Reporting year 2024

Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England

Data guidance

Published 10 April 2025

Description

This document describes the data included in the ‘Outcomes for children in need, including children looked after by local authorities in England: 2023 to 2024' Accredited Official Statistics underlying data files. This data is released under the terms of the Open Government License and is intended to meet at least three stars for Open Data.

The methodology should be referenced alongside this release. It provides information on the data sources, their coverage and quality and how the data is produced.

Coverage

This statistical release provides data on outcomes measures for children in need (CIN), including children looked after (CLA) by local authorities in England. Data is provided at national, regional, and local authority level.

Children in need data is not available for Hackney local authority for both the 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to 2022 collection years and Hampshire local authority for the 2023 to 2024 collection year. Hackney was unable to provide a return for both the 2021 and 2022 children in need census collections, due to a cyberattack which had a significant impact on their management information systems. Hampshire provided a CIN return for the 2024 collection, however, due to a transition to a new case management and reporting system, there were significant data quality issues affecting the coverage of Hampshire's 2024 this return.

The outcome measures cover:

• special education needs
• educational attainment (at Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4)
• educational progress (between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4)
• destinations from school
• absence from school
• permanent exclusions and suspensions from school
• free school meal eligibility
• type of school attended.

Detailed information on the social care groups and all pupils comparisons is provided in the methodology.

This publication previously included the results of end of KS1 assessments. These became non-statutory from the 2023/24 academic year onwards. Optional assessments were still offered but the results of these are not collected and statistics will not be published. 

This publication previously included Key Stage 2 progress measures. These measures will not be published for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years as KS2 pupils in these years did not have KS1 assessments due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abbreviations of social care group names used throughout this release:

• CIN - children in need, including children on a child protection plan and children looked after. Children in need includes children on child in need plans as well as other types of plan or arrangements. Children in need also includes children awaiting a referral to be considered, an assessment to start or, for an assessment which has started, for the assessment to be completed.
• CINO - children in need, excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after.
• CPPO - children on a child protection plan, excluding children looked after.
• CLA - children looked after (excludes children who are in respite care in their most recent episode during the reporting year).

Social care groups

Social care groups included within this release are:

• CIN at 31 March
• CINO at 31 March
• CPPO at 31 March
• CLA 12 months at 31 March - CLA continuously for at least twelve months at 31 March.
• CLA less than 12 months at 31 March - CLA continuously for less than twelve months at 31 March.
• CIN at any point - ‘any point’ means at any point during the reporting year (including at 31 March).
• CINO at any point
• CPPO at any point
• CLA at any point
• Ever CIN - last 6 years - children in need, at any point in the last 6 reporting years (including at 31 March).

Note that local authority level data only includes CINO at 31 March, CPPO at 31 March, CLA 12 months at 31 March and FSM data does not include CLA.

At key stage 4 there are additional groups in the national level data on previously looked after arrangements (PLAA). These are Official Statistics on arrangements for previously looked after children.

• ‘PLAA - Adoption’ - previously looked after children who left care through an adoption.
• 'PLAA - SGO' - previously looked after children who left care through a special guardianship order (SGO).
• ‘PLAA - CAO’ - previously looked after children who left care through a child arrangements order (CAO).
• ‘PLAA - Total’ - previously looked after children who left care through an adoption, SGO or CAO.

File formats and conventions

Confidentiality (rounding and suppression):

Rounding and suppression is applied to the data. The Code of Practice for Statistics requires that reasonable steps should be taken to ensure that all published or disseminated statistics produced by the DfE protect confidentiality. The publications follow the DfE policy statement on confidentiality (opens in a new tab). 

National and regional numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Local authority numbers are unrounded.

Where a denominator is shown as zero, the original figure submitted was zero. 

Percentages are rounded to one decimal place (except for permanent exclusions and suspensions, where they are rounded to two decimal places).

Average Attainment 8 scores are rounded to one decimal place. EBacc average point scores, Key Stage 2 progress measures and Progress 8 measures are rounded to two decimal places.

As a result of rounding components may not sum to totals and percentages may not sum to 100.

