Data set from Pupil absence in schools in England

Absence by pupil ethnicity and FSM eligibility - autumn and spring terms combined

Latest data

Published 15 October 2026

Last updated 15 October 2026

Absence information broken down by ethnicity and Free School Meals.

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On this page

Data set details

• Theme: Pupils and schools
• Publication: Pupil absence in schools in England
• Release: Autumn and spring term 2025/26
• Number of rows: 240
• Geographic levels: National
• Indicators:
  • Number of overall absence sessions
  • Number of overall absence sessions for persistent absentees (10% or more missed)
  • Number of persistent absentees (10% or more missed)
• Filters:
  • FSM eligibility
  • Minor ethnic groups
• Time period: 2023/24 Autumn and spring term to 2025/26 Autumn and 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	fsm	ethnicity_minor	enrolments	sess_possible	sess_overall	sess_overall_percent	enrolments_pa_10_exact	enrolments_pa_10_exact_percent	enrolments_pa_50_exact	enrolments_pa_50_exact_percent	sess_possible_pa_10_exact	sess_overall_pa_10_exact
202526	Autumn and spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	FSM Eligible	African	119598	28801337	1376134	4.77802	13926	11.64401	1040	0.86958	3113523	617153
202526	Autumn and spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	FSM Eligible	Any other Asian background	45916	10950097	693065	6.3293	8064	17.56251	533	1.16082	1812403	357739
202526	Autumn and spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	FSM Eligible	Any other Black / African / Caribbean background	26477	6346874	426390	6.71811	5211	19.68123	461	1.74113	1184078	257869
202526	Autumn and spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	FSM Eligible	Any other ethnic group	87930	20736233	1339062	6.4576	15731	17.89037	1116	1.26919	3447185	688715
202526	Autumn and spring term	National	E92000001	England	Total	FSM Eligible	Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background	67866	16250437	1555258	9.57056	20110	29.63192	2138	3.15033	4619602	1087492

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Variables in this data set

Table showing first 5 of 12 variables

Variable name	Variable description
enrolments	Number of pupil enrolments
enrolments_pa_10_exact	Number of persistent absentees (10% or more missed)
enrolments_pa_10_exact_percent	Percentage of persistent absentees (10% or more missed)
enrolments_pa_50_exact	Number of severe absentees (50% or more missed)
enrolments_pa_50_exact_percent	Percentage of severe absentees (50% or more missed)

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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.
3. Caution is recommended when interpreting the data for Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children due to small population sizes.

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Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Absence by pupil ethnicity and FSM eligibility - autumn and spring terms combined 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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