. Catchments cross multi-member wards. Not a substitute for Census 2022 community mix or NRS population. Prefer a single consistent series on the card (GCC Sept 2024 paper recommended).
Pupils (Sept 2024)
72,097Published
EAL pupils
20,106Published
27.9% of Glasgow roll
Scotland EAL
10.3%Published
72,554 pupils
Languages after English
- Urdu3,749 learners
- Arabic3,364 learners
- Polish2,008 learners
- Punjabi1,426 learners
- Chinese (MSM)913 learners
City door: Glasgow. Unaccompanied children: not on this desk.
Sources
- official Pupil and teacher characteristics 2025 — Scottish Government, 2025-12-09
- official Glasgow pupil census / EAL extract (Sept 2024) — Glasgow City Council, 2024-09-01
- research Community Shield Scotland data packs — all-councils index — Community Shield Scotland (held extract), 2026-08-10
Branches
Schools, looked-after children, and a pointer for unaccompanied children.