For all attainment measures, values of 0 (zero) are suppressed to protect confidentiality. For all other measures, values of 0 (zero) are not primary suppressed. Prior to 2021, values of 0 (zero) were suppressed for all measures.

The following symbols have been used:

‘c’ to protect confidentiality - secondary suppression may also be applied to figures to protect confidentiality
‘z’ for not applicable
‘x’ for not available (updated in 2021 from a colon in 2020)
‘k’ used when a result that is not 0 (zero) would appear as 0 (zero) due to rounding

Data files

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

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.

National - Special educational needs (SEN)

• Filename: sen_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Special educational need and primary type of special educational need by social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_all_SEN	Percentage of pupils with SEN
pt_ASD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
pt_ASD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
pt_EHC_plan	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan
pt_HI_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
pt_HI_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
pt_MLD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
pt_MLD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
pt_MSI_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
pt_MSI_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
pt_no_identified_SEN	Percentage of pupils with no identified SEN
pt_NSA_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need
pt_NSA_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need
pt_OTH_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
pt_OTH_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
pt_PD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Physical Disability
pt_PD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Physical Disability
pt_PMLD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
pt_PMLD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
pt_SEMH_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
pt_SEMH_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
pt_SEN_support	Percentage of pupils with SEN support
pt_SLCN_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
pt_SLCN_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
pt_SLD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
pt_SLD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
pt_SPLD_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
pt_SPLD_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
pt_VI_ehc	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Visual Impairment
pt_VI_ss	Percentage of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Visual Impairment
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_all_SEN	Total number of pupils with SEN
t_ASD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
t_ASD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
t_EHC_plan	Total number of pupils with EHC plan
t_HI_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
t_HI_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
t_MLD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
t_MLD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
t_MSI_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
t_MSI_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
t_no_identified_SEN	Total number of pupils with no identified SEN
t_NSA_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need
t_NSA_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need
t_OTH_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
t_OTH_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
t_PD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Physical Disability
t_PD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Physical Disability
t_PMLD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
t_PMLD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
t_pupils	Total number of pupils
t_SEMH_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
t_SEMH_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
t_SEN_support	Total number of pupils with SEN support
t_SLCN_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
t_SLCN_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
t_SLD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
t_SLD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
t_SPLD_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
t_SPLD_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
t_VI_ehc	Total number of pupils with EHC plan having primary type of need: Visual Impairment
t_VI_ss	Total number of pupils with SEN support having primary type of need: Visual Impairment

Footnotes

1. Special educational needs (SEN) status and primary type of SEN data is taken from both the school census and the alternative provision census. More detailed information on the SEN data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.

National - Key Stage 2 (KS2)

• Filename: ks2_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Key Stage 2 attainment by special educational need, ethnicity, placement (children looked after only) and social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
avg_mat_progress_score	Average progress score for maths
avg_mat_progress_score_lower_ci	Lower confidence interval for maths progress
avg_mat_progress_score_upper_ci	Upper confidence interval for maths progress
avg_read_progress_score	Average progress score for reading
avg_read_progress_score_lower_ci	Lower confidence interval for reading progress
avg_read_progress_score_upper_ci	Upper confidence interval for reading progress
avg_writta_progress_score	Average progress score for writing TA
avg_writta_progress_score_lower_ci	Lower confidence interval for writing TA progress
avg_writta_progress_score_upper_ci	Upper confidence interval for writing TA progress
ethnicity_major	Ethnicity - Filter by ethnicity
placement	Placement - Filter by placement
pt_gps_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
pt_mat_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in maths
pt_read_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading
pt_rwm_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined)
pt_scita_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in science TA
pt_writta_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in writing TA
sen_provision	Special Educational Needs provision - Filter by Special Educational Needs provision
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_gps_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in grammar, punctuation and spelling
t_gps_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
t_mat_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in maths
t_mat_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in maths
t_mat_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the maths progress scores
t_mat_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for maths
t_read_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in reading
t_read_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading
t_read_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the reading progress scores
t_read_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for reading
t_rwm_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in reading, writing and maths
t_rwm_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
t_scita_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in science TA
t_scita_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in science TA
t_writta_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in writing TA
t_writta_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in writing TA
t_writta_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the writing TA progress scores
t_writta_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for writing TA

Footnotes

1. 'All pupils comparison' includes all state-funded schools, alternative provision, and non-maintained special schools with pupils eligible for assessment at Key Stage 2. Participation by independent schools is voluntary, therefore the figures for all pupils includes results from independent schools that chose to submit data and met the requirements for assessment and moderation.
2. Writing teacher assessment and reading, writing and maths (combined) measures from 2018 onwards are not directly comparable to previous years due to changes in the writing teacher assessment frameworks.

