This publication uses several terms to understand attendance in school.
Absence - refers to children who are absent for authorised and unauthorised reasons, this includes children who are absent with a positive COVID case – but does not include children who are isolating but have not had a confirmed positive case, for example as a contact.
Not attending in circumstances relating to COVID refers to children who are not attending school due to public health guidelines. It does not include absence due to positive COVID cases. For the 2021/22 academic year, this should mostly have been used to record where a pupil was absent from school with symptoms of COVID-19 whilst awaiting the results of a test or as a contact. In previous years this code was also used where pupils were advised to shield, were quarantining after returning from abroad, or were in class bubbles advised to isolate. In these circumstances schools are expected to provide remote education. From April 2022, in line with our transition to living with COVID-19, schools were no longer advised to record pupils who did not attend for reasons related to COVID-19 using a separate code (Code X).
Total number of children out of school refers to the sum of absent children and those not attending in circumstances relating to COVID – together this figure shows the total number of children not in school in person for any reason
Persistent absence - pupils are identified as a persistent absentee if they miss 10% or more of their possible sessions. This includes absence with a positive COVID case. 10% of sessions translates to around 19 days of absence across the school year.
Absence rates have been higher than previously throughout 2021/22
The overall absence rate across 2021/22 was 7.6%, Across terms, overall absence rates were
- Autumn term - 6.7%
- Spring term - 7.9%
- Summer term - 8.0%
Illness was the major driver of overall absence, at 4.4% across the academic year. The increase in Summer term was driven by an increase in absence in secondary schools, while primary and special school absence rates decreased from Spring to Summer.
The persistent absence rate, the percentage of pupils who missed 10% or more sessions, was 22.5% across 2021/22. Across terms, persistent absence rates were
- Autumn term - 23.5%
- Spring term - 27.2%
- Summer term - 26.4%
The combined rate of absence and not attending due to COVID circumstances has decreased
In 2020/21 and 2021/22, data was collected on the number of sessions recorded as not attending in circumstances related to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Initially, this included where pupils were self-isolating and shielding, including when a class or bubble was required to stay at home. During these sessions, pupils were expected to not attend or were prohibited from attending and so they are treated separately and not counted within the standard absence rates within this publication. Where a pupil was not attending in these circumstances, schools were expected to provide immediate access to remote education.
In 2021/22, this category should mostly have been used to record where a pupil was absent from school with symptoms of COVID-19 whilst awaiting the results of a test. From April 2022, in line with our transition to living with COVID-19, schools were no longer advised to record pupils who did not attend for reasons related to COVID-19 using a separate code (Code X). This was in line with the fact that pupils with symptoms of COVID-19 were no longer advised to get a test, and most of the scenarios that this category was brought into to record no longer applied. Instead, where a pupil did not attend because they have symptoms of COVID-19 or had a positive test, schools were advised to record this using Code I (illness) unless another more appropriate code applied.
As a result, sessions recorded as "not attending due to COVID circumstances" decreased to 1.0% across the academic year. This was 21.3% for the 2020/21 academic year.
When combining absence with not attending due to COVID circumstances, we see a combined rate of 8.5% across 2021/22. This compares to 25.9% in 2020/21, when national restrictions had a large impact on attendance. In spring 2021, this combined rate was 60.8%, reflecting the period of lockdown from 4 January 2021 where only children of critical workers and vulnerable children could attend school.