Week 14 2021

Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

Data guidance

Published 8 April 2021

Description

A summary of attendance in education settings from Monday 23 March to Thursday 25 March and early years settings from Thursday 16 April to Thursday 25 March.

From 12 October, the education settings survey changed and therefore some metrics that used to be presented have been discontinued. The changes were made to give more comprehensive data about how many pupils are isolating from school for different reasons. There are no comparable figures to these from previous weeks.

This publication provides a high-level national summary of estimates from the Department for Education's education settings survey and local authority early years survey. We are working to expand the scope of published data in future releases.

Coverage

The data covers England only. Statistics in tables 1a, 1b, 1d, 1e, 2, 3 and 4 are given at national level. Statistics in tables 1c and 5 are given at local authority level.

File formats and conventions

All files are .csv format.

Where metrics have been discontinued due to a change in the education settings survey, a “-” symbol is used in that particular cell.

Data files

All data files associated with this releases are listed below with guidance on their content. To download any of these files, please visit our data catalogue.

Table 1A - Daily attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak in holiday periods (not comparable to other time periods)

Filename: table_1a_daily_attendance_in_education_settings_during_covid_19_autumn_half_term_and_easter_.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 43 to 2021 Week 13
Content: This file contains daily attendance data for state-funded education settings for dates affected by October half term and Easter break only.
Settings on half term or Easter break are excluded from these figures. For this reason, data within this file is not comparable to data within table 1b.
Data is in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally representative of settings that were not on half term or Easter break.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
date	Date
Number_open_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of open settings, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_responded_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of settings responded, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_because_setting_is_closed_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent because their school is closed for covid-related reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_covid_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent for covid related reasons (a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus, self-isolation or school closure for covid-related reasons), excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_from_open_settings_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_from_open_settings_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_from_open_settings_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_absent_from_open_settings_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_fsm_eligible_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students eligible for free school meals attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_with_ehcp_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_students_with_sw_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of students with a social worker attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders absent for other reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_in_open_settings_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teachers and school leaders on roll in open settings, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent for other reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_open_settings_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of teaching assistants and other staff on roll in open settings, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Number_with_one_or_more_students_self_isolating_due_to_covid_contact_in_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Number of settings with one or more students self-isolating due to contact with a case of coronavirus in the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
phase	Setting type or phase
Proportion_open_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of open settings, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_because_setting_is_closed_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent because their school is closed for covid-related reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_covid_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent for covid related reasons (a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus, self-isolation or school closure for covid-related reasons), excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_fsm_eligible_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students eligible for free school meals attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_with_ehcp_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_students_with_sw_attending_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of students with a social worker attending on-site, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_covid_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent for covid related reasons (a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus or self-isolation), excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent for other reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_confirmed_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to a confirmed case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_inside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus inside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_contact_with_case_of_covid_outside_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to self-isolation as a result of potential contact with a case of coronavirus outside the setting, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_covid_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent for covid related reasons (a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus or self-isolation), excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent for other reasons, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_suspected_case_of_covid_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent from open settings due to a suspected case of coronavirus, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Proportion_with_one_or_more_students_self_isolating_due_to_covid_contact_in_setting_excl_settings_on_holiday	Proportion of settings with one or more students self-isolating due to contact with a case of coronavirus in the settings, excluding settings expected to be on holiday
Response_rate_excl_settings_on_holiday	Response rate, excluding settings expected to be on holiday

Footnotes

From 12 October 2020, the education settings survey changed and this new metric was added. The changes were made to give more comprehensive data about how many pupils are self-isolating for different reasons. There are no comparable figures to these from previous weeks.
The number of students on-site is calculated using a grossing methodology. This includes reported attendance from responding colleges and estimates of attendance in non-responding colleges. Two further education colleges are excluded from these metrics due to missing data used for the grossing methodology. See the methodology for further information.
There are only a small number of special post 16 settings therefore the data is expected to be variable and sensitive to changes in one or more settings.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
Absence rates for teaching assistants and other staff are likely to be less robust as more work part-time. There are likely to be inconsistencies in how schools treat part time staff in their reported data, for example some may update their on roll numbers daily to account for part-time staff ‘expected’ to be on-site and others may not.
Figures for independent schools are unlikely to be representative. We looked at a sample of non-responding school websites across different phases to assess whether they were open to children of key workers and vulnerable children. This was to enable us to assess whether non-responding schools were as likely to be open as the responding schools. For independent schools, we found evidence that non-responding schools were more likely to be closed than responding schools. Open rates and attendance rates for independent schools are likely to be lower than reported here.
Workforce absences are not known in closed schools. This means these figures are likely to be under-estimates of the numbers of workforce with confirmed or suspected cases and self-isolating, particularly when the proportion of schools closed for COVID-19 related reasons is higher.
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
The educational settings survey asks further education providers to report data for the previous day. As such, data collected and presented in this publication for further education and special post-16 settings reports on a day earlier than for other settings.
On-site testing for staff was available from 4 January to 5 March 2021. All staff are now encouraged to take two rapid COVID-19 tests each week at home. For staff classified as clinically extremely vulnerable, on-site attendance at work is not mandatory. Rates of confirmed cases and self-isolation among workforce may be impacted by levels of testing.
Workforce figures are grossed using the non-response methodology for state-funded settings. Further education, specialist post-16 and independent settings are not grossed. Only the proportions for each indicator have been included as a result.