National - Key Stage 4 (KS4)

• Filename: ks4_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Key Stage 4 attainment and progress by special educational need, ethnicity, placement (children looked after only), period of care length (children looked after only) and social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
avg_att8	Average Attainment 8 score of all pupils
avg_ebaccaps	Average EBacc APS score per pupil
avg_p8score	Average Progress 8 score of all pupils
ethnicity_major	Ethnicity - Filter by ethnicity
p8score_CI_low	Progress 8 lower 95% confidence interval
p8score_CI_upp	Progress 8 upper 95% confidence interval
placement	Placement - Filter by placement
poc_length	Length of period of care - Filter by length of period of care
pt_ebacc_94	Percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (grades 4 or above in English and maths, A*-C in unreformed subjects)
pt_ebacc_95	Percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (grades 5 or above in English and maths, A*-C in unreformed subjects)
pt_ebacc_e_ptq_ee	Percentage of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate
pt_l2basics_94	Percentage of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
pt_l2basics_95	Percentage of pupils achieving grades 5 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
sen_provision	Special Educational Needs provision - Filter by Special Educational Needs provision
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_att8	Total sum of pupils Attainment 8 scores
t_ebacc_94	Total number of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (grades 4 or above in English and maths, A*-C in unreformed subjects)
t_ebacc_95	Total number of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (grades 5 or above in English and maths, A*-C in unreformed subjects)
t_ebacc_e_ptq_ee	Total number of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate
t_ebaccaps	Total EBacc APS score of pupils
t_inp8calc	Total number of pupils included in Progress 8 measure
t_l2basics_94	Total number of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
t_l2basics_95	Total number of pupils achieving grades 5 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
t_p8score	Total sum of pupils Progress 8 scores
t_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 4

Footnotes

1. Special educational needs (SEN) status is taken from both the school census and the alternative provision census. The Key Stage 4 data includes pupils for whom SEN status could not be determined. More detailed information on the SEN data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.
2. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the summer examination series was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021, and alternative processes set up to award grades. The method to award grades was different in 2021 to that in 2020. The changes to the way GCSE grades were awarded in these two years means 2019/20 and 2020/21 pupil attainment data should not be directly compared to pupil attainment data from previous or later years for the purposes of measuring year on year changes in pupil performance. More detailed information on the Key Stage 4 data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.
3. Within this release comparisons are made with 2023 and with 2019. We will compare to 2023 due to it being last year’s data, and to 2019 because it was the last year that summer exams were taken before the Covid-19 pandemic. Users need to exercise extreme caution when considering comparisons over time, as they may not reflect changes in pupil performance alone. More detailed information on the Key Stage 4 data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.
4. For children looked after (CLA) for at least 12 months, due to definitional differences, there can be a small number where the period of care length at 31 March is less than 12 months (where the period of care start date is 1 April).

