# Number of schools

Open schools in each council, from nurseries to sixth form colleges, counted by Open Index from each nation's list of schools.

Worked out by Open Index from the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government.

## Facts

- Published by: Department for Education
Welsh Government
Scottish Government
Ordnance Survey
- Level of detail: Council
- Updates: Daily
- History: Since 2026
- Licence: Open Government Licence 3.0 and OS OpenData (Open Government Licence 3.0)
- Method: Worked out by Open Index from the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government
- Levels: Council

## How it is worked out

Each open school's point is matched to the council boundary it falls inside, and the schools in each council are counted. A school on the shore just outside the boundary counts for the nearest council within 2 km. Schools placed at their postcode point count where that point falls. The period is the year of each nation's latest list.

## Periods

| Level | First | Latest | Periods |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Council | 2026 | 2026 | 1 |

## Coverage

| Nation | Areas | With a figure |
| --- | --- | --- |
| England | 296 | 296 |
| Wales | 22 | 22 |
| Scotland | 32 | 32 |
| Northern Ireland | 11 | 0 |

Northern Ireland school locations need a postcode licence.

## Gaps

- Northern Ireland school locations need a postcode licence: 11 (Antrim and Newtownabbey, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Belfast, Causeway Coast and Glens, Derry City and Strabane, Fermanagh and Omagh)

## Caveats

- This is a count, not a rate. Councils with more people have more schools.
- A school counts for the council its point falls in. Near a boundary, or when a school sits at its postcode point, that can be the neighbouring council, so totals can differ by one or two from the publishers' own tables.
- Each nation publishes its list at a different time. England's list is daily, Wales's is from April 2026 and Scotland's from July 2026.
- Independent schools, special schools and colleges are included, as well as state schools.

## Example: Hackney

Hackney had 108 open schools in 2026, from nurseries to sixth form colleges.
Worked out by Open Index from the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government.

https://openindex.co.uk/hackney

## Sources

### Get Information About Schools

- Publisher: Department for Education
- Licence: [Open Government Licence 3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)
- Edition: edubasealldata20261015.csv
- Published: 15 October 2026
- Fetched: 15 October 2026
- Updates: daily
- Credit: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools.
- Publisher's page: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads

### Schools in Wales (maintained school locations and the address list of schools)

- Publisher: Welsh Government
- Licence: [Open Government Licence 3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)
- Edition: Maintained schools, revised 23 April 2026
- Published: 23 April 2026
- Fetched: 15 October 2026
- Updates: annual
- Credit: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Welsh Government. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Publisher's page: https://www.gov.wales/addresses-and-phone-numbers-schools-and-pupil-referral-units

### Schools in Scotland (school contact list, register of independent schools, school roll and locations)

- Publisher: Scottish Government
- Licence: [Open Government Licence 3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/)
- Edition: school contact list 31 July 2026
- Fetched: 15 October 2026
- Updates: annual
- Credit: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Copyright Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024, and data created and maintained by Scottish Local Government © Local Government Information House Limited copyright and database rights 2024.
- Publisher's page: https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-contact-details/

### Code-Point Open

- Publisher: Ordnance Survey
- Licence: [OS OpenData (Open Government Licence 3.0)](https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/opendata/licence)
- Edition: Code-Point Open 2026-08
- Fetched: 15 October 2026
- Updates: quarterly
- Credit: Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Publisher's page: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/products/code-point-open

## Use it

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/number-of-schools)
- Download (Council): https://data.openindex.co.uk/s/2026.10.9/downloads/layers/schools-count/council.csv
- API: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/layers/schools-count

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/sources/number-of-schools.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Welsh Government. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Copyright Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2024, and data created and maintained by Scottish Local Government © Local Government Information House Limited copyright and database rights 2024.
- Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
- Worked out by Open Index from the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government.

Snapshot 2026.10.9. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/sources/number-of-schools