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Table 1B - Daily attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak (excludes half term dates 19th October - 23rd October and 2nd November)

Filename: table_1b_daily_attendance_in_state_schools_during_covid_19_from_1sept_excluding_half_term_.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 37 to 2021 Week 12
Content: This file contains daily attendance data for state-funded education settings for dates excluding half term dates. Half term includes 19th October - 23rd October 2020, 2nd November 2020, and 15 February - 19 February 2021.
Data is in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally representative.
Further details on the column headings can be found in the “Table 1b variable additions and removal log” ancillary file.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
date	date
number_children_of_critical_workers_attending	number of children of critical workers attending
number_fully_open_settings	number of fully open settings
number_of_otherwise_vulnerable_students_attending	number of otherwise vulnerable students attending
number_of_settings_with_one_or_more_students_self_isolating_due_to_COVID_contact_within_settings	number of settings with one or more students self isolating due to COVID contact within settings
number_open_including_inset	number of open settings including inset
number_responded	number of settings responded
number_students_attending	number of students attending
number_students_attending_fully_open_settings	number of students attending fully open settings
number_students_eligible_fsm_attending	number of students eligible for fsm attending
number_students_with_ehcp_attending	number of students with ehcp attending
number_students_with_ehcp_attending_fully_open_settings	number of students with ehcp attending fully open settings
number_students_with_sw_attending	number of students with sw attending
number_students_with_sw_attending_fully_open_settings	number of students with sw attending fully open settings
phase	phase
proportion_fully_open_settings	proportion of fully open settings
proportion_of_settings_with_one_or_more_students_self_isolating_due_to_COVID_contact_within_settings	proportion of settings with one or more students self isolating due to COVID contact within settings
proportion_open_including_inset	proportion of open settings including inset
proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_due_to_potential_contact_with_case_of_COVID19_inside_setting	proportion of students absent from open settings due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside setting
proportion_students_absent_from_open_settings_due_to_potential_contact_with_case_of_COVID19_outside_setting	proportion of students absent from open settings due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside setting
proportion_students_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	proportion students absent with a confirmed case of COVID19
proportion_students_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	proportion of students absent with a suspected case of COVID19
proportion_students_attending	proportion of students attending
proportion_students_attending_fully_open_settings	proportion of students attending fully open settings
proportion_students_eligible_fsm_attending	proportion of students eligible for fsm attending
proportion_students_not_attending_because_setting_is_closed	proportion of students not attending because setting is closed
proportion_students_with_ehcp_attending	proportion of students with ehcp attending
proportion_students_with_ehcp_attending_fully_open_settings	proportion of students with ehcp attending fully open settings
proportion_students_with_sw_attending	proportion of students with sw attending
proportion_students_with_sw_attending_in_fully_open_settings	proportion of students with sw attending fully open settings
response_rate	response rate
total_students_absent_from_open_settings_due_to_potential_contact_with_case_of_COVID19_inside_setting	total students absent from open settings due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside setting
total_students_absent_from_open_settings_due_to_potential_contact_with_case_of_COVID19_outside_setting	total students absent from open settings due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside setting
total_students_absent_from_open_settings_with_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	total students absent from open settings with a confirmed case of COVID19
total_students_absent_from_open_settings_with_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	total students absent from open settings with a suspected case of COVID19
total_students_not_attending_because_setting_is_closed	total students not attending because setting is closed

