Data set from Pupil absence in schools in England

Absence rates by pupil characteristic - spring term

Latest data

Published 23 October 2025

Last updated 23 October 2025

Absence information by pupil characteristics including special education need (SEN), free school meal (FSM) eligibility, language, year group, sex and ethnicity.

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Data set details

• Theme: Pupils and schools
• Publication: Pupil absence in schools in England
• Release: Autumn and spring term 2024/25
• Number of rows: 1,149
• Geographic levels: National
• Indicators:
  • Overall absence rate
  • Authorised absence rate
  • Number of authorised absence sessions
• Filters:
  • Characteristic
  • School type
• Time period: 2020/21 Spring term to 2024/25 Spring 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	characteristic	characteristic_breakdown	enrolments	sess_possible	sess_overall	sess_authorised	sess_unauthorised	sess_overall_percent	sess_authorised_percent	sess_unauthorised_percent	enrolments_pa_10_exact	enrolments_pa_10_exact_percent	sess_possible_pa_10_exact	sess_overall_pa_10_exact	sess_authorised_pa_10_exact	sess_unauthorised_pa_10_exact	sess_overall_percent_pa_10_exact	sess_authorised_percent_pa_10_exact	sess_unauthorised_percent_pa_10_exact	enrolments_pa_50_exact	enrolments_pa_50_exact_percent	sess_auth_illness	sess_auth_appointments	sess_auth_religious	sess_auth_study	sess_auth_traveller	sess_auth_holiday	sess_auth_ext_holiday	sess_auth_excluded	sess_auth_interview	sess_auth_reg_performance	sess_auth_temp_reduced_timetable	sess_auth_other	sess_auth_totalreasons	sess_unauth_holiday	sess_unauth_late	sess_unauth_other	sess_unauth_noyet	sess_unauth_totalreasons	sess_overall_totalreasons	sess_x_covid	sess_y_exceptional	sess_q_la_arrangements	sess_x_covid_rate
202021	Spring term	National	E92000001	England	Special	Major ethnic groups	Asian / Asian British	11784	1269796	319700	304720	14980	25.17727	23.99756	1.17972	5456	46.30007	595854	305053	291358	13695	51.19593	48.89755	2.29838	x	x	25377	5689	8	7	0	2185	z	69	z	z	z	264518	297853	4309	645	9125	837	14916	312769	384069	27014	z	30.25
202021	Spring term	National	E92000001	England	State-funded primary	Major ethnic groups	Asian / Asian British	457423	48580883	1297746	911303	386443	2.67131	1.87585	0.79546	26068	5.69888	2786347	847461	539010	308451	30.41477	19.34468	11.07009	x	x	370795	26617	395	19	28	7116	z	484	z	z	z	495325	900779	227643	7185	135157	12132	382117	1282896	29440285	453776	z	60.6
202021	Spring term	National	E92000001	England	State-funded secondary	Major ethnic groups	Asian / Asian British	362281	38838669	942785	660861	281924	2.42744	1.70155	0.72588	18241	5.03504	1956604	621799	426259	195540	31.7795	21.78566	9.99385	x	x	240486	25486	236	5643	19	2550	z	8081	z	z	z	376957	659458	113798	4901	134665	27873	281237	940695	26456763	955714	z	68.12
202021	Spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	Major ethnic groups	Asian / Asian British	831488	88689348	2560231	1876884	683347	2.88674	2.11625	0.7705	49765	5.98505	5338805	1774313	1256627	517686	33.23427	23.53761	9.69666	x	x	636658	57792	639	5669	47	11851	z	8634	z	z	z	1136800	1858090	345750	12731	278947	40842	678270	2536360	56281117	1436504	z	63.46
202122	Spring term	National	E92000001	England	Special	Major ethnic groups	Asian / Asian British	12639	1464786	203976	169825	34151	13.92531	11.59384	2.33147	5391	42.65369	630040	172366	141122	31244	27.35795	22.3989	4.95905	x	x	107003	16570	102	23	1	7419	z	496	z	z	z	35480	167094	8541	3072	20743	1439	33795	200889	37759	25056	z	2.58

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Variables in this data set

Table showing first 5 of 44 variables

Variable name	Variable description
characteristic_breakdown	Characteristic - Filter by pupil characteristic
education_phase	School type - Filter by school type
enrolments	Number of pupil enrolments
enrolments_pa_10_exact	Number of persistent absentees (10% missed)
enrolments_pa_10_exact_percent	Percentage of persistent absentees (10% missed)

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Footnotes

1. Total includes state-funded primary, state-funded 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.
3. EHC plans – A pupil has an EHC plan when a formal assessment has been made. A document is in place that sets out the child’s need and the extra help they should receive. EHC plans were introduced in September 2014 replacing Statements of SEN, with these being phased out by April 2018. This category therefore includes Statements of SEN for the years up to 2018.
4. SEN support - From 2015, the School Action and School Action Plus categories were combined to form one category of SEN support. Extra or different help is given from that provided as part of the school’s usual curriculum. The class teacher and special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) may receive advice or support from outside specialists. The pupil does not have an Education, Health and Care plan.
5. From 2023/24 the school census data item ‘sex’ replaced ‘gender’. Historical use of the word “gender” in the data collection may have meant that “gender identity” was reported in some cases, as opposed to legal sex. While this is unlikely to have a significant effect on overall figures, it may affect figures in more granular subdivisions. This category is presented as a single time-series but prior to spring 2023 any data was reported as 'gender'.

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