National - Destinations

• Filename: destinations_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2021/22
• Content:
  Destinations after completing Key Stage 4 by social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_all_notsust	Percentage not recorded as a sustained destination
pt_all_unknown	Percentage with activity not captured
pt_all_work	Percentage in sustained employment destination
pt_appl2	Percentage in intermediate apprenticeships (level 2)
pt_appl3	Percentage in advanced and Higher apprenticeships (level 3 and above)
pt_appren	Percentage in sustained apprenticeships
pt_appru	Percentage in alternative provision
pt_edu_combo	Percentage in sustained education combination destination
pt_education	Percentage in sustained education destination
pt_fe	Percentage in further education
pt_he	Percentage in UK higher education institution
pt_ind	Percentage in independent schools
pt_notsust	Percentage in education or employment not sustained
pt_notsust_ben	Percentage in education or employment not sustained and known to be NEET
pt_only_ben	Percentage with no participation and known to be NEET
pt_other_edu	Percentage in other education destination
pt_overall	Percentage in sustained education, employment & apprenticeships
pt_sfc	Percentage in sixth form college
pt_special	Percentage in special school
pt_spi	Percentage in specialist post-16 institution
pt_ssf	Percentage in school sixth form
pt_unknown	Percentage not identified in any data
pt_unknown_id	Percentage identified as DWP/HMRC customer
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_all_notsust	Total number of pupils not recorded as a sustained destination
t_all_unknown	Total number of pupils with activity not captured
t_all_work	Total number of pupils in sustained employment destination
t_appl2	Total number of pupils in intermediate apprenticeships (level 2)
t_appl3	Total number of pupils in advanced and Higher apprenticeships (level 3 and above)
t_appren	Total number of pupils in sustained apprenticeships
t_appru	Total number of pupils in alternative provision
t_edu_combo	Total number of pupils in sustained education combination destination
t_education	Total number of pupils in sustained education destination
t_fe	Total number of pupils in further education
t_he	Total number of pupils in UK higher education institution
t_ind	Total number of pupils in independent schools
t_notsust	Total number of pupils in education or employment not sustained
t_notsust_ben	Total number of pupils in education or employment not sustained and known to be NEET
t_only_ben	Total number of pupils with no participation and known to be NEET
t_other_edu	Total number of pupils in other education destination
t_overall	Total number of pupils in sustained education, employment & apprenticeships
t_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 4
t_sfc	Total number of pupils in sixth form college
t_special	Total number of pupils in special school
t_spi	Total number of pupils in specialist post-16 institution
t_ssf	Total number of pupils in school sixth form
t_unknown	Total number of pupils not identified in any data
t_unknown_id	Total number of pupils identified as DWP/HMRC customer

Footnotes

1. The destinations figures in this release are not directly comparable to the all pupils figures in the national publication as the social care destination figures include additional institutions. For example, other institutions include: independent schools, independent special schools and secure units. More detailed information on the destinations data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.

National - Absence

• Filename: absence_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Full-year absence by type of school and social care group. Data for 2019/20 is not available.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
phase_type_grouping	School type - Filter by school type
pt_overall	Overall absence percentage
pt_pupils_pa_10_exact	Persistent absentees percentage
pt_pupils_pa_50_exact	Severe absentees percentage
pt_sess_authorised	Authorised absence percentage
pt_sess_unauthorised	Unauthorised absence percentage
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_pupils	Total number of pupils or enrolments
t_pupils_pa_10_exact	Number of persistent absentees
t_pupils_pa_50_exact	Number of severe absentees
t_sess_authorised	Number of authorised absence sessions
t_sess_overall	Number of overall absence sessions
t_sess_possible	Number of sessions possible
t_sess_unauthorised	Number of unauthorised absence sessions

Footnotes

1. The all pupils comparison figures taken from the national publication are produced using a different methodology based on enrolments and the school type is allocated in a different way. As a result of this, the all pupils comparison is not provided by school type as it is not appropriate to compare. More detailed information on the absence data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.
2. Due to the disruption caused by the impact of COVID during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years, caution should be taken when comparing data to previous years. No absence data relating to the full 2019/20 academic year is available.

National - Suspensions and permanent exclusions

• Filename: suspensions_and_permanent_exclusions_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2022/23
• Content:
  Suspensions and permanent exclusions by social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
phase_type_grouping	School type - Filter by school type
pt_one_plus_sus	Percentage of pupils with one or more suspension
pt_perm_excl	Percentage of pupils permanently excluded
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_one_plus_sus	Total number of pupils with one or more suspension
t_perm_excl	Total number of pupils permanently excluded
t_pupils	Total number of pupils

Footnotes

1. The all pupils comparison figures taken from the national publication are produced using a different methodology based on enrolments and the school type is allocated in a different way. As a result of this, the all pupils comparison is not provided by school type as it is not appropriate to compare. More detailed information on the suspensions and permanent exclusions data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.
2. State-funded alternative provision (AP) schools include pupil referral units, alternative provision academies and alternative provision free schools (in earlier years this school type was labelled as 'Pupil referral unit' but the inclusion criteria is the same).
3. While suspensions and permanent exclusions were possible throughout the 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years, national restrictions will have had an impact on the numbers presented and caution should be taken when comparing across years.