Footnotes

From 12 October 2020, the education settings survey changed and this new metric was added. The changes were made to give more comprehensive data about how many pupils are self-isolating for different reasons. There are no comparable figures to these from previous weeks.
The number of students on-site is calculated using a grossing methodology. This includes reported attendance from responding colleges and estimates of attendance in non-responding colleges. Two further education colleges are excluded from these metrics due to missing data used for the grossing methodology. See the methodology for further information.
There are only a small number of special post 16 settings therefore the data is expected to be variable and sensitive to changes in one or more settings.
On 25 September and 2 October 2020, 1% of state-funded schools reported an inset or training day. Schools or colleges with inset or training days are considered as 'open' but not 'fully open'.
Secondary schools and colleges were given flexibility to phase the return of pupils between 8 and 12 March 2021 to manage testing and the return of pupils. This impacted attendance rates during the week commencing 8 March 2021.
From 12 October 2020, schools were asked to exclude nursery children from their submission. A corresponding decrease was observed in submitted number on roll in schools with nurseries.
On Wednesday 7 October 2020, a burst water pipe in East London resulted in a number of schools closing.
From 12 October 2020, the education settings survey changed and this metric was discontinued. The changes were made to give more comprehensive data about how many pupils are self-isolating for different reasons.
Open rates are rounded to 1dp for state-funded primary, state-funded secondary, state-funded special and all state-funded schools. For other phases, rates are reported to 0dp and where 100% of settings report they are open, this is reported as 99% given level of uncertainty around these estimates due to lower response rates and/or small population sizes.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
Response rates among state-funded schools fell on 17 December 2020 by 7 percentage points compared to the previous day. Some schools reported inset days or non-COVID related closures on 17 December 2020 (1% of responders). Schools are not required to complete the form if on a planned holiday, such as Christmas break and, previously, decreases in response rates have been associated with an increase in school closures. As a result, it is likely there is a greater proportion of closures among non-responders than responder and we do not know the distribution of these between i) COVID-related closures and ii) schools starting Christmas holidays or having inset days as planned. Therefore, estimates for 17 December 2020 are less reliable than previous days and likely overestimate open and attendance rates.
Schools are considered fully open if they are able to provide face-to-face teaching for all pupils on roll for the whole school day and they have not asked a group of pupils to self-isolate. School guidance states that where pupils are unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical or public health advice, schools are expected to be able to immediately offer them access to remote education.
Due to poor weather conditions in parts of England, there was an increase in non-COVID related closures on 14, 15, 25 and 26 January, and 2, 8, 9, 10 and 11 February 2021.
Figures for independent schools are unlikely to be representative. We looked at a sample of non-responding school websites across different phases to assess whether they were open to children of key workers and vulnerable children. This was to enable us to assess whether non-responding schools were as likely to be open as the responding schools. For independent schools, we found evidence that non-responding schools were more likely to be closed than responding schools. Open rates and attendance rates for independent schools are likely to be lower than reported here.
The number absent is rounded to the nearest 100, therefore there are some instances where figures between 1 and 49 are rounded to zero.
Pupils with a social worker are considered ‘children in need’. Our analysis after adjusting for non-response suggests that schools may be under-reporting the number of children with a social worker when compared to the most recently published children in need statistics. Therefore these estimates only account for pupils with a social worker that are identified by schools.
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
The educational settings survey asks further education providers to report data for the previous day. As such, data collected and presented in this publication for further education and special post-16 settings reports on a day earlier than for other settings.
Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker, an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) or are identified as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities. The number of children who are otherwise vulnerable is calculated by subtracting the number of children of critical workers and the number of children who have a social worker and/or an EHCP from the total number of children in attendance. The otherwise vulnerable measure is an estimate and is not equivalent in quality to other attendance figures. To see in more detail how the number of children who have a social worker and/or an EHCP is calculated, please see the methodology.

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Table 1C - attendance in state schools during the COVID-19 outbreak at local authority level

