Data set from Pupil absence in schools in England

Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by band - autumn term

Latest data

Published 6 August 2026

Last updated 6 August 2026

The number of pupil enrolments by overall, authorised and unauthorised absence percentage point bands. This shows absence as a percentage of all possible sessions.

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Data set details

• Theme: Pupils and schools
• Publication: Pupil absence in schools in England
• Release: Autumn term 2025/26
• Number of rows: 7,140
• Geographic levels: National
• Indicators:
  • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for authorised absence
  • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for illness absence
  • Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for non-attendance due to coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Filters:
  • Absence percentage band
  • School type
• Time period: 2006/07 Autumn term to 2025/26 Autumn term

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Data set preview

Table showing first 5 rows, from underlying data

time_period	time_identifier	geographic_level	country_code	country_name	education_phase	percent_bands	enrolments_overall	enrolments_overall_percent	enrolments_authorised	enrolments_authorised_percent	enrolments_unauthorised	enrolments_unauthorised_percent	enrolments_sess_x_covid	enrolments_sess_x_covid_percent	enrolments_illness	enrolments_illness_percent
202526	Autumn term	National	E92000001	England	Total	0	1497607	20.9584	1898060	26.5626	4944653	69.1985	z	z	2487319	34.8091
202526	Autumn term	National	E92000001	England	Total	0.01 - 0.99	306018	4.28261	334597	4.68256	311053	4.35307	z	z	166241	2.32648
202526	Autumn term	National	E92000001	England	Total	1.00 - 1.99	834405	11.6772	961670	13.4582	538692	7.53879	z	z	1079050	15.1009
202526	Autumn term	National	E92000001	England	Total	10.00 - 10.99	153678	2.15067	119323	1.66988	35797	0.50097	z	z	92456	1.29389
202526	Autumn term	National	E92000001	England	Total	11.00 - 11.99	139532	1.9527	103712	1.45141	33448	0.46809	z	z	80814	1.13096

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Variables in this data set

Table showing first 5 of 12 variables

Variable name	Variable description
education_phase	School type - Filter by school type
enrolments_authorised	Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for authorised absence
enrolments_authorised_percent	Percentage of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for authorised absence
enrolments_illness	Number of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for illness absence
enrolments_illness_percent	Percentage of all pupil enrolments that fall into that per cent band for illness absence

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Footnotes

1. Total includes state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. Data for special schools is available from 2016/17 to present.
2. Sessions recorded as not attending due to COVID circumstances are included as possible sessions in 2020/21 and 2021/22 only, but not as an absence within absence rates. Comparisons with these years should be treated with caution.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by band - autumn term statistics and data:

Attendance and exclusions statistics team

Email: schools.statistics@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Attendance and exclusions statistics team

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