National - Free school meals (FSM)

• Filename: fsm_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Free school meal eligibility of children in need by social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_FSM_eligible	Percentage of pupils with free school meal eligibility
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_FSM_eligible	Number of pupils with free school meal eligibility
t_pupils	Number of pupils

Footnotes

1. Free school meal (FSM) eligibility is taken from both the school census and the alternative provision census. More detailed information on the FSM data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.

National - School type

• Filename: school_type_national.csv
• Geographic levels: National
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Type of school by social care group.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_ap	Total number of pupils in state-funded alternative provision (AP) school
t_primary	Total number of pupils in state-funded primary school
t_pupils	Total number of pupils
t_secondary	Total number of pupils in state-funded secondary school
t_special	Total number of pupils in special school

Footnotes

1. State-funded alternative provision (AP) schools include pupil referral units, alternative provision academies and alternative provision free schools (in earlier years this school type was labelled as 'Pupil referral unit' but the inclusion criteria is the same).
2. The all pupils comparison figures taken from the national publication have school type allocated in a different way. As a result of this, the all pupils comparison is not provided by school type as it is not appropriate to compare. More detailed information on the school type data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.

LA - Free school meals (FSM)

• Filename: fsm_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Free school meal eligibility for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after).

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_FSM_eligible	Percentage of pupils with free school meal eligibility
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_FSM_eligible	Number of pupils with free school meal eligibility
t_pupils	Number of pupils

Footnotes

1. Free school meal (FSM) eligibility is taken from both the school census and the alternative provision census. More detailed information on the FSM data published within this release is available in the accompanying methodology.

LA - Suspensions and permanent exclusions

• Filename: permanent_exclusions_and_suspensions_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2022/23
• Content:
  Suspensions and permanent exclusions for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_one_plus_sus	Percentage of pupils with one or more suspension
pt_perm_excl	Percentage of pupils permanently excluded
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_one_plus_sus	Total number of pupils with one or more suspension
t_perm_excl	Total number of pupils permanently excluded
t_pupils	Total number of pupils

LA - School type

• Filename: school_type_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Type of school for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_ap	Total number of pupils in state-funded alternative provision (AP) school
t_primary	Total number of pupils in state-funded primary schools
t_pupils	Total number of pupils
t_secondary	Total number of pupils in state-funded secondary schools
t_special	Total number of pupils in special schools

LA - Special education needs (SEN)

• Filename: sen_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Special educational need (SEN) and primary type of SEN for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
pt_all_sen	Percentage of pupils with SEN
pt_asd	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
pt_ehc_plan	Percentage of pupils with EHC plan
pt_hi	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
pt_mld	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
pt_msi	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
pt_no_identified_sen	Percentage of pupils with no identified SEN
pt_nsa	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: but no specialist assessment of type of need
pt_oth	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
pt_pd	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Physical Disability
pt_pmld	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
pt_semh	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
pt_sen_support	Percentage of pupils with SEN support
pt_slcn	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
pt_sld	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
pt_spld	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
pt_vi	Percentage of pupils with having primary type of need: Visual Impairment
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_all_sen	Total number of pupils with SEN
t_asd	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Autistic Spectrum Disorder
t_ehc_plan	Total number of pupils with EHC plan
t_hi	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Hearing Impairment
t_mld	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Moderate Learning Difficulty
t_msi	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Multi- Sensory Impairment
t_no_identified_sen	Total number of pupils with no identified SEN
t_nsa	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: but no specialist assessment of type of need
t_oth	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Other Difficulty/Disability
t_pd	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Physical Disability
t_pmld	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
t_pupils	Total number of pupils
t_semh	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Social, Emotional and Mental Health
t_sen_support	Total number of pupils with SEN support
t_slcn	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Speech, Language and Communications needs
t_sld	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Severe Learning Difficulty
t_spld	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Specific Learning Difficulty
t_vi	Total number of pupils with having primary type of need: Visual Impairment