Filename: table_1c_attendance_in_state_schools_during_covid19_since_11_sept_at_la_level_.csv
Geographic levels: Local authority; Regional
Time period: 2020 Week 37 to 2021 Week 13
Content: This file contains weekly attendance data at local authority level for state-funded education settings for each Thursday in the autumn term (from 10 September until 17 December 2020) and for the spring term (13 January until 1 April 2021). It also includes workforce absence statistics in the autumn term (from 10 September until 17 December 2020) and the spring term (13 January until 1 April 2021).
The data is shown for each local authority and is further split by the following school phases:
state-funded secondary schools
state-funded primary schools
state-funded special schools
all state-funded schools.
Data is in this file has been not been scaled to account for non-response so it is not nationally representative.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
Date	Date
low_response_flag	Indicates whether the data is based on a low response rate (50% or less)
Lower_estimate_as_%_of_all_pupils	Lower estimate for total pupils unable to attend school because of COVID-19 as % of all pupils
Lower_estimate_for_total_pupils_self_isolating	Lower estimate for total pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with COVID-19
Lower_estimate_for_total_pupils_unable_to_attend_school_because_of_COVID-19	Lower estimate for total pupils unable to attend school because of COVID-19
Lower_estimate_self_isolating_as_%_of_all_pupils	Lower estimate for total pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with COVID-19 as % of all pupils
number_children_attending	Number of children attending schools
number_children_attending_fully_open	Number of children attending fully open schools
number_children_of_critical_workers_attending_state_funded_schools	Number of children of critical workers attending
number_fully_open_schools	Proportion of fully open schools
number_of_schools_with_one_or_more_pupils_self_isolating_due_to_COVID_contact_within_school	Number of schools with one or more pupils self isolating due to COVID contact within school
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons	Total teachers and school leaders absent for non-COVID reasons
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Total teachers and school leaders absent from open schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Total teachers and school leaders absent from open schools with a suspected case of COVID-19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Total teachers and school leaders estimated attending on site in open settings
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Total teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Total teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Total teachers and school leaders isolating from open schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 inside setting
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Total teachers and school leaders isolating from open schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 outside setting
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_in_responding_schools	Total teachers and school leaders estimated on roll in all responding schools
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_responding_open_schools	Total teachers and school leaders estimated on roll in all open responding schools
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_responding_schools_closed_due_to_covid	Total teachers and school leaders estimated on roll in all responding schools closed due to COVID-19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_all_COVID_reasons	Total teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due all COVID reasons
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Total teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Total teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_other_reasons	Total teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons	Total teaching assistants or other staff members absent for non-COVID reasons
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Total teaching assistants or other staff members absent from open schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Total teaching assistants or other staff members absent from open schools with a suspected case of COVID-19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Total teaching assistants and support staff estimated attending on site in open settings
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Total teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Total teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Total teaching assistants or other staff members isolating from open schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 inside setting
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Total teaching assistants or other staff members isolating from open schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 outside setting
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_open_responding_schools	Total teaching assistants or other staff members estimated on roll in all open responding schools
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_responding_schools	Total teaching assistants or other staff members estimated on roll in all responding schools
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_responding_schools_closed_due_to_covid	Total teaching assistants or other staff members estimated on roll in all responding schools closed due to COVID-19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Total teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Total teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_all_COVID_reasons	Total teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to all COVID reasons
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_other_reasons	Total teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
number_open_schools	Number of open schools
number_pupils_eligible_for_FSM_attending	Number of pupils eligible for FSM attending
number_pupils_with_EHCP_attending	Number of pupils with an EHCP attending
number_pupils_with_EHCP_attending_fully_open	Number of pupils with an EHCP attending in fully open schools
number_pupils_with_SW_attending	Number of pupils with a SW attending
number_pupils_with_SW_attending_fully_open	Number of pupils with a SW attending in fully open schools
number_schools_responded	Number of schools responded
Phase	Phase of education
proportion_children_attending	Attendance in schools (%)
proportion_children_attending_fully_open	Attendance in fully open schools (%)
proportion_fully_open_schools	Number of fully open schools
proportion_of_all_children_in_attendance_who_are_children_of_critical_workers	Proportion of children in attendance who are children of critical workers (%)
proportion_of_schools_with_one_or_more_pupils_self_isolating_due_to_COVID_contact_within_school	Proportion of schools with one or more pupils self isolating due to COVID contact within school
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons	Teachers and school leaders absent for non-COVID reasons (%)
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Teachers and school leaders absent from schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19 (%)
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Teachers and school leaders absent from schools with a suspected case of COVID-19 (%)
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Proportion of teachers and school leaders estimated attending on site in open settings
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Teachers and school leaders isolating from schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 inside setting (%)
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Teachers and school leaders isolating from schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 outside setting (%)
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_all_COVID_reasons	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due all COVID reasons
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_other_reasons	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons	Teaching assistants or other staff members absent for non-COVID reasons (%)
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Teaching assistants or other staff members absent from schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19 (%)
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Teaching assistants or other staff members absent from schools with a suspected case of COVID-19 (%)
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Proportion of teaching assistants and support staff estimated attending on site in open settings
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Teaching assistants or other staff members isolating from schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 inside setting (%)
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Teaching assistants or other staff members isolating from schools due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 outside setting (%)
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_all_COVID_reasons	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to all COVID reasons
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_other_reasons	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
proportion_open_schools	Proportion of open schools
proportion_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_self_isolating_due_to_contact_inside_setting	Proportion of pupils absent from open schools due to contact with a potential case of COVID-19 inside the setting (%)
proportion_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_self_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_setting	Proportion of pupils absent from open schools due to contact with a potential case of COVID-19 outside the setting (%)
proportion_pupils_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID-19	Proportion of pupils absent with a confirmed case of COVID-19 (%)
proportion_pupils_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_COVID-19	Proportion of pupils absent with a suspected case of COVID-19 (%)
proportion_pupils_eligible_for_FSM_attending	Proportion of pupils eligible for FSM attending (%)
proportion_pupils_not_attending_because_school_is_closed	Proportion of pupils not attending because school is closed (%)
proportion_pupils_with_EHCP_attending	Proportion of pupils with an EHCP attending (%)
proportion_pupils_with_EHCP_attending_fully_open	Proportion of pupils with an EHCP attending in fully open schools (%)
proportion_pupils_with_SW_attending	Proportion of pupils with a SW attending (%)
proportion_pupils_with_SW_attending_fully_open	Proportion of pupils with a SW attending in fully open schools (%)
response_rate	Response rate
small_flag	Indicates whether the data is based on a small number of settings (10 or less)
Total_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_self_isolating_due_to_contact_inside_setting	Total pupils absent from open schools due to contact with a potential case of COVID-19 inside the setting
Total_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_self_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_setting	Total pupils absent from open schools due to contact with a potential case of COVID-19 outside the setting
Total_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_with_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID-19	Total pupils absent from open schools with a confirmed case of COVID-19
Total_pupils_absent_from_open_schools_with_a_suspected_case_of_COVID-19	Total pupils absent from open schools with a suspected case of COVID-19
Total_pupils_not_attending_because_school_is_closed	Total pupils not attending because school is closed
Upper_estimate_as_%_of_all_pupils	Upper estimate for total pupils unable to attend school because of COVID-19 as % of all pupils
Upper_estimate_for_total_pupils_self_isolating	Upper estimate for total pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with COVID-19
Upper_estimate_for_total_pupils_unable_to_attend_school_because_of_COVID-19	Upper estimate for total pupils unable to attend school because of COVID-19
Upper_estimate_self_isolating_as_%_of_all_pupils	Upper estimate for total pupils self-isolating due to a potential contact with COVID-19 as % of all pupils

