Announcing the 2025 Science Teaching Survey findings

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What have secondary teachers and technicians got to say about education across the UK and Ireland?

The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) published the 2025 Science Teaching Survey findings this week with responses from 1931 science teachers and technicians across the UK and Ireland. This year’s survey saw the highest response rate yet from science technicians, with 725 (38%) of respondents identifying themselves as technicians.

Colouring pencils. One is sharpened and has a smiley face and another has a broken tip and a sad face

Source: © Kolidzei/Getty Images

Sharpening students’ minds relies on teachers, technicians and teaching assistants, but the survey showed there are shortages of all three sets of staff across the UK and Ireland

For the past four years, together with the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) and the Institute of Physics (IOP), the RSC has surveyed science teachers and technicians. This year’s survey was supported by the Science Education Policy Alliance (SEPA) and CLEAPSS.

The survey findings build on previous years, and the RSC has presented comparisons with 2023 and 2024 data. For example, of all the reported challenges that teachers and technicians face, insufficient funding has seen the greatest increase, from 49% in 2023 to 57% in 2025. Challenges around funding are particularly acute in Scotland and Wales and for those working in state-funded secondary schools.

For the first time this year the survey asked about the staffing levels of teaching assistants (TAs). 61% of respondents said their schools were understaffed for TAs, while 70% of respondents told us that increasing the number of TAs would improve the equitable experience of students with SEND/ALN in science lessons.

The headline findings

Educators call for investment in science education
A shortage of teaching assistants is having a negative impact on student learning
A confident and vital technician workforce is at risk
Educators face challenges in preparing young people for the future workforce

You can explore these findings, and find out how we are helping to address them, on the 2025 Science Teaching Survey webpage. You can also investigate the data tables for state-funded secondary schools for each nation from the RSC’s report on the data.

The RSC would like to thank all the science teachers and technicians that took part in this year’s survey for their invaluable insight into the current science teaching landscape across the UK and Ireland. These responses help us shape our support and provide key evidence for influencing policy makers over the coming year.

You can discover the resources available from the RSC Education team throughout the findings or contact your local education coordinator for regional support.