LA - Key Stage 2 (KS2)

• Filename: ks2_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Key Stage 2 attainment for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
avg_mat_progress_score	Average progress score for maths
avg_mat_progress_score_lower_CI	Lower confidence interval for maths progress
avg_mat_progress_score_upper_CI	Upper confidence interval for maths progress
avg_read_progress_score	Average progress score for reading
avg_read_progress_score_lower_CI	Lower confidence interval for reading progress
avg_read_progress_score_upper_CI	Upper confidence interval for reading progress
avg_writta_progress_score	Average progress score for writing TA
avg_writta_progress_score_lower_CI	Lower confidence interval for writing TA progress
avg_writta_progress_score_upper_CI	Upper confidence interval for writing TA progress
pt_gps_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
pt_mat_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in maths
pt_read_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading
pt_rwm_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (combined)
pt_scita_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in science TA
pt_writta_met_expected_standard	Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in writing TA
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_gps_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in grammar, punctuation and spelling
t_gps_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
t_mat_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in maths
t_mat_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in maths
t_mat_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the maths progress scores
t_mat_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for maths
t_read_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in reading
t_read_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading
t_read_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the reading progress scores
t_read_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for reading
t_rwm_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in reading, writing and maths
t_rwm_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
t_scita_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in science TA
t_scita_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in science TA
t_writta_eligible_pupils	Number of eligible pupils in writing TA
t_writta_met_expected_standard	Number of pupils meeting the expected standard in writing TA
t_writta_progress_eligible_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 2 included in the writing TA progress scores
t_writta_progress_score	Total number of pupils progress scores for writing TA
version	Version - Filter by version

LA - Key Stage 4 (KS4)

• Filename: ks4_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Key Stage 4 attainment and progress for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
avg_att8	Average Attainment 8 score of all pupils
avg_ebaccaps	Average EBacc APS score per pupil
avg_p8score	Average Progress 8 score of all pupils
p8score_CI_low	Progress 8 lower 95% confidence interval
p8score_CI_upp	Progress 8 upper 95% confidence interval
pt_ebacc_e_ptq_ee	Percentage of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate
pt_l2basics_94	Percentage of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
pt_l2basics_95	Percentage of pupils achieving grades 5 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_att8	Total sum of pupils Attainment 8 scores
t_ebacc_e_ptq_ee	Total number of pupils entering the English Baccalaureate
t_ebaccaps	Total EBacc APS score of pupils
t_inp8calc	Total number of pupils included in Progress 8 measure
t_l2basics_94	Total number of pupils achieving grades 4 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
t_l2basics_95	Total number of pupils achieving grades 5 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs
t_p8score	Total sum of pupils Progress 8 scores
t_pupils	Total number of pupils at the end of key stage 4
version	Version - Filter by version

LA - Absence (six half terms)

• Filename: absence_six_half_terms_la.csv
• Geographic levels: Local authority; National; Regional
• Time period: 2017/18 to 2023/24
• Content:
  Full-year absence by type of school and social care group for children in need (excluding children on a child protection plan and children looked after), children on a child protection plan (excluding children looked after) and children looked after.

Variable names and descriptions

Variable names and descriptions for this file are provided below:

Variable name	Variable description
phase_type_grouping	School type - Filter by phase_type_grouping
pt_overall	Overall absence percentage
pt_pupils_pa_10_exact	Persistent absentees percentage
pt_pupils_pa_50_exact	Severe absentees percentage
pt_sess_authorised	Authorised absence percentage
pt_sess_unauthorised	Unauthorised absence percentage
social_care_group	Social care group - Filter by social care group
t_pupils	Total number of pupils or enrolments
t_pupils_pa_10_exact	Number of persistent absentees
t_pupils_pa_50_exact	Number of severe absentees
t_sess_authorised	Number of authorised absence sessions
t_sess_overall	Number of overall absence sessions
t_sess_possible	Number of sessions possible
t_sess_unauthorised	Number of unauthorised absence sessions