Department for Education guidance states that school attendance became mandatory once again for all pupils from 8 March 2021. Pupils with COVID-19 symptoms should not attend school.
From 19 July 2021 close contacts will now be identified via NHS Test and Trace. However, the vast majority of pupils in state-funded schools are under 18 years and 6 months, and therefore not required to self-isolate if they live in the same household as someone with COVID-19, or are a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
Absence in state-funded schools
We estimate 2.9% (236,000) of all pupils on roll in state-funded schools did not attend school for COVID-19 related reasons on 9 Dec, up from 2.6% (208,000) on 25 Nov.
This includes:
- 91,000 pupils with a suspected case of coronavirus, 1.1% of pupils on roll in open schools, up from 1.0% on 25 Nov when there were 79,000 suspected cases
- 109,000 pupils with a confirmed case of coronavirus, 1.3% of pupils on roll in open schools, same on 25 Nov when there were 106,000 confirmed cases
- 12,000 pupils absent from open settings due to attendance restrictions being in place to manage an outbreak, 0.1% of pupils on roll in open schools, same on 25 Nov when there were 10,000 attendance restrictions cases.
- 14,000 pupils absent from open settings due to isolation for other reasons, 0.2% of pupils on roll in open schools, same on 25 Nov when there were 12,000 cases in isolation for other reasons.
- 3,000 pupils were absent, as a result of school closures due to COVID-related reasons, less than 0.1% of pupils on roll in open schools, same on 25 Nov when there were 1,000 school closure cases.
- 6,000 pupils were required to remain at home or isolate in line with government guidance, 0.1% of pupils on roll in open schools.
Pupil attendance in state-funded schools
- On site attendance in state-funded schools was 88.9% on 9 Dec, down from 89.3% on 25 Nov.
- The overall absence rate in state-funded primary, secondary, and special schools in England in the 2018/19 academic year was 4.7%. However, there are differences in the way this figure (4.7%) is calculated and attendance estimates are calculated which affect comparability, particularly during the Summer term [2].
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[2] 2018/19 overall absence rates include pupils aged 5-15 in state-funded primary, secondary and special schools. Our attendance estimates include 4-year olds in reception and pupils over the age of 15 in state-funded schools. Both of these groups of pupils have higher than average absence rates. Pupils on roll in alternative provision, who have a higher than average absence rate, are included in our attendance estimates, but excluded from the 2018/19 overall absence rates.
Vulnerable children in state-funded schools
Attendance of pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), and pupils with a social worker is typically lower than for other pupils [3].
- Approximately 83% of all pupils with an EHCP on roll in state-funded schools were in attendance on 9 Dec, down from 84% on 25 Nov.
- Approximately 82% of all pupils with a social worker on roll in all state-funded schools were in attendance on 9 Dec, down from 83% on 25 Nov. 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 [4]. Therefore, these estimates only account for pupils with a social worker that are identified by schools.
Pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) in state-funded schools
Recently published data shows that the number of pupils eligible for FSM has increased from 1.44 million (17.3% of all pupils) in January 2020 to 1.74 million (20.8% of all pupils) in January 2021.
Attendance of pupils eligible for FSM is typically lower than for other pupils [5].
- Approximately 87% of all pupils eligible for FSM on roll in state-funded schools were in attendance on 9 Dec, same on 25 Nov.
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[3] The attendance of pupils with EHCPs and children in need is typically lower than for other pupils. In the 2018/19 academic year, the overall absence rate was 8.7% for pupils with a statement of SEN or an EHCP and 11.4% for children in need see Pupil absence in schools statistics and characteristics of children in need statistics (opens in a new tab) publication for more information. There are some differences in the calculation of these figures and our estimates that affect comparability. See our methodology for more details.
[4] Statistics: children in need and child protection (opens in a new tab)Schools report on the form how many children with a social worker (SW) they have on roll. Our analysis suggests that the total number of children with a SW differs by at least 30% compared to published figures for children with a social worker.
[5] Data from the 2018/19 academic year calculates the typical absence rate of FSM pupils to be 7.5% when compared to 4.7% for all pupils. This data is published here.