Teacher sickness absence
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Full and part time teacher vacancies, temporarily filled posts in state-funded schools in England, by sector and grade. Numbers and rates.
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Data set details
- Theme
- Teachers and school workforce
- Publication
- School workforce in England
- Release
- Reporting year 2025
- Release type
- Number of rows
- 23,619
- Geographic levels
- Local authority, National, Regional
- Indicators
- Average number of days taken by each teacher who took sickness absence
- Average number of days taken in sickness absence by all teachers
- Percentage of teachers who took sickness absence
- Filters
- Type of school
- Time period
- 2009/10 to 2024/25
Data set preview
| time_period | time_identifier | geographic_level | country_code | country_name | region_code | region_name | old_la_code | new_la_code | la_name | school_type | total_teachers_taking_absence | percentage_taking_absence | total_number_of_days_lost | average_number_of_days_taken | average_number_of_days_all_teachers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 202425 | Academic year | National | E92000001 | England | Total state-funded schools | 322123 | 61.8 | 2604579 | 8.1 | 5 | |||||
| 202425 | Academic year | National | E92000001 | England | LA maintained nursery | 611 | 56.3 | 6530.5 | 10.7 | 6 | |||||
| 202425 | Academic year | National | E92000001 | England | LA maintained primary | 67268 | 54 | 542374 | 8.1 | 4.4 | |||||
| 202425 | Academic year | National | E92000001 | England | Primary converter academy | 44954 | 52.8 | 349351 | 7.8 | 4.1 | |||||
| 202425 | Academic year | National | E92000001 | England | Primary sponsor led academy | 15377 | 54.7 | 125159 | 8.1 | 4.5 |
Variables in this data set
| Variable name | Variable description |
|---|---|
| average_number_of_days_all_teachers | Average number of days taken in sickness absence by all teachers |
| average_number_of_days_taken | Average number of days taken by each teacher who took sickness absence |
| percentage_taking_absence | Percentage of teachers who took sickness absence |
| school_type | Type of school |
| total_number_of_days_lost | Total number of working days lost to sickness absence |
Footnotes
- Absences are reported by academic year, in arrears.
- Sickness absence data collected in the November 2021 census, relating to the 2020/21 academic year, were affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. As a result, comparisons with other years should be made with caution. This reflects factors including periods of partial school closure, the use of remote education in some cases, and potential differences in how sickness absence was recorded. The figures relate to sickness absence only and do not include non‑attendance due to other reasons such as self‑isolation or shielding.
- To reduce reporting burden during the pandemic, no teacher sickness absence data were collected for the 2019/20 academic year.
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Contact us
If you have a specific enquiry about Teacher sickness absence statistics and data:
Teachers and teaching statistics team
Email: schoolworkforce.statistics@education.gov.ukContact name: Tony Clarke
Telephone: 0774 7767329