Footnotes

Secondary schools and colleges were given flexibility to phase the return of pupils between 8 and 12 March 2021 to manage testing and the return of pupils. This impacted attendance rates during the week commencing 8 March 2021.
Absence rates for teaching assistants and other staff are likely to be less robust as more work part-time. There are likely to be inconsistencies in how schools treat part time staff in their reported data, for example some may update their on roll numbers daily to account for part-time staff ‘expected’ to be on-site and others may not.
Data is based on responding schools only. Unlike national level data, no adjustments are made for non-response. Response rates vary by local authority and different schools within a region may respond on different days. Care should be taken when comparing regions and when interpreting trends over time because differences could be due to response bias or different schools being included in the data.
Due to poor weather conditions in parts of England, there was an increase in non-COVID related closures on 14, 15, 25 and 26 January, and 2, 8, 9, 10 and 11 February 2021.
Workforce absences are not known in closed schools. This means these figures are likely to be under-estimates of the numbers of workforce with confirmed or suspected cases and self-isolating, particularly when the proportion of schools closed for COVID-19 related reasons is higher.
COVID-19 related reasons include a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus and self-isolation due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus. Staff that are shielding would not be included in these figures.
Pupils with a social worker are considered ‘children in need’. Our analysis after adjusting for non-response suggests that schools may be under-reporting the number of children with a social worker when compared to the most recently published children in need statistics. Therefore these estimates only account for pupils with a social worker that are identified by schools.
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.

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Table 1D - Daily workforce absence in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak (excludes half term dates 19th October - 23rd October and 2nd November)

Filename: table_1d_daily_workforce_absence_in_education_settings_during_covid_19_excluding_spring_lockdown_a.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 42 to 2021 Week 12
Content: This file contains workforce absence statistics for education settings from 12 October 2020 to 17 December 2020 and again following wider reopening of schools, from 8 March 2021 to 25 March 2021. It excludes half term terms (19th October - 23rd October, and 2nd November 2020) and the national lockdown during the spring term (4 January to 5 March 2021). Data for workforce during the restricted opening of schools can be found in table 1e.
Data is in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally representative.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
date	Date
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons	Number of teachers and school leaders absent for other reasons
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Number of teachers and school leaders absent with a confirmed case of covid-19
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Number of teachers and school leaders absent with a suspected case of covid-19
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Number of teachers and school leaders isolating due to contact in school
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Number of teachers and school leaders isolating due to contact outside school
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll	Number of teachers and school leaders on roll
number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_in_open_settings	Number of teachers and school leaders on roll in open settings
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent for other reasons
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent with a confirmed case of covid-19
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Number of teaching assistants and other staff absent with a suspected case of covid-19
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Number of teaching assistants and other staff isolating due to contact in school
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Number of teaching assistants and other staff isolating due to contact outside school
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll	Number of teaching assistants and other staff on roll
number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_open_settings	Number of teaching assistants and other staff on roll in open settings
phase	Phase of education
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_covid19_reasons	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent for COVID-19 reasons
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_for_other_reasons	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent for other reasons
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent with a confirmed case of covid-19
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders absent with a suspected case of covid-19
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders isolating due to contact in school
proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders isolating due to contact outside school
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_covid19_reasons	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent for COVID-19 reasons
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_for_other_reasons	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent for other reasons
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_confirmed_case_of_covid_19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent with a confirmed case of covid-19
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_absent_with_a_suspected_case_of_covid_19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff absent with a suspected case of covid-19
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_in_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff isolating due to contact in school
proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_isolating_due_to_contact_outside_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff isolating due to contact outside school
response_rate	Response rate

Footnotes

There are only a small number of special post 16 settings therefore the data is expected to be variable and sensitive to changes in one or more settings.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
Absence rates for teaching assistants and other staff are likely to be less robust as more work part-time. There are likely to be inconsistencies in how schools treat part time staff in their reported data, for example some may update their on roll numbers daily to account for part-time staff ‘expected’ to be on-site and others may not.
An error was identified that affected national level absence rates for ‘teaching assistants and other staff’ published in underlying data table 1D and included in the narrative of the 19 January 2021 publication. This data, including the 19 January narrative, was corrected on 28 January 2021. Absence rates at local authority level in table 1C, equivalent national-level absence rates for ‘teachers and school leaders’ and the number of ‘teaching assistants and other staff’ absent for each reason in table 1D were unaffected.
Figures for independent schools are unlikely to be representative. We looked at a sample of non-responding school websites across different phases to assess whether they were open to children of key workers and vulnerable children. This was to enable us to assess whether non-responding schools were as likely to be open as the responding schools. For independent schools, we found evidence that non-responding schools were more likely to be closed than responding schools. Open rates and attendance rates for independent schools are likely to be lower than reported here.
Workforce absences are not known in closed schools. This means these figures are likely to be under-estimates of the numbers of workforce with confirmed or suspected cases and self-isolating, particularly when the proportion of schools closed for COVID-19 related reasons is higher.
The number absent is rounded to the nearest 100, therefore there are some instances where figures between 1 and 49 are rounded to zero.
Workforce data, including workforce number on roll information which is needed in order to calculate percentages, was collected from 12 October 2020.
COVID-19 related reasons include a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus and self-isolation due to potential contact with a case of coronavirus. Staff that are shielding would not be included in these figures.
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
The educational settings survey asks further education providers to report data for the previous day. As such, data collected and presented in this publication for further education and special post-16 settings reports on a day earlier than for other settings.
On-site testing for staff was available from 4 January to 5 March 2021. All staff are now encouraged to take two rapid COVID-19 tests each week at home. For staff classified as clinically extremely vulnerable, on-site attendance at work is not mandatory. Rates of confirmed cases and self-isolation among workforce may be impacted by levels of testing.
Workforce figures are grossed using the non-response methodology for state-funded settings. Further education, specialist post-16 and independent settings are not grossed. Only the proportions for each indicator have been included as a result.

