New figures show Scottish primary classes growing CLASS sizes are growing in Scotland's primary schools while teacher numbers are continuing to fall, new figures show. Despite the overall pupil to teacher ratio remaining static for the third year in a row, statistics from the Scottish Government show teacher numbers in all schools have fallen for the sixth year in a row, with the total number down from 51,253 last year to 51,078. The average primary class size grew from 22.7 in 2012 to 23.2, although almost 100 per cent of P1s are in classes of 25 or fewer - up from 33 per cent in 2006. The percentage of P1-P3 pupils who were in class sizes of 18 or fewer dropped from 18.8 per cent in 2012 to 13.6 per cent in 2013. The Scottish Government introduced legislation in 2010 to limit P1 classes to 25 pupils after the SNP dropped a 2007 manifesto commitment to reduce P1-P3 classes to 18 or fewer. The raft of statistics, which were published today, also show that exclusions have reduced by almost 23,000 since 2006-07, a drop of 51 per cent and attendance levels are now at 93.6 per cent. Stable workforce Education secretary Mike Russell said: "There is much to be pleased about in today's school statistics, not least the fact that the number of exclusions have reduced to the lowest level on record and attendance rates are higher than ever. With 84 per cent of pupils now in buildings that are in good or satisfactory condition, compared to 61 per cent in 2007, our pledge to move 46,000 pupils into top quality accommodation will continue to bear fruit in the years to come, building on the huge progress we have made so far. I am also particularly pleased that the country-wide pupil teacher ratio has remained level, ensuring that our teaching workforce is now stable. The Scottish Government took steps to manage the supply of teachers and now we have the lowest level of teacher unemployment across the UK. I also plan to make a further announcement on more teacher training opportunities in the coming months. Broken promises But Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, said: "Protection of teacher numbers was one of the few positives from the 2011 teaching agreement which saw a £45 million cuts package being implemented. This year, however, we have seen a fall in teacher numbers whilst at the same time class sizes are rising, especially in the P1-3 phase which has been a policy area for the Scottish Government. We have also witnessed a fall in nursery aged children who have access to a teacher - again a policy promise of the Scottish Government which is being broken.