Data set from Pupil absence in schools in England

Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by band

Latest data

Published 26 March 2026

Last updated 26 March 2026

The number of pupil enrolments by overall, authorised and unauthorised absence percentage point bands.

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Data set details

• Theme: Pupils and schools
• Publication: Pupil absence in schools in England
• Release: Academic year 2024/25
• Number of rows: 4,488
• Geographic levels: National
• Indicators:
  • Number of pupil enrolments in that per cent band for unauthorised absence
  • Number of pupil enrolments in that per cent band for COVID non-attendance
  • Number of pupil enrolments in that per cent band for authorised absence
• Filters:
  • Absence percentage band
  • School type
• Time period: 2013/14 to 2024/25

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Data set preview

Table showing first 5 rows, from underlying data

time_identifier	year_breakdown	time_period	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
Academic year	Six half terms	202425	National	E92000001	England	Total	Total	7388150	100	7388150	100	7388150	100	0	0	7388150	100
Academic year	Six half terms	202425	National	E92000001	England	Total	0	411700	5.57244	637888	8.63393	3430567	46.43337	0	0	1177855	15.9425
Academic year	Six half terms	202425	National	E92000001	England	Total	0.01 - 0.99	604216	8.17818	827347	11.1983	1264234	17.11164	0	0	940462	12.7293
Academic year	Six half terms	202425	National	E92000001	England	Total	1.00 - 1.99	1004242	13.5926	1297172	17.55747	816395	11.05006	0	0	1421277	19.2373
Academic year	Six half terms	202425	National	E92000001	England	Total	2.00 - 2.99	912471	12.35047	1066784	14.43912	513824	6.9547	0	0	1067331	14.4465

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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 pupil enrolments in that per cent band for authorised absence
enrolments_authorised_percent	Percentage of all pupil enrolments in that pc band for authorised absence
enrolments_illness	Number of pupil enrolments in that per cent band for illness absence
enrolments_illness_percent	Percentage of all pupil enrolmentsin that per cent band for illness absence

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Footnotes

1. Total includes state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools.
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.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Absence as a percentage of possible sessions by band 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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