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Table 1E - Daily workforce absence in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak (excludes half term dates 19th October and 2nd November)

Filename: table_1e_daily_workforce_attendance_and_absence_in_education_settings_during_covid_19_11_jan_onwards.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2021 Week 2 to 2021 Week 9
Content: This file contains workforce absence statistics for education settings during restricted opening from 11 January to 5 March 2021, excluding half term dates from 15 - 19 February 2021. Data is not comparable to workforce absence estimates collected in the autumn term.
Data is in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally representative.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
date	Date
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Number of teachers and school leaders attending on site in open schools
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Number of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Number of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_in_closed_schools	Number of teachers and school leaders on roll in closed schools
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_on_roll_in_open_schools	Number of teachers and school leaders on roll in open schools
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools	Number of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Number of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Number of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Number_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_non_COVID_reasons	Number of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Number of teaching assistants and other staff attending on site in open schools
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Number of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Number of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_closed_schools	Number of teaching assistants and other staff on roll in closed schools
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_on_roll_in_open_schools	Number of teaching assistants and other staff on roll in open schools
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools	Number of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Number of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Number of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Number_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_non_COVID_reasons	Number of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
phase	Phase of education
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Proportion of teachers and school leaders attending on site in open schools
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Proportion of teachers and school leaders in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teachers_and_school_leaders_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_non_COVID_reasons	Proportion of teachers and school leaders who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_attending_on_site_in_open_schools	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff attending on site in open schools
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_inside_the_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 inside the school
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_in_open_schools_self_isolating_and_cannot_teach_remotely_due_to_potential_contact_with_a_case_of_COVID19_outside_the_school	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff in open schools self isolating and cannot teach remotely due to potential contact with a case of COVID19 outside the school
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_confirmed_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a confirmed case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_a_suspected_case_of_COVID19	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to a suspected case of COVID19
Proportion_of_teaching_assistants_and_other_staff_who_cannot_teach_on_site_or_remotely_in_open_schools_due_to_non_COVID_reasons	Proportion of teaching assistants and other staff who cannot teach on site or remotely in open schools due to non COVID reasons

Footnotes

It is possible that some schools have continued to report COVID-related absences in the spring term for affected staff who are working remotely in the same way as the autumn term. We therefore advise caution in interpreting these estimates.
From 5 January 2021, schools were asked to provide remote education for the majority of pupils which enabled many staff to work remotely. Therefore data on reasons for workforce absence are collected where staff are unable to teach on-site or remotely from 11 January 2021. This means that staff who have a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus or who are self-isolating but can work remotely are not included in these figures. In the 2020/21 autumn term, when schools were asked to open for all pupils, data on reasons for workforce absence were collected for all staff unable to work on-site. Therefore, figures from 11 January 2021 are not comparable to data on workforce absence collected in the autumn term.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
Absence rates for teaching assistants and other staff are likely to be less robust as more work part-time. There are likely to be inconsistencies in how schools treat part time staff in their reported data, for example some may update their on roll numbers daily to account for part-time staff ‘expected’ to be on-site and others may not.
Due to poor weather conditions in parts of England, there was an increase in non-COVID related closures on 14, 15, 25 and 26 January, and 2, 8, 9, 10 and 11 February 2021.
Staff in schools with higher levels of pupil attendance may be less able to work remotely. Teaching assistants and other staff include staff who are essential to the running of schools such as administrative, catering, cleaning and maintenance staff, midday supervisors and technicians. These roles may be more difficult to carry out remotely, which may explain why these staff have both higher rates of on-site attendance and higher rates of staff unable to work on-site or remotely in primary and secondary schools.
Workforce data, including workforce number on roll information which is needed in order to calculate percentages, was collected from 12 October 2020.
The purpose of this data collection is primarily to understand attendance and teacher availability. This data is reported directly by schools via DfE's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.
On-site testing for staff was available from 4 January to 5 March 2021. All staff are now encouraged to take two rapid COVID-19 tests each week at home. For staff classified as clinically extremely vulnerable, on-site attendance at work is not mandatory. Rates of confirmed cases and self-isolation among workforce may be impacted by levels of testing.

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Table 2 - Daily attendance in early years settings during the COVID-19 outbreak

Filename: table_2_daily_attendance_in_early_years_settings_during_covid_19outbreak_.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 16 to 2021 Week 13
Content: The data in this file contains weekly attendance data for early years settings. Data in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally representative.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
Children_attending	Number of children attending early years settings
Children_of_critical_workers_attending	Children of critical workers attending early years settings
Closed_settings	Number of closed early years settings
date	Date
Open_settings	Number of open early years settings
Proportion_of_settings_closed	Proportion of early years settings closed
Proportion_of_settings_open	Proportion of early years settings open
Proportion_of_settings_with_unknown_status	Proportion of early years settings with unknown status
Settings_with_unknown_status	Number of settings with unknown status
Vulnerable_children_attending	Number of vulnerable children attending early years settings

Footnotes

Ordinarily, fewer early years settings are open and fewer children are in attendance during school holidays. This is due to reduced demand for childcare and the closure of school-based settings.
From 1 June 2020, the government asked early years settings to begin welcoming back all children in addition to those of critical workers and vulnerable children. The methodology to adjust figures for non-response was also updated to reflect this change.
The summer term had ended in most schools by Friday 17 July 2020. Autumn term had typically begun by Monday 7 September 2020 and ended by Friday 18 December 2020. Data collection was paused over Christmas and resumed at the start of Spring term, with the first data collected on Thursday 7 January 2021.
From 16 April to 18 June 2020, the local authority early years survey was twice-weekly (Mondays and Thursdays). From 25 June 2020, the survey changed to weekly (Thursdays).
The Prime Minister announced on 4 January 2021 that early years settings remain open for all children during the national lockdown.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.

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Table 3 - Daily attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak Pre17 July

Filename: table_3_daily_attendance_in_education_settings_during_covid19_pre17july.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 13 to 2020 Week 29
Content: This file contains daily attendance data for state-funded education settings from 23 March - 17th July inclusive. Data is in this file has been scaled to account for non-response so it is nationally.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
attending_nursery	Children attending nursery
attending_reception	Children attending reception
attending_year1	Children attending year 1
attending_year10	Children attending year 10
attending_year12	Children attending year 12
attending_year6	Children attending year 6
children_attending	Children attending
children_critical_workers_attending	Children of critical workers attending
children_with_ehcp_attending	Children with an EHCP attending
children_with_ehcp_or_social_worker_attending	Children with an EHCP or social worker attending
children_with_social_worker_attending	Children with a social worker attending
date	Date
nonteaching_staff_attending_excluding_teaching_assistants	Non-teaching staff attending (excludes teaching assistants)
nonteaching_staff_attending_including_teaching_assistants	Non-teaching staff attending (includes teaching assistants)
open_settings	Open settings
open_settings_to_nursery_reception_year1_or_year6	Settings open to nursery reception year 1 or year 6
open_settings_to_year10_or_year12	Settings open to year 10 or year 12
otherwise_vulnerable_children_attending	Otherwise vulnerable children attending
proportion_attending_nursery_open_settings	Proportion of nursery children in open settings attending
proportion_attending_nursery_settings	Proportion of nursery children attending
proportion_attending_reception	Proportion of reception children attending
proportion_attending_reception_open_settings	Proportion of reception children in open settings attending
proportion_attending_year1	Proportion of year 1 children attending
proportion_attending_year1_open_settings	Proportion of year 1 children in open settings attending
proportion_attending_year10	Proportion of year 10 children attending
proportion_attending_year10_open_settings	Proportion of year 10 children in open settings attending
proportion_attending_year12	Proportion of year 12 children attending
proportion_attending_year12_open_settings	Proportion of year 12 children in open settings attending
proportion_attending_year6	Proportion of year 6 children attending
proportion_attending_year6_open_settings	Proportion of year 6 children in open settings attending
proportion_children_attending	Proportion of children attending
proportion_children_with_ehcp_or_social_worker_attending	Proportion of children with an EHCP or social worker attending
proportion_of_settings_open	Proportion of settings open
proportion_of_settings_open_to_nursery_reception_year1_or_year6	Proportion of settings usually accepting these year groups open to nursery reception year 1 or year 6
proportion_of_settings_open_to_year10_or_year12	Proportion of settings usually accepting these year groups open to year 10 or year 12
response_rate	Response rate
teaching_staff_attending_excluding_teaching_assistants	Teaching staff attending (excludes teaching assistants)
teaching_staff_attending_including_teaching_assistants	Teaching staff attending (includes teaching assistants)
vulnerable_children_attending	Vulnerable children attending

Footnotes

The following education settings are included: academies (including free schools and studio schools), local authority maintained schools (including local authority nursery schools), independent schools, non-maintained special schools, alternative provision, university technical colleges, FE colleges and sixth form colleges, and special post-16 institutions/specialist colleges.
The following education settings are included: academies (including free schools and studio schools), local authority maintained schools (including local authority nursery schools), independent schools, non-maintained special schools and alternative provision.
Settings are asked to provide a count of the number of children of critical workers and the number of vulnerable children. Some children are classified as both a child of a critical worker and a vulnerable child. Some settings have been counting these pupils as children of critical workers, but not in the count of vulnerable children. Therefore, the number of vulnerable children is an under-estimate. We estimate the true figure is up to 5% higher.
The response rate for Friday 1 May 2020 was only 14% due to technical issues with DfE sign-in, the online system used by educational establishments to submit attendance data. This may have affected the accuracy of the figures. A lower response rate makes the methodology used to account for non-response slightly.
The response rates for Wednesday 13 and Friday 15 May 2020 were impacted slightly due to technical issues which made it more difficult for some schools to complete the survey. A lower response rate makes the methodology used to account for non-response slightly less reliable.
All figures are adjusted for non-response. This methodology was adjusted from Friday 27 March 2020. See accompanying document for full methodology.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
From 23 March to 2 July 2020 the Autumn school census was used to determine year group population size. From 3 July 2020, we switched to using the newly published Spring census. This change has the biggest impact on the proportion of nursery children in attendance. We estimate that this proportion falls by 5 percentage points when compared to using the Autumn census. Other year group attendance rates see a change of around 0.1 percentage points.
From 1 June 2020, the government asked schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside children of critical workers and vulnerable children. As a result, changes were made to the survey of education settings to capture information about this wider group of attending pupils. From 15 June 2020, secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges were asked to begin providing face-to-face support to students in year 10 and 12 to supplement their learning from home, alongside full time provision for students from priority groups.
The response rate between Monday 6 April and Friday 17 April 2020 was low because it was the Easter break for most settings in England. Similarly, the response rate between Monday 25 May and Friday 29 May 2020 was low because it was half term for most settings in England.
Figures from Friday 27 March 2020 relate to data as at 4pm on each day, prior to this figures related to data as at 6pm. Negligible changes to the estimates were seen between 4pm and 6pm. Figures for Monday 1 June 2020 relate to data as at 3pm.

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Table 4 - Daily attendance in responding education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak not nationally representative Pre17 July

Filename: table_4_daily_attendance_in_responding_education_settings_during_the_covid19_outbreak_not_nationally_representative_pre17july.csv
Geographic levels: National
Time period: 2020 Week 23 to 2020 Week 29
Content: This file contains daily attendance data for state-funded education settings from 23 March - 17th July inclusive. Data is in this file only contains data on responding schools so it is not nationally representative. Please see the methodology document for more information.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
date	Date
open_responding_settings_not_nationally_representative	Open responding settings (not nationally representative)
open_responding_settings_to_nursery_reception_year1_or_year6_not_nationally_representative	Settings open to nursery reception year 1 or year 6 (not nationally representative)
open_responding_settings_to_year10_or_year12_not_nationally_representative	Settings open to year 10 or year 12 (not nationally representative)
proportion_of_responding_settings_open_not_nationally_representative	Proportion of responding settings open (not nationally representative)
proportion_of_responding_settings_open_to_nursery_reception_year1_or_year6_not_nationally_representative	Proportion of settings usually accepting these year groups open to nursery reception year 1 or year 6 (not nationally representative)
proportion_of_responding_settings_open_to_year10_or_year12_not_nationally_representative	Proportion of settings usually accepting these year groups open to year 10 or year 12 (not nationally representative)
response_rate	Response rate

Footnotes

The following education settings are included: academies (including free schools and studio schools), local authority maintained schools (including local authority nursery schools), independent schools, non-maintained special schools, alternative provision, university technical colleges, FE colleges and sixth form colleges, and special post-16 institutions/specialist colleges.
These figures are included for methodological completeness and show the corresponding data before it has been adjusted for non-response.
All national level figures are adjusted for non-response. Regional and local authority level figures are based on responding schools only. See accompanying document for full methodology.
Figures from Friday 27 March 2020 relate to data as at 4pm on each day, prior to this figures related to data as at 6pm. Negligible changes to the estimates were seen between 4pm and 6pm. Figures for Monday 1 June 2020 relate to data as at 3pm.

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Table 5 - Weekly attendance in early years settings during the COVID-19 outbreak at local authority level

Filename: table_5_weekly_attendance_in_early_years_settings_during_the_covid-19_outbreak_at_local_authority_level.csv
Geographic levels: Local authority
Time period: 2020 Week 15 to 2021 Week 13
Content: This file contains local authority responses to the early years local authority survey from Monday 4 April 2020 to Sunday 14 February 2021. Values of less than 5 for the Total Children in Early Years Settings and Total Vulnerable Children in Early Years Settings have been suppressed and have been replaced with a “c”. Some responses from local authorities during this time period have been removed where the Department for Education has been notified of a mistaken entry, or where the department believes a mistaken entry has been given based on high level validation checks. Additionally, where a local authority has submitted multiple responses on the same day only the most recent response on that date has been retained. The data covers England only. Data is in this file has been not been scaled to account for non-response so it is not nationally representative.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
count_of_closed_early_years_settings	Count of Closed Early Years Settings
count_of_open_early_years_settings	Count of Open Early Years Settings
date	Date
total_children_in_early_years_settings	Total Children in Early Years Settings
total_early_years_settings_reported_by_la	Total Early Years Settings Reported by LA
total_vulnerable_children_in_early_years_settings	Total Vulnerable Children in Early Years Settings

Footnotes

Local authority responses to the early years local authority survey from Monday 4 April 2020 to Friday 02 April 2021. Values of less than 5 for the Total Children in Early Years Settings and Total Vulnerable Children in Early Years Settings have been suppressed and have been replaced with a “c”. Some responses from local authorities during this time period have been removed where the Department for Education has been notified of a mistaken entry, or where the department believes a mistaken entry has been given based on high level validation checks. The data presented is largely as received from Local Authorities. While there are some basic validation checks on very unusual values, the frequency of data the data collection means it is not possible to validate every value. As such caution should be applied when viewing LA level data. Additionally, where a local authority has submitted multiple responses on the same day only the most recent response on that date has been retained. The data covers England only.

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